Chapter 1

"Never put business before family."

-Walt Disney-

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“This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!” Ana tried her best to not scream at her father who was casually seated right across her. The man was starting to develop some gray hair due to his old age, he was still looking prime in his mid-fifties, but it did not change the fact that he was starting to get older. Grigory Orlovsky had a brief conversation with his only daughter, he knew what he had told her that day would come as a shock to the young lady who was barely twenty-one years old.

Ana had only recently graduated from one of the best private university in Moscow under an alias and it was barely days since she celebrated her graduation from university under International relationship major, the young lady had set a plan for herself to become one of Russia’s foreign diplomat in the future and that dream was completely shattered when she heard that her father was going to arrange a marriage for her with a man she had never even met before.

“I don’t understand, papa. Why would you agree to it? I have never even met this man! This is the most absurd thing I have ever heard from your wise lips, papa.” She groaned, both physically and mentally. Grigory simply sat still, watching as his daughter placed her palms on her forehead, signaling she was having a bit of a headache.

Grigory knew his daughter would ask such question, it was definitely a mad decision on his part, even he was aware of it, yet Grigory was no fool, even after he became older, he still had a sharp mind. He was the top player in his field, yes, although his mafia organization was not as large in scale in comparison to other mafia organization, it didn’t mean that he himself or his organization was powerless. They were not as out there and not many were aware of their existence, yet he still had significant amount of power and resources in his area.

Like many other organizations leader, he was always thinking on how to build new powerful allies, how to gain high value network and how to gain more resources, one of those ways was through marriage alliances.

Lately they had been having some trouble handling the growing members of the organizations. Grigory had two sons, both were brilliant and knew how to handle the family business well. They had been raised to succeed within the family, and Ivan as the eldest was even more prepared as he would take over the family’s business as soon as Grigory passed away or retired.

Mikhail was a lawyer by profession, which meant he helped the whole legalization of the family business and he handled other law related problems, which meant that most of what they were doing had been legalized, it brought quite an abundance of extra income to the family and at that point they no longer had to worry about finances or successor to the family’s legacy.

What they did have to worry about was the power and stronghold they held within society. They weren’t exactly getting stronger on their own in that direction, with the shift that had been occurring in society and the government, things were getting a little bit tricky for the Orlovsky.

So how could they secure their positions and ensure the safety of the family’s legacy? They were quite a traditional family, you see. The most effective and easiest way to do that is by building alliances, however it couldn’t merely be any kind of alliances, they needed one strong and secure enough, they needed a party they could trust better than a mere business partner who would discard them when they no longer saw a profit being made in the transactions.

The only way to secure it was through marriage. Yes, a good old traditional marriage. Both Ivan and Mikhail were already married, Ivan married a family’s friend daughter, which was good for them and the family because at least they knew they already had security on one side. Mikhail married an ordinary woman whom he met through his work, a sweet and smart Russian woman who worked as a translator for the government, despite that, she had no idea about the family business so that woman is considered hopeless to Grigory,

Then, there was his sweet little girl, Anastasia, she had completed her education and was ready to jump to the real world, say, to make it on her own, but he had another plan for her. One that would not only secure the family’s legacy but to also increase their power and influence while securing his daughter future at the same time, a marriage to a young, wealthy and powerful man named Anton Chernikov, he’s a private businessman who had some sorts of connections to the world of Russian mafia, but most importantly, he also had quite a good connection with the oligarch.

He might not be the most influential individual in Russia, but he certainly had a major but discreet role in influencing some of the country’s decisions through his persuasive talks toward the major players within and outside the government.

Said to be a highly charismatic person, Grigory found the man to be a suitable suitor for his only daughter. Moreover, he had a clean history with women, so far Grigory couldn’t find any link between him and any lovers, had he known about it he would never let his daughter be with a man who couldn’t even remain faithful, for no matter how terrible Grigory was as a person, he still had a deep and fond love for his late wife who had passed away from a tragic illness when the children were still relatively young.

He never got married again after she was gone, only releasing his sexual frustrations here and there once in a while but there was never any feelings involved. His heart remained faithful to her even after death and he wished his daughter would gain the same things, but multiplied and with other benefits.

He had previously made contact with Anton and met him several times through business dinners and their mutual connections, he was a rather quiet man at first, the kind who would observe everything that was going around him before deciding on how to act, but once he has decided on something he was extremely charming, almost to a point where it was a little bit terrifying.

Once he introduced Ana to him through her pictures and stories, the man was intrigued and he did not even think twice before offering the marriage proposal which had been discussed beforehand. Of course, Grigory was delighted, one good thing about the Russian men, they never hesitate on something, it’s either a yes or no, no games, no such things when it came to courting their women.

It was only a matter of time until the two of them were introduced to the same room, unlike in the modern west, the traditional families in Russia still believed in modesty, Ana was still a virgin at a time, even when she went to the university no one really dared to bother her due to her family’s name and she was always left alone by men. Besides, Alexander was always there near her, he was always guarding her and ensured her safety.

However, for Ana, the decision her father had made for her was too wild for her own good, she could not believe he decided on such things without even asking for her permission. She was an adult and she had all the rights to decide on her own who she was going to spend the rest of her life with, yet such life seemed impossible at the time. She could not help herself and her tears was slowly starting to flow down her cheeks. It quenched Grigory’s heart a little bit to see her daughter crying like so but deep inside he thought it was all for the best.

Ana ran outside the living room and stomped her feet across the hallway, Alexander who was waiting right outside the room and saw her running immediately chased after her, he had no idea what the two were talking about just then but judging from her reaction it appeared to be something rather disheartening. Ana was not exactly a huge crybaby so if she was to cry it had to be for a reason.

Where else would she be going but to the safety of her own room, she stepped into her room and closed the door. Alexander stopped in front of it and doubted whether or not he should knock on it. By the rules he was not exactly allowed to get inside her room, although throughout the years of his work, he had definitely broken it several times since she was the first to invite him in, they were not doing anything, for heaven sake he would never touch her like that. Yet they had some late night conversations together which always ended with him deleting the footages from the CCTV in front of her room. Had anyone find out about it nothing good would come out as a result.

From outside he could hear her sobbing, his heart ached a little when he heard her in such agony, what could have possibly caused it? He eventually decided to knock on it, without any expectations on whether or not she would actually open the door yet he tried anyway. Much to his surprise, when he called her name gently, she replied back and told him to come in as the door was left unlocked.

Alexander opened the door and walked inside to see Ana’s tear covered face. He walked over to her side and calmly asked her what was wrong. Instead of answering she stood up and hugged him out of the blue, which shocked him a little bit, then she continued her crying as she buried her face in his chest, he was hesitant of what he was supposed to do, very slowly, he raised his arms and went to hug her back. They remained in such position for a minute before she eventually pulled herself away and stared at him directly in the eyes.

“Now, Anya, would you tell me what is wrong?” he asked her gently. Still with wet eyes, she replied to him.

“Alexander. Papa wants to marry me off. To a man called Anton Chernikov.” Hearing her statement, Alexander felt his heart stopped beating for a flip second.