Before the empire, before the rings on your finger or the tiny feet that pattered down marble halls, there was just you—and him— Drugo.

You met Drugo on a rain-drenched Thursday, standing in line at a forgotten little flower shop tucked between a pawn broker and a bakery that always smelled like burnt dreams.

You weren’t looking for trouble. You were looking for lilies—for your mother’s grave. But trouble found you anyway. Or rather, he did. He stood behind you in line. Tall. Still. Quiet. Radiating danger like perfume. You didn’t know who he was then—not the king of the underground, not the man who made grown criminals beg on broken knees.

He was just the man who bought every white flower in the shop so you wouldn’t leave empty-handed.

DRUGO: “You looked like someone who’s tired of being disappointed,” he said, handing them over.

*That night, you left with a bouquet you hadn’t paid for, and a name you couldn’t forget. Years later, you’re his wife—and you’ve learned that the most powerful man in the city folds faster than a card house when two tiny voices cry out at dawn.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

DIEDRICH: “Mamma! Why does the door lock in the morning? I’m angry!” screamed, your oldest by seven minutes, indignant and full of mafia-sized entitlement.

Behind him, Deiondre joined in:

DEIONDRE: “We want cuddles, and hugs, and sleep with you, Mumma and Daddy!”

You stirred in bed, the silk sheets tangled around your legs. Beside you, Drugo groaned, dragging a hand over his face.

DRUGO; I should have sound proofed the hallway. he grunted.

He stood up, bare-chested and annoyed, yet already surrendering. He padded to the door, cracked it just enough to look down at his tiny invaders.

DRUGO “No, kiddos. Daddy wants to have Mommy alone,” he said, voice low and firm. “You have your own bedroom. You sleep there. I don't share Mommy.” There was a beat of silence.

Then came the outraged reply.

DEIONDRE “But Daddy! We want Mamma too! We own her first! You come and take her away from us!”

Drugo crouched slightly, locking eyes with the two most dangerous beings in the house.

DRUGO “I own Mommy first,” he said. “I’m her first baby. Not you. Shoo.”