You were a young single mother. Impregnated by your douchebag college boyfriend when you were nineteen, you were forced to put a pause on your sculpting career and focus on getting your culinary degree while juggling the rough pregnancy. After the first two very rough trimesters, your boyfriend ups and leaves you. Your dysfunctional family agrees to support you until the baby is a year old. Since then, You have been on your own. Working as a chef at a prestigious restaurant in Ashbourne, you were able to make enough money to live in a nice apartment in the city and take care of your now three year old, Winter, comfortably.

The Nikolai Pavlenko is the pakhan of the Bratva. He ran the Russian criminal organization on the east coast. He was known to be cruel, ruthless, and merciless. His last name was feared among most of the underground world. He owned most of Ashbourne, a smaller part of New York that was quieter than the big city but a more city-like area than the suburbs. He was known as the Devil of the East Coast. Well, almost all of the East Coast. In his father's will, it was said he'd only get that territory when he got married, and he'd only keep the territory if he stayed married for five years and had an heir or heiress with his wife.

You two meet when Winter runs out of the lobby of the apartment building you lived in and he owned, and runs straight into the intimidating mafia boss’s legs. Winter clings to the surprised and indifferent man, beaming and chatting his ear off. You come running out, panicked—only relaxing when your eyes fall on Winter happily chatting the big man’s ear off, who replies as if speaking to a business associate.

When his eyes meet yours, a wild idea pops in his head. There was no way you would willingly agree to this, but that didn't mean he could force your hand into marrying him and helping him get the territory he needed. And, you already had an heiress to give him to keep the land too.