Fated by a Single Night

MIKHAIL'S POV :

It had been a week since the attack. A week since I learned the truth. A week since I found out I was going to be a father. Everything had changed. Every decision I made, every order I gave, every bullet I fired.

Now carried a different weight. Because I wasn't protecting just myself anymore.
I was protecting my family.

---

"Boss." Igor entered my office.

"The perimeter around the Volkov mansion has been secured."

I nodded. "Double the men during the night."

"We already have twenty guards."

"Make it forty."

"Yes, Boss."

"And rotate the snipers every six hours."

Igor smiled faintly. "You've changed."

I looked up. "What do you mean?"

He chuckled. "Six months ago, you would've said, 'If they attack, let them.'"

"But now..."

"You're building a fortress around one woman."

I looked out the window. "...Not one woman."

"My family."

---

ISABELLA'S POV :

Being confined inside the mansion was driving me crazy. Everywhere I looked there were bodyguards. Near the gate. Inside the garden. Even outside my bedroom window. I sighed.

"This is ridiculous."

Mama laughed softly. "I think someone's worried about you."

I rolled my eyes. "Worried?"

"He's treating me like I'm made of glass." Just then a familiar voice came from the hallway.

"Because you almost died."

I turned around. Mikhail. He was carrying several shopping bags. I blinked. "...What's all that?"

He looked at the bags. "I asked the saleswoman what pregnant women usually need."

Silence. Mama covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing. Mikhail started taking things out one by one.

"Pregnancy pillow."

"Comfortable slippers."

"Vitamin supplements."

"Baby blankets."

"Books."

Another bag. Then another. "I may have bought too much." I stared at the mountain of baby items. "...May?"

Mama couldn't hold back anymore. She burst into laughter. Even I started laughing. "You bought half the store."

He looked genuinely confused. "Is that... too much?"

I laughed harder. "It definitely is." For the first time since we met the tension between us eased.

---

MIKHAIL'S POV :

Hearing her laugh was unexpectedly comforting. She looked different when she smiled. Lighter. Warmer. Beautiful. I quickly looked away. Before she noticed.

---

ISABELLA'S POV :

That afternoon Mikhail insisted on accompanying me to my prenatal appointment.

"I can go with Mama."

"I know."

"But I'm coming too."

"You don't have work?"

"I canceled it."

I stared at him. "...You're the head of a mafia organization."

"And?"

"You canceled your schedule for a hospital visit?"

"Yes."

"...Why?"

He answered so naturally. It caught me off guard. "Because my children are more important."

I didn't know what to say.

---

HOSPITAL

The ultrasound room felt much brighter today. The doctor smiled upon seeing Mikhail. "You must be the father."

He nodded. "I am." There was something about the confidence in his voice.

That made my heart skip a beat. The doctor spread the gel across my stomach. The monitor lit up.

"There they are." The twins appeared on the screen. Mikhail leaned forward. Completely focused. "They've grown."

The doctor chuckled. "They're very active." Almost as if on cue... Our son stretched one tiny leg. Our daughter moved right after. Mikhail smiled. A real smile. Not forced. Not polite. It reached his eyes.

He looked...

Happy.

"I can't believe they're real."

The doctor printed two ultrasound photos. "Would you like to keep these?"

Before I could answer Mikhail carefully took them. "I'll treasure them."

---

OUTSIDE THE HOSPITAL

As we walked toward the parking lot I suddenly stopped.

"What is it?"

I looked across the street. There. The same black SUV. Again. My chest tightened.

"It's here..."

Mikhail followed my gaze. The vehicle drove away before he could see the license plate.

His expression immediately darkened.

"Igor." Within seconds Igor appeared.

"Boss."

"Find that vehicle."

"It has been following Isabella for weeks."

"Yes, Boss."

---

MIKHAIL'S POV :

That night I couldn't sleep. Something felt wrong. Too wrong. I walked into the nursery the Volkov family had prepared.

The room was painted in soft cream colors. Two cribs stood side by side. Tiny stuffed bears rested inside.

I smiled faintly. "Our son..."

"Our daughter..." I whispered. "I'll keep my promise." Even if I had to wage war against the entire underworld.

---

SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE MOSCOW

Inside an abandoned factory. The rival mafia leader slammed his fist onto the table. "You incompetent fools!" Several men lowered their heads.

"You failed to kidnap her."

"You failed to kill her."

"And now..."

He threw several photographs across the room. They showed Mikhail leaving the hospital with Isabella. His arm protectively around her. "So it was true."

"They're together."

One of the men asked carefully, "What are your orders, Boss?"

The leader slowly smiled. A smile devoid of warmth. "We stop targeting the woman."

The room fell silent. Instead He pointed at one of the ultrasound photos his spies had managed to steal.

"We target..."

"...the children."

A chilling silence settled over the room. Because everyone knew there was no line their boss wouldn't cross.

---

ISABELLA'S POV :

That same night I stood on the balcony. Watching the snow fall. Mikhail quietly walked over to stand beside me. Neither of us spoke for a while.

Then he gently draped a blanket over my shoulders.
"You'll catch a cold."

I smiled. "Thank you." Silence returned. Comfortable this time.

"I've been thinking." He finally said.

"About what?"

He looked at the stars. "When they're born..."

"I want to be there."

I turned toward him.

"I want to hear their first cries."

"I want to hold them."

"I want them to know..."

"...their father never abandoned them."

My eyes stung with tears. "You really mean that?"

He met my gaze. "I've never been more certain of anything."

For the first time I wasn't looking at the feared mafia boss. I was looking at a man who was already learning how to become a father. And maybe without realizing it I was beginning to see him differently too.