...3876 days earlier ...

Moscow, November 1, 2018. Snow fell like silver dust as Nella hurried home, her pale face glowing with excitement. But at 22:01, her smile faltered she had missed the last bus. Her call to her father went unanswered, he was busy decorating the Christmas tree with her mother. Determined, she slipped into a dark alley, eager to reach home faster. A few steps in, the night shifted. Against the wall, a man struggled to breathe, blood seeping through his shirt as he clutched his stomach. His eyes, shadowed with pain yet strikingly intense, lifted to meet hers. In that instant, fear and fate tangled together was he danger, or destiny?

Nella gasped, frozen between the urge to run and the instinct to help. Slowly, cautiously, she stepped closer to the wounded stranger.

Kneeling beside him, she reached for his

injury, her breath quick and unsteady. The man’s voice broke through the cold night low, pained, yet carrying a strange power that sent a shiver through her.

"Run… bunny."

She frowned, confused and frustrated. Why was he pushing her away when he clearly needed help? Ignoring his weak resistance, she pulled out her phone and dialed for an ambulance.

But before she could finish the call, his hand clamped around her wrist, rough and desperate.

"You shouldn’t be here" he rasped.

Nella’s heart pounded. The man’s warning rattled inside her head, but something stronger kept her rooted beside him. She couldn’t leave. Not when his blood stained the snow. Not when his eyes sharp, commanding even through the pain held hers as though he knew her.

Snowflakes clung to her hair as she whispered "Who are you?"

His lips curled into the faintest shadow of a smile, before another wave of pain stole it away. "Someone you shouldn’t have found… but now you can’t escape."

Snow fell in silence as Nella froze, caught between fear and fate.

But she didn’t run. She stayed.

Moments passed in silence as Nella waited, her breath fogging in the cold night air. Finally, the sound of ambulance sirens broke the silence, and the ambulance pulled up. Paramedics rushed to the man, lifting him carefully, their voices brisk and urgent.

Yet through the chaos, his gaze never left her. His eyes, dark and unyielding even in pain, lingered on her face as though trying to carve every detail into memory. Just before they closed the doors, his lips parted, his voice a broken whisper meant only for her

"We’ll meet again… Bunny."

And then he was gone.

Nella stood in silence, trying to process what had just happened, when her phone buzzed. Her mother’s worried voice filled the line.

“Nell, dear, where are you?”

Nella swallowed hard, her voice unsteady as she answered still remembering his dark eyes and his last spoken words. When Nella finally returned home, her parents bombarded her with worried questions. She offered a quick excuse, forcing a smile, before slipping away upstairs.

Collapsing onto her bed, she stared at the ceiling, her mind restless. No matter how hard she tried, thoughts of the mysterious man refused to leave her.

Who was he?

Why was he hurt?

And what was his name?

That night, sleep refused to come easily. When Nella finally drifted off, her dreams were filled with snow, blood, and those dark eyes watching her as if she belonged to him. She woke in the middle of the night, heart racing, his voice

echoing in her mind.

Bunny… run.

The words sent a shiver through her. She didn’t know who he was, or why fate had led her down that alley but deep down, she knew this was only the beginning.

...The next day ...

The next morning, Nella moved through her day in a haze, her thoughts circling back to the man in the alley. The blood, his warning, the weight of his gaze all of it lingered like a shadow she couldn’t shake. His face haunted her, his dark, striking features, eyes so deep they seemed to hide both secrets and danger. Just remembering them sent a shiver down her spine.

By evening, her curiosity won. Guilt tugged at her too she needed to know if he had survived. She made her way to the hospital, her heart pounding as she asked for him. But the nurse only frowned. No records, no admissions, nothing. It was as if the bleeding stranger had never existed at all.

Nella walked out into the cold air, more unsettled than before. Why did she feel this hollow ache without him? Why did her chest tighten like she had lost something precious someone precious after only one meeting? It didn’t make sense. And yet, she couldn’t let him go.

Days passed. Snow continued to fall over

Moscow, blanketing the streets in silence. Nella threw herself into helping her parents at the flower shop, arranging bouquets, sweeping petals from the floor, counting every ruble

carefully. Her mother’s cough was getting worse, and money had to be saved for medicine. But even with her hands busy, her mind betrayed her.

The man from that snowy night was always there in her thoughts, in her dreams, in the

hollow space between heartbeats. His voice echoed still

"Run Bunny."

And though she tried, she couldn’t escape the feeling that their paths weren’t finished crossing. The shop bell chimed softly as Nella arranged roses in the front window.

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months since that night, but his shadow lingered. Every time the bell rang, her heart leapt half with hope, half with fear.

This time, it was only a customer, an older

woman buying lilies. Still, Nella couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that someone was watching her. The street outside seemed too quiet, the snow muffling footsteps that might be there or might not.

That evening, as she closed the shop, a black car rolled slowly past. Its windows were tinted, its engine a low growl in the silence. Nella froze, her hand tightening on the keys. For a moment, she thought she saw someone in the back seat

staring at her. Then the car disappeared into the night.

At home, she tried to push it away. Her mother’s smile, weak but warm, reminded her why she had to stay strong. She brewed tea, helped her father carry boxes of ornaments, and pretended everything was normal. But when she went up stairs.

Her phone buzzed. An unknown number.

