"I think it's too simple," Vivienne cocked her head in thought. She was right, it was a simple silk wedding dress. Her friend continued, "It's pretty but it doesn't seem like you."

Salina looked at the men who squinted at her. Dima and Lev were on their own small couch and Vivienne was next to Aleksei, his arm thrown over the back of the couch.

Dima shrugged, "What she said."

"Be a man and make your own opinion," Salina glared. Dima's mouth fell open and held his hands up.

"Fucking fine- damn. We have all the money in the world and you're going to wear that one?" The bride smiled and nodded once, pleased with what he said.

Lev and Aleksei nodded quickly in agreement, Salina hummed and grabbed the bottom of the dress as well as her glass of champagne.

As soon as she was gone, Aleksei glanced at Vivienne as he admired her side profile. "She's gone you can look at me now," he nudged her playfully.

"Who says I want to do that?" Vivienne hummed as she tapped at her phone.

Aleksei had been flirting relentlessly despite Salina and Dominik's warning. And Vivienne kind of liked it. But she wouldn't let him know that.

"C'mon you know you kind of like looking at me," Aleksei murmured as she finally turned towards him. "And I sure love looking at you."

Vivienne rolled her eyes sheepishly as her face felt hot. Shyly, she brushed her hair behind her ear.

When she opened her mouth, Dima cut them off. "She's coming back- if you want to keep your dick in tact I'd shut up-" he warned his brother.

Dima and Lev were both not in their element- the other three were the only ones having fun. Salina got to try on dresses, Vivienne got to help as the excited maid of honor, and Aleksei got to drool over Vivienne.

The two older men were drinking and showing support for Salina as Dominik blew up their phones. He'd taken to threatening them into sending him updates and pictures about what Salina might be picking.

But... at this current moment they were more fearful of upsetting Salina in regards to anything about the wedding than Dominik.

Lev groaned when he called again, finally he picked up the phone as Salina came out of the dressing room to show a ballgown type of dress. Standing with a smile to Salina, he walked out of the room as Dominik growled his grievances in Russian.

"Would you relax, Dom?" Lev rolled his eyes.

"Watch it, Lev. You stole my wife."

Lev laughed at the audacity of the mafia don. "She's having a good time- how could you be upset about that?"

Grumbling sounded on the other line, "Make sure she gets what she wants."

"Has that ever been an issue for Salina?" Lev grinned a bit as he looked towards the entrance.

"You're right," Dom paused for a moment on the other end. "Hey- I'll call you back."

"Everything alright?" The older man grunted.

"I'll let you know when I know-" And the call abruptly dropped.

~~

Dominik had been minding his business for once, he was watching other men fight back and forth from the Bratva that worked under him.

Well- was it minding his business if he caused the fighting in the first place?
The Russians were pissed with the death of his father, they were personally offended.

They considered it to be Dominik abandoning his origins for the new power he'd recently come into.

They were being ridiculous because Andrei hasn't done anything for them in about a decade. It's all been Dominik since his late teens. He rolled his eyes, watching them bicker.

"He's lost it- Andrei was the only one advocating for our best interest!" They spoke amongst themselves. Dominik hadn't spoken for the last twenty minutes, only watching them with amusement.

"He was already crazy before! But still Don Ivanov has never done anything like this." Dominik squinted a bit, wondering why any of them were surprised.

"I'll tell you what's changed- it's that new wife of his. She has his ear and where is she now? She's the problem-"

"What was that?"

Silence suddenly engulfed everyone. Angelo- who'd traveled with him - ran his hand over his mouth.

"W-Wha-"

"Repeat that last one?" The man Dominik was questioning was named Boris, a known follower of Andrei. He's a bit older than Dominik but he was basically a fan boy with no real spine or worth to anyone.

"I- um... Don I believe that there's cause for concern considering your latest actions and your recent marriage."

Dominik nodded slowly as he hummed.

"Okay. I'm curious to hear what you think." The entire room began buzzing as Boris relaxed a bit into his seat. Inhaling deeply, he opened his mouth to explain his opinion.

As soon as the first syllable rolled off his tongue, Dominik lifted his gun up and shot Boris in the face.

Noises of surprise rang out as Angelo scratched the back of his neck. Sighing with annoyance, Dominik glared at everyone in front of him.

"I wasn't actually curious about what he had to say," he clarified.

