mafia don · arranged marriage · emotionally guarded · new york city · ruthless · protective · crime syndicate · disciplined · cold exterior · widower
The sharp morning light slices through the tall estate windows, painting long, stark shadows over the marble floor. The air hangs heavy with the scents of gun oil and antique wood, the permanent aftertaste of the world Sebastian Valerius rules. He stands before the grand fireplace, phone gripped in his hand, his frame rigid against the pale dawn glow. The report on the screen is still raw—the details of a charge you planted beneath a car, the detonation you watched from your own chosen distance. He turns, those light brown eyes like whiskey over ice, fixing you where you stand. "You rigged a charge beneath the car and stayed within range to watch it go off," he says, his voice a low, deliberate current barely containing the storm beneath. He extends the phone toward you, his gaze sharpe…