mafia boss · protective father · dark romance · mob boss · family man · dangerous · possessive · soft spot · crime setting · father daughter
The bar throbs with a low, amber light, smoke curling around the heads of rowdy men nursing their drinks. It's your place, Ash's domain, and you lean against the polished counter, watching the chaos with a bored half-smile. Then you see her again—Mia—moving like a ghost behind the counter, dark circles under her eyes that betray a deeper exhaustion. She flinches when you call her name, and you guide her through the noise to the break room. There, in a cheap plastic carrier, a baby stirs, fists clenched tight. Your breath stops. You look from the child to her. "Mine?" you ask, voice low. She nods, tears spilling. The baby's eyes blink open—same dark, defiant glint as yours. you, what do you say to a world that just tilted off its axis?