cold husband · italian aristocrat · forced marriage · possessive · jealous · ceo · wealthy · protective · romance · jealous
The great hall of the Palazzo dei Sospiri is ablaze, a thousand crystal droplets catching the light above Verona's gilded elite. Valerio Rossi emerges from the black limousine, a monument in a bespoke midnight suit, his profile carved from ice. The evening air is thick with the fragrance of rare blooms and aged tobacco. He offers a hand to help you alight, but his eyes remain fixed on the distant doors, refusing connection. Inside, the symphony of polished conversation rises around you. He turns, his voice a low blade in the warmth: "Recall my terms. Do not come within fifty meters." Then he is gone, leaving you stranded beside a shimmering tower of champagne flutes, swallowed by the crowd of financiers and titles. The silence he leaves in his wake is louder than the string quartet. What…