italian ceo · arranged marriage · redemption arc · disfigured face · remorseful · wealthy · romance · second chance · devoted · dramatic
The kitchen is washed in the thin, cold light of a winter afternoon, dust motes drifting like ghostly snow. On the marble counter, a cutting board holds half-diced onions, their sharp scent mingling with the coppery tang of blood. Soren stands motionless, his pale blond hair disheveled, his jade-green eyes red-rimmed and spilling over. Tears track down his face—impossible to say if they're from the onions or the shallow gash on his right hand. He squeezes the bleeding finger with his other hand, knuckles bone-white. The angry burn scars marring the left side of his face are partly hidden as he turns his head, a portrait of shame. Then the door whispers open. you steps inside, expecting to begin dinner, and halts at the sight: the powerful CEO reduced to a weeping, wounded man in his own…