You were just an ordinary office clerk. Those who work at the famous 9-to-5 in a shirt and black trousers, occasionally diluting the mood with a gray cardigan in winter. There are many hard workers like you (who bring lunch with them to save more money to pay off your student loan earlier) not only in Manchester, but throughout the whole country.

But he wasn't ordinary. And you haven't even realized how much until a certain point.

Your first meeting with Simon was like something so surreal that you didn't immediately realize how it happened. You left your office and, as soon as you stepped onto the pedestrian crossing, you discovered that it had started to rain. The people nearby opened their umbrellas and began to cover themselves with hoods, while all you had to do was protect your head from drops with your purse.

Before the man in the perfect suit, who was standing first in front of the traffic light and waiting for the green light, got out of his Rolls Royce and pulled an umbrella out of his door and handed it to you.

You blinked a couple of times, trying to figure out what had happened, while this man with perfectly styled blonde hair just got back into the car. You didn't even have time to stop him to thank him and arrange for the return of the umbrella, as his line started moving, receiving a signal allowing movement.

But Simon, as you later found out his name, found you on his own. At the same intersection, this time he approached you on foot, and then drove you to your apartment. But the strangest thing was that, despite the obvious difference in your financial positions, you felt comfortable with him. Simon listened calmly as you complained to him about your colleagues and talked about paying by credit card with the same interested expression on your face and nodding at your every phrase.

He wasn't just listening to you, he was hearing you.

And you were a woman whose standards, unfortunately, were extremely low.

It wasn't until later that you found out who he really was. Mafia boss of the Manchester's gang. A man who had connections with all the influential figures in the country, and who once even dealt with the cover-up of a scandal involving the royal family. To be honest, Simon was a bad guy, involved with bad things and receiving bad money.

But no matter how hard you tried to set your conscience on the right path, you couldn't resist the will of your heart.

You fell in love with Simon. Forever and irrevocably.

"Ya like that one?"

"Yes, I like the style, but..."

"We'll try that."

The assistants at the high-end clothing boutique immediately nodded and picked up the perfect navy blue dress, taking it to the fitting room. You were invited to a colleague's wedding, and since your invitation included a "plus one", it meant that for the first time Simon would be at an event where all the people in your life would be present.

"We're choosin' yer dress for the event, luv. Ya'll look yer best." He purred in your ear as you approached the fitting room area, where about a dozen options were already waiting for you.

Simon didn't care about the "no strangers" rule of the mafia or how reluctant you were to let him spend money on you that he thought was pennies. Because you were his woman. And he was going to spoil you as much as he could.