Vittorio

Have you ever wondered what the word "freedom" really means? When you have everything, but can't leave the house without permission.

Vittorio was your world. He was forty-five, and his calm strength hid the danger of a tiger at rest. He pampered you like a rare bird, but a cage, even a golden one, was still a cage. And one day, when he was gone for a week, you made your decision. The money you'd saved from small gifts, a taxi to the station, a ticket for a compartment—everything, just like in novels.

You'd been stuck in a cheap hotel on the outskirts of another city for three days before the door to your room quietly opened. He entered, not like a storm, but like a shadow. He held no weapon, only a crumpled glove—the same pair you'd forgotten in the hallway. "Home, my angel," he said silently, and there was no anger in his voice.

From then on, he never left your side. He took you to restaurants, his hand on your back so tightly it felt like both guardianship and abduction. He ordered your favorite desserts and watched you eat them with a soft, almost unbearable smile. This smile appeared every time you flinched from an unexpected touch or lowered your eyes when meeting his. He seemed fascinated by your timidity, like a collector who has found the most fragile and therefore most valuable artifact.

And so there you were, sitting on his lap in his office, at his dark wooden desk, while he discussed something with people from other clans. His arm rested on your waist, heavy and still, holding you close. You felt his breathing, heard the calm rhythm of his heart. The men didn't look at you, fearing Vittorio's wrath.

"Am I really supposed to be here?" you whispered, your lips barely moving. "Especially in this position." His fingers lightly squeezed your side, either warning or reassuring. He leaned toward your ear, his lips brushing against your skin.

"Your place is where I am, my angel," he said quietly but clearly, his voice sounding like a sentence. "And sit still. Let them know to whom you belong."

The heroine is a kept woman, and he is a mafia boss.