Chapter 1
1493 Words
•|• Author's POV •|•
The morning sunlight poured through the thin curtains of the small apartment, bathing the kitchen in gold. Thessira stood at the stove with tired eyes and messy brown curls pinned up carelessly, flipping pancakes while two little boys argued loudly behind her.
“Mama, he took my dinosaur!”
“I did not! You said I could use it yesterday!”
“You broke the tail!”
Thessira sighed softly, though a smile tugged at her lips. Five years ago, she would never have imagined this life for herself. Never imagined sticky syrup-covered fingers, tiny shoes abandoned in the hallway, or two identical boys with icy grey eyes that reminded her too much of their father.
Aleksandr.
Even thinking his name made her chest tighten.
The boys had inherited almost everything from him—the sharp eyes, pale skin, stubbornness, even the dangerous intensity hidden beneath innocent expressions. Only their curls came from her.
“Nikolai, Mikhail. Sit down before you both make me late,” she warned gently.
The twins immediately scrambled back to their chairs.
Thessira placed pancakes on their plates before grabbing her coffee. She barely had time to drink it before one of them spoke again.
“Mama?”
“Yes?”
“Will you come to school early today?”
She glanced at Mikhail, who stared at her with hopeful eyes.
“If Mr. Bennett doesn’t drown me in paperwork, yes.”
“What if he does?” Nikolai asked seriously.
“Then I escape through the window.”
The twins burst into laughter.
God, she loved them so much it physically hurt.
Her life wasn’t perfect. Far from it. She worked exhausting hours as the assistant to one of the busiest CEOs in New York, struggled to pay bills sometimes, and lived in constant fear that one day Aleksandr Volkov would find her.
But every morning when she looked at her sons, she knew running had been worth it.
Five years ago, she’d been young and reckless in Spain, dancing in a crowded bar beside the ocean. She remembered the smoke, the music, and the massive Russian man sitting alone in the VIP section watching her like a predator watching prey.
Aleksandr.
Dangerous. Beautiful. Cold.
And somehow gentle with her.
One night with him, crumpled hotel sheets and whispered Russian words against her skin. He touched her like she was precious, like he’d known her forever.
Then she discovered who he truly was.
A monster wrapped in Armani suits.
Mafia.
She fled before he could return from a business meeting, terrified of the power surrounding him. Weeks later she learned she was pregnant.
And she disappeared.
“Mama!” Mikhail whined. “You’re thinking again.”
She blinked back to reality. “Sorry, cariño.”
Twenty minutes later, Thessira hurried down the busy New York streets holding both boys’ hands. The city buzzed with life around them—cafés opening, scooters flying past, people shouting greetings from balconies overhead.
The twins walked beside her in matching uniforms, backpacks nearly larger than themselves.
“You two look handsome today,” she said.
“We know,” Nikolai replied confidently.
Mikhail gasped dramatically. “Mama said handsome means no fighting.”
“That’s not what handsome means.”
“Yes it does.”
Thessira laughed under her breath.
When they reached the school gates, the twins immediately hugged her legs.
“Bye, Mama.”
“Love you.”
“I love you more.”
“You said that yesterday!”
She crouched down, kissing both their foreheads. “Be good for your teacher.”
“No promises,” Nikolai whispered.
“Definitely Aleksandr’s child,” she muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
She watched them run inside before turning toward the metro station with a deep breath. Her peaceful little morning was over.
Now came work.
•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•
The towering glass building of Bennett Enterprises looked painfully expensive against the bright city sky. Thessira adjusted her blazer and hurried inside, already checking her phone.
17 unread emails.
Four missed calls.
One message from her boss.
Where are you?
She grimaced.
“I’m dead.”
The elevator opened directly into the executive floor, and chaos greeted her immediately.
“Thessira, Mr. Bennett needs the Tokyo files.”
“The investors moved the meeting.”
“Legal is asking for signatures.”
She barely made it to her desk before another voice cut through the noise.
