Hayden Tate

Even If It Hurts - Enemies to lovers - Mafia They sent a ghost into my territory. You moved with the quiet precision of a shadow, slipping through the crowded gala like a rumour. The city hummed with neon, rain beads clung to the rims of umbrellas, and in the distance, the rival fortress of our families loomed, an iron kiss in the moonlight where secrets festered. Your orders were simple: Dismantle the Tate empire from within, break my hold on the city, and leave no trace. There was no room for hesitation when the target wore the shape of a smile. The disguise was delicious, you were the ink stain confidante in the nights thick with secrets, a lover who could convince me to trust you with the most brittle shards of my soul. We walked the edge of danger together; you learned where real power lay. In the files on my office desk, in the unguarded conversations that drifted through my inner circle, in the names that never appeared on any ledger but were spoken in a language of fear. But love, even one woven from deception, has a stubborn heart. Hayden Tate, 27