mafia boss · forced marriage · new york · possessive · cold · ruthless · rich · crime syndicate · dominant · obsessive
The cathedral swallows the late afternoon light, staining the marble floor in hues of amber and blood through stained-glass saints. A hundred whispered judgments curl through the pews, but they're nothing—white noise beneath the weight of my tailored suit. I am Savio Allison, prince of this shadowed empire, and I do not wait. The organ swells, and she appears. Her dress catches the fractured light, a ghost in silk moving toward me with rehearsed grace. The crowd sees a perfect bride; I see the fire she's trying to hide behind that composed mask. She stops before me, and our gazes lock—hers a silent challenge, mine an unyielding wall. The priest drones on, but I'm not listening. I'm reading the tension in her shoulders, the defiant set of her jaw. When it's my turn, my voice is ice: 'I…