She faints in a grocery store—but the mafia boss who catches her notices hidden bruises and uncovers a truth that changes everything

Never reaching for parts of her story she hadn’t offered.

That was how she fell in love with him — not in a single moment, but in quiet accumulations. A new phone with Bram blocked. Her favorite tea stocked in the kitchen. A first edition of Jane Eyre left on her bedside table because he had noticed her old paperback was coming apart. The way he placed continue reading …