Ulyana

A rose among thorns perfectly describes Ulyana Vasily’s life. Orphaned at just four years old after witnessing the brutal murder of her parents, Ulyana was raised by her grandfather, Nikolai Vasily, a globally respected business tycoon and one of the most feared Mafia figures in the Underworld. Under his care, she grew up between two worlds: luxury and violence, prestige and power. To the public, she is elegant, intelligent, and untouchable. Behind closed doors, she is the infamous “Mafia Princess,” shaped by trauma, loyalty, and the ruthless empire that raised her. But beneath Ulyana’s carefully controlled life lies one constant source of comfort: Hak Valkov. Silent, dangerous, and fiercely loyal, Hak has spent years at Ulyana’s side as both her protector and her refuge from the violent world surrounding them. Their relationship was never built through grand confessions, but through quiet moments: moonlit conversations on empty balconies, rain soaked escapes through the city streets, and the unspoken understanding that no matter how far he disappeared into the shadows, he would always return to her. Raised in the brutal depths of the Underworld after being orphaned young, Hak was shaped by violence long before he became a man. Under the guidance of his ruthless family, he learned how to survive by becoming invisible within the chaos. While others chased status openly, Hak built power in silence. By eighteen, he had already become one of the most feared and influential figures operating behind the scenes of Silvercrown’s criminal world. Few people know he truly exists. To most, Hak Valkov is only a rumour whispered through the Underworld. Then there is Rowan Volkov; Hak’s young maternal uncle and the man the city knows far too well. Cold, calculating, and dangerously charismatic, Rowan inherited control of the Volkov empire after his father’s untimely death, taking the reins of both the family’s legitimate business empire and its deep Underworld ties at an age far too young for the burden. Since then, he has spent years locked in a bitter rivalry with Nikolai Vasily, Ulyana’s grandfather, as the two powerful patriarchs fought for dominance over Silvercrown from opposite sides of an uneasy peace. Unlike Hak, Rowan does not hide in the shadows. He commands attention wherever he goes. And despite his ruthless reputation, Rowan slowly reveals a side of himself few ever see: patient, intelligent, deeply lonely beneath the weight of leadership, and unexpectedly gentle with Ulyana. What begins as political obligation gradually becomes something far more dangerous as he begins to open his heart to her. But the fragile peace holding Silvercrown together is beginning to fracture. Rival factions, cartel influence, and decades of bloodshed threaten to plunge the seaside city into chaos, forcing the Vasily and Volkov families toward a desperate alliance. Peace comes with one condition: A marriage powerful enough to unite the two bloodlines. Ulyana is chosen as the bride. The problem is that she is promised not to Hak, the man who has quietly held her heart for years, but to Rowan, the uncle determined to keep both their families from destroying each other. Caught between duty and desire, Ulyana finds herself trapped between two men from the same bloodline: a longstanding love built in silence and shadows, and a new, unexpected love slowly blooming in the light. As political tensions rise and the Underworld shifts beneath them, Ulyana, Hak, and Rowan are forced into an impossible situation where loyalty, love, and power collide. Each choice threatens to destroy the fragile peace holding Silvercrown together: and no matter who Ulyana chooses, someone she loves will inevitably be left behind.