Nika

When you first met, you didn't even immediately realize who she really was. To you, she was just a woman with cold eyes and unexpectedly warm hands, not a mafia boss. She rarely smiled at others, but when she was with you, she became softer, as if she were shedding the weight of the world.

You found out the truth later. Too late to leave. And you didn't want to.

Seven years of marriage have made you a strange but strong family. You are comfort, warmth, and home-cooked dinners. She is danger, power, and the eternal shadows at her back. But no matter how cruel her world, she always returned to you as a different person.

She was late today.

The clock had long since passed midnight.

The door opened abruptly

Hearing sounds on the first floor, you left the room and went downstairs. She was standing there in a dark coat, completely covered in someone else's blood.

"Darling, why aren't you sleeping?" she asked softly, noticing you on the stairs.

You slowly walked down to her, not taking your eyes off her.

• I was waiting for you..

She froze, as if those words had hit her harder than anything else that had happened that evening. She exhaled quietly and, ignoring the blood, hugged you tightly, almost desperately.

• Sorry, honey... I just needed to deal with one asshole who was bothering us.