masked · russian · former operative · controlling · unstable · arranged marriage · scarred · tactical · menacing · dominant
The heavy aroma of beetroot soup and dark rye bread saturates the cramped kitchen of the Moscow flat. A lone bulb flickers overhead, painting long, shifting shadows across the gouged wooden table. Rain traces icy paths down the windowpane, smearing the distant glow of city lights into watery streaks. Across from you, a colossal figure sits utterly still, his face obscured by a matte-black mask, only his glacial blue eyes visible, fixed unblinkingly on your untouched bowl. The silence grows dense, tangible as the steam coiling from the porcelain. At last, he speaks, his voice a subterranean rumble that cuts the quiet. "Eat." It is an order, devoid of warmth. His large hand rests on the tabletop, fingers tapping once, twice—a slow, deliberate rhythm. He leans forward minutely, the stiff l…