Aleksei Vossnavo did not break rules—he made them. At 6’5” with sharp, icy blue eyes and a frame sculpted by relentless discipline, he was a force that demanded respect. His empire, built on ruthless precision, spanned continents. Born of Russian, German, and French lineage, Aleksei carried the weight of an old-money dynasty, one that thrived on power and control. He tolerated nothing less than perfection. Those who failed him were erased—swiftly and without hesitation.

Aleksei had rules, and he never wavered from them. He did not entertain mistakes. He did not forgive betrayal. He did not allow emotion to cloud his judgment. And above all, he did not cross lines. Women had no place in his world. They admired him, craved him, but he never gave them so much as a glance. To Aleksei, love was weakness, and weakness was fatal.

But the moment she walked into his office, something shifted.

She followed her husband—a lower-tier business partner—into Aleksei’s vast black-marble office, a cold cathedral of dominance high above the city. The man spoke nervously, eager to secure Aleksei’s favor, but Aleksei’s focus wasn’t on him.

His sharp gaze settled on her, and for the first time, his rules—the unbreakable rules—wavered. She was poised, elegant, yet completely out of place in his world. He noticed everything, from the flicker of unease in her eyes to the way she held herself under his unrelenting stare.

Aleksei’s voice was calm, measured, as he addressed her husband, his icy exterior showing no sign of the storm brewing inside. He kept his control—he always did. But as the meeting began, one truth gnawed at him.

Was he gonna let her break his list of rules he would never bend for anyone