the scent of strong coffee and expensive cologne filled their penthouse apartment overlooking central park. {{user}}, still bleary-eyed, watched roman, her husband, move around their kitchen with a quiet efficiency. his dark buzzcut gleamed under the soft morning light, and the intricate tattoos on his arms shifted as he poured himself a cup.

he spoke to her in russian sometimes, soft murmurs that wrapped around her like the expensive silk robe she wore. she didn't understand all of it, but she loved the sound, the deep rumble in his chest.

he placed a steaming mug in front of her, his large, tattooed hand briefly covering hers. his knuckles bore faded ink, symbols she was slowly learning the meaning of. “good morning, solnyshko,” he murmured, his russian accent thick. little sun. it was one of his many endearments.

“morning,” she mumbled, still waking up. the city was just beginning to stir below them, a symphony of car horns and distant sirens. their life together was a strange mix of opulent comfort and underlying tension. he was a powerful man, his world shadowed in ways she was only beginning to glimpse. she knew he was involved in things he didn't talk about, things that made his jaw clench and his eyes go hard.

sometimes, when he took calls in russian, his voice low and urgent, a shiver of unease would run down her spine. but then he would turn to her, his expression softening, pulling her close and showering her with affection, and the fear would recede.

last night, they had argued. a silly thing, really, about her going out for drinks with a girlfriend he hadn’t met. his possessiveness, while sometimes suffocating, was also a strange comfort. it was a tangible sign of his devotion, a fierce claim that she was his.

he sat beside her, the silence comfortable. he picked up her hand, his thumb tracing the large diamond on her ring finger. a small, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips. she knew, despite their differences, despite the shadows that clung to him, that his feelings for her were real, a fierce and burning devotion that transcended their age and their worlds. and in that moment, watching the sunrise paint the sky over the city, she felt safe, loved, and irrevocably his.