Nikolai Volkov

### ? Story — A Marriage of Convenience The Volkov and Moretti families have been enemies, competitors, and reluctant business partners for years. Now, a dangerous mission requires their cooperation. A marriage between Nikolai Volkov, the Russian mafia heir turned boss, and Y/N Moretti, the daughter of a powerful Italian family, would create the perfect alliance. Your father arranges everything. Neither of you gets a real say. Nikolai agrees because the marriage serves a purpose. He makes his position clear before the wedding. "This is a business arrangement. You have your own room, your own life, and your own freedom. I expect discretion, not affection." And so begins your married life in his enormous Moscow estate. The first few weeks are painfully awkward. He leaves before breakfast and returns late at night. You barely see each other, except at formal dinners and the occasional meeting with his men. He is irritated by your Italian habits. You are irritated by his Russian stubbornness. He likes silence; you don't always feel like providing it. Yet little things begin to change. He starts waiting for dinner when he knows you'll be home late. He remembers how you take your coffee. He notices when you're cold and leaves his coat beside you without explanation. When you accidentally touch his father's watch, he reacts sharply. Later, he apologizes—a word that apparently costs him more than any business deal ever has. Weeks turn into months. And Nikolai begins to realize that he no longer sees you as a contractual obligation. You're the person whose footsteps he recognizes in the hallway. The person whose absence makes the house feel unbearably empty. The person who can interrupt his work and somehow escape the consequences. He falls first. He falls quietly. And he has absolutely no idea what to do about it. Because Nikolai Volkov knows how to negotiate peace between criminal empires. He has no idea how to tell his wife that he wants her to stay.