With shaking fingers, she opened the message. Just few words, sharp against the screen

"Stay loyal to me bunny, I will come soon."

Her heart skipped. Who could it be?

She stared at the message until her screen dimmed, her reflection staring back at her with wide, frightened eyes. She told herself it was nothing a prank, a mistake. But deep down, she knew

It was him.

Months slipped by since the last unknown mesage. Nella’s anger grew, tangled with

confusion that never let her rest. Questions echoed through her mind until they hurt

Why can’t he just come to me?

Why is he playing games?

Stay loyal, Bunny? What does that even mean?

Every time she replayed his words, her chest ached. The silence between them became heavier than the memory of his voice.

Overthinking turned into wounds she couldn’t heal. She buried herself in work at the flower shop, arranging roses, tying ribbons, serving customers with a smile that never reached her eyes. But behind the counter, grief waited. Her mother’s illness worsened. Cancer ate away at her strength, leaving her pale and frail. Doctors exchanged looks of helplessness, their shrugging shoulders a cruel reminder that hope was slipping away.

Each night, when the shop closed and the city fell silent under the snow, Nella curled into her bed and wept. Tears soaked her

pillow as she whispered prayers into the

darkness, begging for her mother to survive, begging for answers that never came. And always, in the back of her mind, the shadow of that man lingered. Watching. Waiting.

Months deepened, and with it, Nella’s loneliness. The shop felt colder, quieter, even when filled with flowers. Her mother’s cough grew harsher, her father’s eyes more tired. Nella did everything she could delivering bouquets, scrubbing floors, counting every ruble for medicine but no amount of work could chase away the shadow in her heart.

And then, one evening, the bell above the shop door chimed.

Nella looked up, expecting a customer. Instead, her breath caught.

He was there.

The man from the alley, alive, whole, more dangerous than ever. Snow clung to the shoulders of his black coat, and his dark eyes locked on her the way they had that night as though she belonged to him.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Her chest tightened with anger, relief, and something far more dangerous. She wanted to scream at him for disappearing. She wanted to thank him for surviving. She wanted answers.

But his voice came first, low and certain, the same voice that had haunted her dreams.

"I told you, Bunny… we’d meet again."

Her big brown eyes widened in disbelief, her dark brows furrowing as she turned away, anger and frustration burning through her.

He only smirked, lips curling into a small, cocky grin, his eyes gleaming with a teasing spark

“Is this how you greet a customer?”

Nella spun back to him, her voice sharp

"You disappeared. Months. Not a word, not

a sign and now you just stroll in like nothing happened?!"

His smirk deepened, though his gaze softened, almost as if her fury amused him.

"I told you we’d meet again, Bunny. You should’ve trusted me"

"Don’t call me that"

she snapped, though her chest tightened at the sound of it.

"I’m not your…. whatever you think I am."

He leaned casually against the counter, watching her with those unreadable eyes

"Your my bunny."

Her lips parted, but no words came. Heat rose to her cheeks, betrayal warring with something she didn’t want to name. Love.

"You don’t know anything about me"

she said finally, forcing her voice steady

His smile faded into something darker, his tone dropping low

“You’re wrong bunny. I know everything. And that’s why you will never be able

to escape me."

He straightened to his full height, towering over her 6’6 of shadow and presence while she stood barely 5’5. His sharp features softened into a gentleman’s smile, in contrast to his dangerous aura. When he spoke, his voice was low and gentle, so gentle it almost didn’t match the man standing before her

"Even though I already know your name"

he said smoothly,

"my mother raised me to be a gentleman. May I ask you… what is your name, beautiful?"

Nella’s breath caught. She tilted her head up, her stormy brown eyes clashing with his, emotion swirling between defiance and something softer she didn’t want to admit. Heat flushed her cheeks, a delicate pink blooming as she broke eye contact, forcing the words past her lips

"I… I’m Nella. And you?"

His expression shifted. The teasing spark dimmed into something darker, more

commanding. Slowly, he lifted his hand and tilted her chin upward not harsh, but firm enough to

remind her who held control. His touch was warm, electric, impossible to ignore

"Look at me,"

he murmured, his voice threaded with steel and temptation

"And repeat it, Bunny"

Nella’s pulse quickened as his fingers rested

beneath her chin, tilting her face toward his. She met his gaze, but once locked in, she couldn’t look away. Those deep brown eyes seemed to strip her bare, leaving her naked, pulling at thoughts she hadn’t dared to form

Her lips parted, breath shaky

"…Nella."

The faintest smile ghosted over his mouth, as though the sound of her name pleased him more than he cared to admit. His thumb brushed her jaw lightly, deliberate, making her shiver.

"Good girl"

he whispered, the words soft yet commanding

Heat rushed through her cheeks, her chest

tightening. She wanted to shove him away, to tell him he had no right but her body betrayed her, leaning ever so slightly into his touch.

"You still haven’t told me your name"

she managed, her voice barely above a whisper

For a moment, his eyes flickered with something unreadable. He leaned closer, close enough that she caught the faint scent of smoke and

expensive perfume on his coat. His breath warmed her ear as he murmured

"Names have power, Bunny. Mine is one you’re not ready to carry"

Her heart pounded, her mind torn between fear and a strange, aching pull toward him.

And still, she couldn’t step away.