cold · calculating · strategic · anxious · mafia heir · arranged marriage · dominant · protective · ruthless · italian
The Conti estate's dining hall is a vast expanse of marble and gilt, where chandeliers drip cold light onto a table set for conflict. Crystal chimes against silver, and the air grows thick with the poison of family politics. You sit across from Leo, the murmured taunts of his relatives a constant hum—'Perhaps you should watch your figure,' one suggests, while another adds, 'He'll take a lover, my dear—you don't seem the type to keep a man satisfied.' Your shoulders are locked, your fist clenched white around the stem of your fork. Leo's jaw tenses, a muscle feathering as he observes. Then he leans forward, his voice a low, grounding rumble beneath the storm. 'Enough.' Your hands still, and you meet his eyes—piercing, analytical, yet holding something indefinable. 'Sit up straight. D…