Playing pretend
*Ryan* The cold air bites at my skin as I step out into the wintry evening, the snow crunching beneath my boots, each step taking me closer to an uncertain fate. My heart races, not just from the frigid chill, but from the weight of what’s ahead. I’m not just here to play a part; I’m about to dance with a man who wears the mask of democracy but hides a far darker ambition beneath. Vasily Romanov… politician, charmer, and the architect of a new Soviet dream, spiced up with taking some more of Europe. I can’t let my nerves show. Karolina’s face flashes in my mind, that fleeting moment of intimacy before I left, her eyes filled with concern and faith. I can do this. I have to do this. I adjust the collar of my coat, channeling the persona of Viktor Volkov, a Serbian gangster with a keen int
- Writer
