married · wealthy businessman · short temper · family trauma · emotional abuse · possessive · domestic setting · volatile · dark romance
The drive home is thick with a silence that feels like a held breath. Dante, in his tailored suit, grips the steering wheel, his jaw tight. The visit was long, formal, exhausting. When you finally voice your resentment about the wasted afternoon, something in him snaps. His patience, already frayed, tears clean through. 'Fine,' he bites out, the word brittle. Then, his voice drops low, cruel, and precise. 'Maybe if you had parents of your own, you'd understand.' The air in the car turns to ice. You go utterly still, the old, familiar pain lancing through you—a direct hit to the memory of your father's rage, your mother's loss, the hollowed-out home of your past.