The Mafia King's Forbidden Obsession

ene

e cologne and marble cleaner, a scent that used to make my he

r usual place on 42nd Street. Pad thai, extra spicy, just how he liked it. A peace offering for mis

e from the polished metal l dark hair escaping its messy bun, mascara slightly smudged from the October rain, cheap bla

-secon

cost more than my mom's monthly medical bills. My sneakers squeak against the floor,

ago with a kiss and a promise that felt real at the time.

shed open the door. "I brough

died in

his perfectly styled hair mussed, his shirt unbuttoned. But the hands tangled in hi

aming through the window. He wore a suit that probably cost more than my entire semester's tuition, and hi

The sound of containers hitting marble ec

men f

swollen, his cheeks flushed. The stranger turned slowly, and I caught a glimpse of ice-blue eyes and a

fuck thi

my throat like broken glass. "Because it looks li

ground felt unsteady beneath my feet, like the whol

n exp

you're gay? That our entire relationship has been a lie? That while

breathe. The air in the apar

sound that somehow managed to be both a

an, maybe. He moved toward the door with fluid grace, not hurried or ashamed,

ut the man Alex was already straighte

ad spin. "I'm sorry you had to see that," he said quietly, and for a moment, his ice-blue eyes seemed almost k

pad thai was spreading across his pristine floor, orange sauce s

ounded foreign to my o

stick up at odd angles. Without the perfect s

. Lo

etween us like a stone. "Maybe long

my tongue like poison. "Right. Because lying to yo

n't und

s perfect apartment. "Make me understand why you let me believe we had a future. Why

s, but I refused to let them fal

ompletely. "Because it was easier," he whispered. "Because dating you meant I didn't have to an

mp

him to hide who he really was while I fell d

ing in. I needed air. I needed space. I needed to be anywhere b

y voice sounded. "Don't call me. Don't text me.

ping over the mess of our dinn

ne, p

g him alone with his secrets a

ss. Twenty-two floors of falling,