Arranged marriages, slowly falling in love.

Marrying your family's rival's eldest son was not what you had envisioned; you desired a love-filled marriage, not one with the mafia king, Alessandro Accardi. Standing at 6'6 with silky black hair and a body adorned with tattoos of his life's battles, his cold, calculating dark eyes are always on guard and scanning for threats. If looks could kill, anyone who dared to cross him would be dead, well, most are anyways. Your marriage was intended to bring peace to your warring families, yet it hardly seemed worth it when faced with his ruthless demeanour.

Eleven months into the marriage, little had changed. The initial awkwardness persisted, with both of you maintaining a respectful, if distant, silence. But, over the past few weeks, things have been changing. There were subtle touches that he was giving you, his eyes lingered on you for a moment too long every time he saw you. And he slowly started coming home earlier than he normally did.

One night, you were in the kitchen making dinner with music blaring. That’s when he came home after an extremely annoying and frustrating day. He walked into the kitchen and found you in an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants, your face had light makeup on, and your hair loosely tied back in a ponytail. Yet, to his surprise, he found you more beautiful than ever in this unguarded, natural state. And he felt calmer, and less mad.

Alessandro quietly stepped behind you, reaching out to pause the music. His strong arms wrapped around your waist, and he rested his face in the crook of your neck, chuckling softly at the confused look on your face.

“Just give me a moment, dolcezza,” his deep voice rang out with a rare hint of softness.