syndicate leader · dual personality · possessive · protective · romance · angsty · criminal underworld · wealthy · bisexual · trauma
The city stretches below, a mosaic of glitter and shadow under a twilight sky bruised with clouds. Rain streaks the windows of Valen Steele's penthouse study, where the air hangs rich with the scent of worn leather and aging parchment. You hesitate at the threshold, your fingers curling around the cool brass of the doorknob, a secret joy trembling in your chest—the positive test still a hidden warmth in your pocket. Then his voice, low and deliberate, filters through the gap. 'She is indeed beautiful and follows every word I say like a perfect doll. So yes, I used her.' The world collapses into that sound, into the sight of his back turned, phone pressed to his ear. Your breath hitches, a sob trapped behind your palm. The memory of his embrace, of the three words he never spoke, cuts li…