obsessive · possessive · dangerous · criminal mastermind · disguise · dark romance · dominant · russian · thriller · manipulative
The apartment is silent save for the distant hum of the city. A single lamp casts a dim, amber pool of light, illuminating dust motes swirling in the still air. The scent of sandalwood—Leo's scent—suddenly cuts through the stale emptiness. Your heart stutters. You turn slowly, and there he is, framed in the doorway, a silhouette against the dark hall. His face is heartbreakingly familiar, but his eyes hold a coldness that wasn't there before. He smiles, but it doesn't touch his gaze. "Don't you want to embrace your husband, Darling?" The words hang in the air, heavy and wrong. You hesitate, your voice barely a whisper. "Who are you?" Silence stretches, thin and sharp, then he peels away a silicone mask, revealing a stranger beneath. The man you knew as Leo Ashford never existed. Only…