"Do you think I am so incapable that I can't make my own decisions? Have I not proven my capabilities simply by sitting you at this table. You should be grateful for my wife, if it wasn't for her I'd be more inclined to get rid of you all. You want to end up like him?" His voice came out like sharp daggers, his fists clenched tightly as the veins in his neck bulged.

"If you have a complaint about my work- feel free to speak up. If you have a complain about my marriage- feel free to let me know. But be aware of the consequences. I have no intention of abandoning the Bratva- they're my roots. But they are my past and I can decide if they are my future. If you have a future. Keep that in mind."

Everyone nodded quickly, Dominik exhaled and stood up. He left the table to stand by the back door, giving the others time to cool off.

He quickly called Lev to check on Salina. While the two talked on the phone, Angelo directed conversation to something more productive. They talked about profits- something that makes everyone happier.

However, as Lev questioned whether Salina ever had an issue getting what she wanted, Dominik furrowed his brow as he heard a bang from out of the office.

"Hey- I'll call you back."

"Everything alright?" The older man grunted.

"I'll let you know when I know-" Dominik hung up when a Russian that's been relatively silent- Maxim- stood up on shaky legs.

He was barely a man, his balls had barely dropped but Dominik was kind enough to invite him since Andrei had taken him under his wing. Andrei had treated Maxim better than he ever treated Dominik.

"I can't allow this to happen to Andrei's legacy," Maxim rasped. The emotion was palpable from his voice. "I gave you the benefit of the doubt- I-I thought you'd show you were sorry. You're a murderer," the boy shuddered.

Dominik couldn't help but roll his eyes. "No shit-"

"Andrei would have wanted me to do this." Maxim asserted as he reached for his weapon. Through the doors burst other men that were armed and were clearly friends of Maxim's as they shot up the entire room.

"Fuck," Dominik hissed as he ducked by the table. Him and Angelo glanced at one another as the Russians. Gun fire was all around them, the men loyal to Dominik shooting back.

"Maxim is to my left," Angelo grunted to Dominik.

"He's mine," Dominik snarled. "Give me cover."

Angelo did so without hesitation, firing rounds in sequence with the others on their side. Seething, Dominik slid out of his cover with the precision of a striking snake. He shot who he could on sight, making eye contact with Maxim as they both raised their weapons.

Three shots fired as Dominik lunged, he'd snagged Maxim by his collar and put a bullet through his skull.

Not before Maxim had frantically shot at him, grazing his shoulder and another tearing through Dominik's abdomen.

Hissing through his bared teeth, Dominik glanced up to shoot the last asshole at the entrance who conveniently just ran out of bullets. Snarling low, he glanced down to see his blood pooling against his fucking expensive shirt.

"Fuck- she's gonna fucking kill me..." He rasped as he began to bleed out.

His knees weakened but he didn't fall to them. He stabilized himself against the nearest wall before Angelo rushed to his side.

"Fuckin' hell boss," Angelo tried to hold him up but Dominik shoved him away and stood on his own.

"Call the medics and get them to my house. Drive me there," they both put pressure onto the seeping wound. "And Lev- call Lev."

Dominik nearly growled at all the other shell-shocked Russians around. They never thought they'd see the day the devil bled.

Still, all of them flinched at the sound of his baritone voice barking at them. He still stood strong, not reacting to the blood pooling through their hands against the wound.

"Everybody clean this shit around here- fuck- Fuck you all. Next meeting in a week!" He yelled over his shoulder.

"You're bleeding out, shut the fuck up man." As soon as the door shut behind them, Angelo held Dominik up himself.

"Don't tell me what to do," Dominik slurred once all the prying eyes were gone and it was just them in the car to meet the doctors.

He pressed his suit jacket to his wound as his vision blackened. He glanced down, his bleary eyes focusing on the blood soaked fabric. The wound wouldn't be fatal if they caught it in time. If he didn't bleed out first.
Groaning tiredly, he pressed even harder against the wound to slow the inevitable.

"Want me to call Salina?" Angelo glanced over repeatedly as he drove like a mad man.

"Nah... Don't wanna scare her. As long as you tell Lev... she'll be there."

Angelo nodded swiftly, he's already called the doctor and Lev. Now he just had to get Dominik home in time.

••••

sorry for the late update!!! finals are cray right now i totally lost track of time

anyways, domo got shot 🤪