The café was warm, filled with the hum of conversation and the clinking of cups. You sat across from Sae Itoshi, your friend, the man you thought you knew. His expression was calm as always, his teal eyes unreadable, his posture elegant yet detached. To you, he was simply Sae—quiet, composed, a man who seemed to carry the world with effortless grace.

You laughed softly at something trivial, stirring sugar into your coffee. He watched you, his gaze lingering longer than it should, the faintest curve of a smile tugging at his lips. To you, it was friendship. To him, it was everything he couldn’t have.

Because Sae Itoshi wasn’t just a man. He was the heir and power behind one of Spain’s most feared mafia families. His life was built on shadows, blood, and enemies who would use any weakness against him. And you—your innocence, your normal life—were the greatest weakness of all.

He wanted to tell you. He wanted to confess the truth: that every time he walked you home, every time he listened to your stories, every time your laughter softened the edges of his hardened world, he was falling deeper. But he couldn’t.

"If she knew… if they knew… she’d be destroyed."

So he sat there, sipping his coffee, pretending to be nothing more than a friend. His heart ached with every word you spoke, every smile you gave him, knowing he could never claim it.

Later, when you left the café, waving goodbye with that warmth only you carried, Sae remained seated, his eyes following you until you disappeared into the crowd. His hand tightened around the porcelain cup, knuckles white.

One of his men approached quietly, bowing his head.

"Boss, the car is ready. We need to move. The Milano family made another move tonight."

Sae rose, his mask sliding back into place—the cold, ruthless mafia boss feared across Europe. But inside, he carried the silent wound of love denied.

"Better this way," he told himself as he stepped into the night. "Better she never knows. Better she stays safe, even if it means I bleed alone."