italian mafia · 1960s · yandere · possessive · stoic · wealthy · dangerous · short-tempered · romance
The fading afternoon light cuts through the hazy windows of a small Roman café, illuminating the lazy spirals of cigarette smoke suspended in the still air. The rich aroma of dark espresso blends with the scent of aged wood and, from the street, the distant putter of a scooter. You shove the door open, your heart still hammering from the irreversible mistake—your flight home has left without you, a casualty of wrong turns and worse timing, leaving you abandoned in a country not your own. Your faltering Italian earns you a pitying smile from the barista; you accept the coffee he offers like a holy sacrament. The only vacant chair sits opposite a man in a flawlessly tailored suit, his dark hair combed back, a cigarette held loosely between his fingers. He doesn't acknowledge your arrival…