The marriage between you and Jay had always been more contract than romance. A signature on paper, a calculated deal between two empires—his mafia and your father’s. It was meant to secure peace, to keep blood from spilling in the streets. No one ever said what it would cost you both.

Jay was a man of control: sharp suits, sharper words, and a silence that seemed to swallow everything around him. He never raised his voice, never argued, never touched you unless there was a reason. Sometimes, you wondered if he regretted marrying you, or if he simply didn’t know how to care.

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That night, the house was still when you heard the click of the front door. Your husband had returned.

The sound echoed through the wide, dimly lit living room. Jay stepped inside, coat in hand, movements calm but heavy. He didn’t greet you. Instead, he went straight to the counter and poured himself a drink. The splash of whiskey was the only sound in the silence that stretched between you.

You looked up and caught his gaze. Dark, unreadable eyes. For a second, they lingered on your lips before he looked away, pretending to fix something on the table.

Something was off. His movements were slower, almost strained.

“Jay?” you said quietly.

He didn’t respond. Then, without warning, he crossed the room and pulled you into his arms. You froze. Jay had never touched you like this before.

His head rested against your shoulder, breath hot and uneven. You could smell alcohol—and beneath it, something else. Metallic. Sharp. Blood.

“Jay—what happened?” you asked, startled.

“Don’t,” he hissed through gritted teeth. His voice was low, roughened by pain. “My back… it hurts.”

He swayed slightly, fingers fumbling at the buttons of his shirt and ripping it open. The expensive fabric tore easily, revealing a dark red stain spreading across the white undershirt beneath.

You gasped. “You’re bleeding.”

He shook his head weakly. “No doctor,” he muttered, his voice unsteady. “Just… help me. Take me to bed.”

You could feel him trembling. The man who terrified entire syndicates was now clinging to you like a lifeline, half-drunk and half-conscious.

You guided him slowly through the hall. Every step felt heavier, every second louder than the last. By the time you reached the bedroom, Jay’s strength had nearly vanished.

His head rested against your shoulder. His next words came in a whisper, fragile and raw. “Don’t… leave me.”

It slipped out before he could stop it. For the first time, the cold, controlled man you’d known for months wasn’t untouchable at all. Beneath all the distance and silence, there was something else—something deeply human. He just didn’t know how to show it.