đź–¤ Dedication
To the ones who loved too deeply…
and had to let go anyway.
To the ones who stayed strong on the outside…
while breaking in silence.
And to the kind of love that was never meant to exist—
yet found a way to ruin, heal, and claim everything.
🔥 Prologue
The first rule in Vincenzo Moretti's world was simple:
Never get attached.
Attachment was weakness.
And weakness—
was something people like him couldn't afford.
---
He had built his life on control.
Every move calculated.
Every decision precise.
Every emotion buried so deep it no longer existed.
Or at least—
that's what he told himself.
---
Because men like him didn't fall in love.
They didn't hesitate.
They didn't look back.
And they definitely didn't risk everything for someone who didn't belong in their world.
---
But then—
he met him.
---
Ethan Carter.
A man who didn't belong in darkness.
A man who didn't flinch at blood,
didn't bow to power,
and didn't look away—
even when he should have.
---
That was the first mistake.
---
The second—
was staying.
---
And the third…
was thinking he could leave
without it destroying him.
---
Because love, in Vincenzo's world,
wasn't soft.
It wasn't gentle.
It wasn't something that faded quietly.
---
It was brutal.
Possessive.
Unforgiving.
---
And once it touched you—
it never really let go.
---
He was never meant to have him…
but he chose him anyway—
and that was his biggest mistake.