Many years ago, in the remotest part of Donerov there lived a wealthy merchant who was very good-looking, especially his eyes which according to the young girls in the village was quite alluring. His name was Igor and he lived with his beautiful wife and his two very small children.
Igor cut an imposing figure at six feet tall, with broad shoulders that filled out his expensive, tailored suits to perfection. His face was angular, with high cheekbones and a strong, square jaw that spoke of his aristocratic lineage. But it was his eyes that truly captivated those who met him—deep-set and the color of burnished amber, flecked with gold that seemed to catch the light like precious metal. These eyes, which the young maidens of the village whispered about with breathless admiration, cold and calculating.
His hair, thick and the color of polished mahogany, was always impeccably styled, with not a strand out of place. He kept it slightly longer on top, swept back from his forehead in a way that emphasized his strong features. A neatly trimmed beard, just a shade darker than his hair, outlined his jaw and gave him an air of distinguished maturity despite his relatively young age of thirty-five.
When he moved, it was with a natural grace that belied his powerful physique. His hands, though bearing the subtle calluses of a man who had worked his way to wealth, were elegant with long fingers that handled business transactions and social interactions with equal dexterity.
His voice completed his captivating presence, a deep, resonant baritone that could command a room without raising in volume. He spoke deliberately, each word chosen with precision and dressed in a manner befitting his station, favoring dark colors that complemented his complexion—charcoal grays, deep blues, and rich burgundies. His clothing was always of the finest quality, imported from distant cities and tailored to enhance his natural assets.
Despite his good-looks he was extremely conceited and would often cheat his customers since he was the only one who had goods for sale in his village. The exploitation was so bad that those who brought from him ended up being indebted to him instead. He rarely bothered to give his subordinates their due compensation and made various excuses when they pleaded and begged on their knees to give them some money.
The servants held on until their financial status suffered, there were grain in the market but yet they starved. The economy was already on the verge of collapse and what Igor did was nothing compared to the worse things that was going on outside. The servants thought, "Where can we go? Even if we leave, in the end only death and suffering await us, at-least we can get food here to give to our children…" He was an aristocratic bureaucrat hence the difference was huge. They were soon quite fed up with the ill treatment meted out to them and decided to leave and find greener pastures elsewhere.
Each one left one-by-one in consecutive days that followed. Antricia the babysitter was the last one to leave since she wanted to stay with the children. But, alas! her financial status was literally hanging by a thread. It worsened day by day by day till the point feeding her own kids was just a mere dream.
She left the children after receiving a tearful goodbye from the kids and promised them that she would return one day. The valet was the remaining one who stayed and all house duties was entrusted to him.
With not one soul in their mansion to take care of their needs, worried, Yelena. She was not used to cleaning and doing menial chores every morning as it was mostly entrusted to the servants. The children were not much of a help either. Her hand ached, her mood soured and her head was a like a balloon that was about to go POP! any second. The mansion was huge and cleaning it, was a fucking NIGHTMARE!
She was DONE! REALLY DONE! After nonstop cleaning the house she felt like she could combust literally due to exhaustion. so, her plan was to go housekeeper shopping. She travelled high and low to find somebody willing but it was all in vain as everybody in the village was unwilling to lend that poor woman a hand due to her husband's temperament.
She was a rubber band being stretched taut and one day it just BROKE!
Her husband just straight up, REFUSED to hire a housekeeper! Her voice echoed across the empty hallway. In her fury she contemplated ending her relationship with him right then and there! To be honest their relationship was kind of deteriorating for a very long time and this housekeeper situation was the straw that broke the camel's back.
"IF YOU DON'T CHANGE YOUR WAYS, I'M CONTACTING MY LAWYER!" she screamed. "Think carefully about this! I need someone to manage this house! Am I not your wife? Shouldn't my suggestions carry some weight? I've never asked you for anything—not once! I've adjusted to your lifestyle, your interests, everything! But now, when I make one request, you ignore me like I'm merely decorative, like some ornamental plant on your precious bookshelf! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?"
Igor hadn't heard a word. He was busy tuning out her tirade, smoking his cigar and contemplating an upcoming committee meeting scheduled for the following week.
If there was another war in the world It was inside the mansion. It became a place of great unrest as both husband and wife bickered over every small thing they found fault with. The children were shifted to their grandparent's house in the city to avoid being targeted by either of their parents.
Unable to handle the strain any longer Igor shifted his residence to his private manor far away from his meddling and bitter wife, left for his business meetings very often and rarely came home.
It was during one such business meeting that he encountered someone who would unknowingly transform his life completely.