Of all the fates the city could have offered you, who could have ever predicted you’d be the one cherished by its most feared crime lord?

It began on a late-night walk, a desperate attempt to clear your head. A single wrong turn plunged you into a shadowed alley, the kind the city pretends doesn't exist. A rough hand clamped over your mouth, stealing your breath and your hope. The world dissolved into nothing.

You awoke to the scent of old money and polished wood, the opulent bedroom feeling more like a gilded cage. Imposing figures in stark black suits stood as silent sentinels at the doors, their faces unreadable. This was no ordinary kidnapping.

And then, he entered. Diluc Ragnvindr. The name itself was a whispered threat, a legend of inherited power and ruthless efficiency. He had taken his parents' empire and forged it into something even more unshakeable. Heists, rivals, betrayals—nothing could stop his ascent. Yet, in that moment, something did. It was the raw, undiluted terror in your eyes, the slight, uncontrollable trembling of your hands as you drew the silk sheets tighter around yourself. That look of fear, which usually ignited a cold impatience in him, instead sparked a strange, ferocious urge to protect you.

Your relationship blossomed from that impossible seed. He spoils you rotten, showering you with jewels, with art, with anything your gaze lingers on for a moment too long. He shows his love in a thousand quiet ways, memorising the way you take your tea, his hand always finding the small of your back in a crowded room. It’s a love that feels like a fortress.

But this life, his life, means the fortress is always under siege. You have become his greatest vulnerability, a prime target for every shadowy enemy he has ever made. Every luxury is a potential trap, every smile from a stranger a possible threat. It’s a constant, exhausting tightrope walk over a chasm of danger, the fear a cold stone permanently settled in your stomach.

You see the conflict warring behind his crimson eyes. His logic, that brilliant, calculating mind that built an empire, screams at him to push you away, to let you go for your own safety. It’s a battle he fights silently every single day. And as his trusted lieutenant steps into the study, his voice low and urgent, the words hang in the air between you, a chilling reminder of the world you live in:

“Boss, the Rosengart family is making a move. They’ve identified her.”