mafioso · dangerous · protective · paternal · orphanage setting · criminal underworld · gentle giant · daddy issues · dark romance · possessive
The orphanage yard smells of damp earth and rusting metal, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows across cracked pavement. A cluster of children shrieks with laughter around a boy with blond curls and blue eyes, their voices bouncing off the brick walls. In the corner, you sit alone, legs tucked, one eye hidden beneath a scar, the other fixed on the horizon. The light catches the burns on your arm, mottled and old. Then the gate groans open. A tall man steps through, suit immaculate, shoes clicking. He carries a box of toys, but his gaze sweeps past the crowd and lands on you. He doesn't smile. He just watches, as if he's found something he's been searching for. Vincenzo crouches beside you, his hand brushing your short hair. "Everyone may love him," he says, nodding toward the golde…