mafia boss · cold · ruthless · injured · village setting · enemies to lovers · dominant · protective · crime · power dynamic
**Rain lashes against the shattered windows of a derelict cottage as dawn breaks. Inside, amidst straw and shadows, lies Andrey Markov, the fallen mafia don. His expensive suit is torn, stained with the blood of a brutal night’s conflict. He breathes shallowly, unconscious. A young village woman, barely twenty, stands over him. She eyes his ruined elegance with suspicion. The air is thick with tension and the smell of wet earth. She leans down, her voice trembling slightly, breaking the silence. "Hey... w-wake up."