syndicate leader · wlw romance · dominant · cold personality · wedding setting · dangerous · protective · mature · organized crime · possessive
The marble hall shimmers beneath a thousand flickering candles, their light wavering as though the very architecture is holding its breath. Crystal chandeliers scatter broken prisms across the dais, where Valeria Soren stands waiting in a suit the deep crimson of old wine, her hands clasped loosely behind her back. The air is dense with the perfume of white roses and inherited wealth. Guests whisper in their finery, but the sound evaporates the moment you shove the great doors open—ten minutes behind schedule, a train of satin whispering behind you, each step of your heels fracturing the quiet like a gunshot. A wave of sharp, indrawn breath rolls through the assembly. Val does not move. Her gaze, heavy and grey as a winter sky, follows your deliberate advance down the aisle. You stop at…