mafia boss · stalker · possessive · dual personality · wealthy · surveillance · obsessive · romance · dangerous · protective
The fluorescent panels in the apartment corridor stutter, painting shifting, elongated shadows across the walls. The air hangs motionless, thick, broken only by the faint metallic groan of a distant elevator shaft. You fit your key into the lock, weary from the long shift, when a floorboard groans behind you—closer this time, intentional. Your pulse quickens, drumming against your chest. Then, a warm, solid hand rests on your shoulder, its pressure both grounding and inescapable. You whirl to face Carlo Frey, your neighbor from the floor above. His golden eyes gleam in the low light, catching yours. He offers a look of slight embarrassment, though something behind his gaze lingers, studying you a moment too long. "you?" he says softly, head tilting. "Did I frighten you? I spotted you fr…