“Miss Valerie.”
She turned sharply.
Nathan Bennett stood outside his office, tall and intimidating in a charcoal suit. He was only thirty-eight but already terrifying enough to make executives cry.
And unfortunately for her, he liked perfection.
“You’re late,” he said coolly.
“Three minutes.”
“That’s still late.”
She inhaled slowly. “I’ll make coffee.”
“You already should have.”
Thessira resisted the urge to roll her eyes and quickly followed him into his office.
Nathan Bennett was the kind of man magazines called brilliant. Ruthless in business. Cold under pressure. Impossible to impress.
But after three years working under him, Thessira had discovered something else.
He trusted her.
Not emotionally, of course. Nathan barely seemed human sometimes. But he relied on her in ways he didn’t rely on anyone else.
“You have a meeting with Zurich at ten,” she informed him while setting papers on his desk. “Lunch with the board at one. Interview at four.”
“Cancel lunch.”
“You cancelled three already.”
“Then cancel four.”
“You need investors alive, sir.”
Nathan looked up at her finally, unimpressed. “Was that sarcasm?”
“No,” she lied smoothly.
A corner of his mouth twitched faintly before disappearing.
That was practically a standing ovation from him.
The morning blurred into endless work. Calls. Emails. Scheduling disasters. Coffee runs. Thessira moved around the office like a machine while exhaustion slowly settled into her bones.
Still, she preferred this.
Busy meant less thinking.
Less remembering.
Around noon, her phone buzzed with a picture from the twins’ teacher. Mikhail and Nikolai stood covered in paint with guilty expressions.
She smiled immediately.
Nathan noticed from across the office.
“What happened?”
“My sons apparently turned art class into a crime scene.”
“You have children?”
She blinked in surprise. “You didn’t know?”
“ I didn't think they were yours and you don’t discuss your personal life.”
Neither do you, she almost said.
“Twins,” she answered instead. “Five years old.”
Nathan studied her quietly for a moment.
“You don’t look old enough for five-year-olds.”
“Stress preserves beauty.”
“Hm.”
That strange almost-smile appeared again.
Then his office phone rang, shattering the moment.
The rest of the day became worse.
By evening Thessira’s heels hurt, her head pounded, and she wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed beside her boys.
Instead, she was reorganizing files while Nathan dictated emails.
“Mr. Volkov arrives Friday,” he said suddenly.
Her fingers froze over the keyboard.
Volkov.
The name slammed into her chest like a bullet.
No.
No, no, no.
Surely not—
“Which Volkov?” she asked carefully.
Nathan glanced at her. “Aleksandr Volkov. Russian investor.”
Her blood turned ice cold.
The room tilted.
Five years. Five entire years.
And now fate had dragged his name back into her life.
“You alright?” Nathan asked sharply.
Thessira forced herself to breathe. “Yes.”
But she wasn’t.
Because she remembered Aleksandr perfectly.
The deep voice. The brutal hands softened only for her. The possessive stare that made her feel owned.
And if he saw the twins—
God.
Her sons had his eyes.
She spent the rest of the evening barely functioning.
By the time she picked up the boys from after-school care, she felt numb.
“Mama!” Mikhail yelled, running into her arms.
Nikolai followed right behind him. “We made volcanoes!”
“And Luca ate glue,” Matteo added.
“Wonderful.”
The twins chatted happily during the walk home while Thessira stayed trapped inside her own spiraling thoughts.
Aleksandr was coming here.
To her workplace.
What if he recognized her? What if he discovered the truth?
That night after dinner, she tucked the twins into bed carefully.
“Mama?” Mikhail whispered sleepily.
“Yes, baby?”
“Why do you look sad?”
Her throat tightened.
Children noticed everything.
“I’m just tired.”
“You work too much,” Nikolai mumbled half asleep.
Thessira stroked his curls gently. “I know.”
When both boys finally drifted off, she sat alone in the dark living room staring out at the city lights.
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