Alia locked her gaze onto Viktor's and said, "Don't play games, Viktor. I'm not here for your arrogance; I want to know do you actually feel pain? When I am in this agony, does it never cross your mind that you are overstepping your boundaries?"
Viktor combed his fingers through her hair, his voice calm yet heavy with intensity. "Games? Do you truly believe I am playing games with you in these moments, Alia? For me, nothing about this is a 'game'."
He leaned in close to her ear, whispering in a lower, gravelly voice, "When you writhe beneath me, every cry you let out causes my own veins to bleed. Yes, I feel pain. But that pain is my addiction. What you call cruelty, I have embraced as the only taste of existence I have left. The more you hate me, the stronger this pull toward you becomes within my heart. Can't you see, Alia? You are the cause of my destruction, yet I cannot imagine a life without you."
There was no acting in Viktor's voice; there was only the weariness of confronting a terrifying truth, which left Alia stunned for a moment.Alia's lips curled into a scornful smile. Looking directly into Viktor's eyes, she said in a cold voice, "You are lying, Viktor. You do not feel pain. When intimacy begins, I know you are no longer a man; you are merely a predator."
Viktor raised an eyebrow, a flicker of genuine curiosity in his tone. He whispered, "How? How can you be so certain that I do not feel pain?"
Alia tilted her head back slightly, her eyes glinting with a sharp, intellectual challenge. She replied calmly, "I know it in medical terms, Viktor. Physiologically, when a person is consumed by extreme arousal or cruelty, their pain-signaling pathways in the brain become temporarily suppressed. Your blood pressure and heart rate remain even more violent than mine. In medical terms, this is called an 'adrenaline rush,' which blinds your conscience and your ability to perceive pain. So, despite your claims, your nerves are far more obsessed with the pride of power than with the sensation of agony."
Viktor was momentarily stunned by Alia's scientific explanation. He had not expected that Alia had been analyzing him so deeply, not just as a captive, but as an observer. Viktor stared at Alia's face—for a fleeting moment, there was no emotion in his gaze. He shifted slowly, moving a small distance away from her, his eyes now fixed on the darkness outside. Then, in a low, raspy voice, he said, "You are wrong, Alia. You can judge a human being with medical terminology, but not my dark world."
He turned back to Alia, his gaze now colder than before. "You claim my nerves are numbed. But the truth is, they are more alert at those moments than at any other time. Every tremor of yours, every breath you take I feel it all. That is the difference: your pain is of the body, while my pain is of the mind."
Viktor paused for a moment, then looked directly into Alia's eyes, stating clearly, "No, I do not feel pain. Because for me, pain has no definition. You can see the wounds on your body, but you do not have the power to see the wounds within me. When I conquer you, I am actually losing myself. This loss is not some physical 'adrenaline rush'; it is a permanent curse."
Alia stared at him, stunned. Viktor's confession seemed to weigh down the air in the room. She realized that Viktor was no ordinary man he was an abyss, where love and hatred were inextricably intertwined. Alia held her defiant gaze and said, "Let me see."
Viktor narrowed his eyes for a moment, asking with a cold, cunning edge in his voice, "See what, Alia?"
Alia looked straight into his eyes and gave a small, mocking smirk. "Do you not understand what I wish to see? I want to examine how much of you is truly human, and how much is merely cloaked in the arrogance of your mafia facade."
Viktor paused for a moment at Alia's direct challenge. Then, a mysterious and dangerous smile curled on his lips. He calmly unzipped his trousers. Alia pushed her long golden hair back, staring at Viktor without blinking. The silence in the room deepened.
Viktor's physique was rigid and controlled. Alia stared at him intensely and suddenly asked, "Have you been circumcised?"
Viktor's smile deepened. He leaned in very close to Alia, locking his gaze into the depths of hers, and whispered in a low voice, "Do you truly not understand my rules yet, Alia? I do not care for the religions or customs of this dark world. My body, my rules everything is crafted by my own hand."
The room now trembled with palpable tension. Alia's bold and unexpected question had seemingly cracked the wall of Viktor's arrogance, signaling a new, dark chapter in their complex relationship. Alia looked at Viktor and said in a calm voice, "I know that Mafias often become deeply religious to atone for their crimes. This physical sign the circumcision proves that you are no longer the same Viktor you once were."
Viktor looked into Alia's eyes and smiled softly. He replied simply and without hesitation, "Yes, you are right."
Alia stood stunned for a moment, unable to hide her surprise. Vague images from Viktor's past life flickered through her mind. She thought to herself, 'Viktor followed a different faith; I was certain he was firm in his beliefs. When did he adopt the rituals of my religion? He wasn't like this before we were married. And even after, I never saw him make such a transition! When could he have possibly done this without my knowledge?'
Observing Alia's hesitant expression, Viktor leaned in close to her ear. He whispered, "What you see is not merely a change of ritual, Alia. To maintain a balance between your love and this darkness, I have sacrificed many things you could never imagine. I know which faith you hold dear, and so I have adapted myself to that purity so that even in this sullied world, my place beside you would never be questioned."
Alia was truly taken aback. She had known Viktor only as a cruel Mafia lord, but this secret sacrifice of his stirred a strange conflict within her. She could not decipher if Viktor had genuinely transformed his existence out of deep obsession for her, or if this was simply another move in his grand game of chess. Alia stared at Viktor, a haze of disbelief in her eyes. She asked directly, "When did you do this? And the agony of the surgery, that pain... you never left me alone for a single moment. Did you sacrifice your manhood just for me?"
Viktor gently held Alia's chin, turning her face toward his. There was a stillness in his solemn gaze. He replied in a calm, steady voice, "Do you think I have lost control over my own body? I am Viktor the Mafia I control my own fate and my own flesh. The day I decided to weave you into the fabric of my life, I discarded my past. You speak of pain? To me, the regret that a wall existed between our faiths was a far greater agony than any physical suffering."
Viktor paused for a moment before continuing, "I did this long ago, Alia. Without your knowledge, in absolute secrecy. When you were deep in slumber, my expert surgeons performed this under my express orders. Where is my manhood? It resides in the depths of your mind, in every breath you take, and in every drop of my blood that now yearns to merge with your very essence. You only looked at the external change of my body, but you never once wondered why I chose this path."
Alia's chest heaved. This extreme sacrifice, this manifestation of Viktor's twisted yet profound obsession, left her gripped by a strange sense of guilt. She realized that Viktor was no ordinary man he had constructed a world where his every action was inextricably entwined with her own existence. Alia's eyes were glistening with a mixture of tears and awe. Seeing the depth of Viktor's twisted and consuming love, she couldn't keep herself steady. A single tear escaped the corner of her eye, tracing a path down to Viktor's cheek. "You are such a madman, Viktor..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "Do you not know how dangerous that was?"
Viktor stared into her eyes for a long moment, as if reading every wound hidden in the depths of her soul. There was no Mafia-like harshness in his gaze, but rather a strange tenderness reserved only for Alia. He brushed a stray lock of hair away from her forehead and planted a lingering, gentle kiss there.
As Viktor's lips touched Alia's forehead, it felt as though time itself had stood still in the room. Wiping away her tears, he said in a calm voice, "Silly girl... have you still not understood? If I commit any madness in this dark world, it is only for you. My empire, this power, even my own life if I must sacrifice everything for you, I would not think twice. My rules, my faith, my existence everything now revolves solely around you."
Viktor's soft yet firm confession melted away all the stubbornness and resistance in Alia's body. Resting her head against his chest, she realized that this man was not just a ruler to her he was her cursed sanctuary.