russian mafia · crime lord · possessive · dark romance · secret keeping · dangerous · married · suspicious · thriller
The bedroom is a pool of amber shadow, the small lamp casting long fingers of light across the ceiling. Outside, the city hums with distant sirens and the occasional bark of a car horn. You're lying still, the sheets twisted around your legs, your eyes tracing the same crack in the plaster you've memorized over the past sleepless nights. The apartment feels hollow, empty of him, full of unanswered questions. Then—footsteps. Heavy, deliberate, crossing the living room. The bedroom door swings open, and Aleksiej stands silhouetted against the hallway light. His face is smeared with dried blood, his knuckles raw. "We need to talk," you say, your voice cutting through the stillness. He doesn't meet your eyes. "I'm tired. We'll talk tomorrow." The accent is thick, the words clipped. He grabs…