Around six in the evening, Cecilia stepped out of the salon and took a cab straight to the hotel where the dinner had been arranged.
The moment she pushed open the lavish doors, a suffocating wave of smoke hit her face. Cecilia's brows furrowed, but she forced a polite smile as she greeted the executives from Starss Group.
"Cecilia! Come, sit here. It's been far too long!"
A middle-aged man waved enthusiastically from the table. She recognized him—Jackson Diaz, an old acquaintance of her family's business circles. By age, he counted as her elder.
"Mr. Diaz."
Cecilia smiled gracefully, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Under the warm lights, her fair wrist and delicate face glowed, stunning Jackson into silence. His lips curled, his gaze burning hotter by the second.
"You've only gotten prettier with the years." He patted the seat beside him and spread his arm across the back of her chair, his intimacy too familiar. "Why so late? Come now, a toast to make up for it!"
The cloying scent of his cologne and greasy sweat made Cecilia uneasy, but she had no defenses against him tonight. She was here to ask for help, after all. So she obediently lifted her glass and toasted each man at the table in turn.
One round, two rounds… she held on at first. But Cecilia had never been good with alcohol. By the end of the circle, her head was spinning, her cheeks flushed crimson.
Still, Jackson refused to let her go. He clinked her glass again and again, his hand brushing hers deliberately.
"Tell me, Cecilia, how do you keep your skin so perfect? Teach me your secret."
"I-I just use ordinary skincare…" Her voice was soft, her eyes misted with drink.
She looked dangerously enchanting—her peach blossom eyes gleaming like spring water, her smile hazy and sweet. Jackson's breath quickened. He didn't care what status she had—prey that delivered itself into his lap would never walk away.
His hand crept higher, landing squarely on her thigh.
"Cecilia, let me remind you. A girl alone in this world should know how to… protect herself."
The unfamiliar touch jolted Cecilia to her senses. She shot to her feet, dizzy but alert. Her instincts screamed danger.
"Excuse me, I need the restroom."
She stumbled out of the private room, heart pounding. But Jackson followed. In the dim corridor, he pressed her hard against the wall.
"Why run, Cecilia?" His foul breath made her stomach churn. She struggled, but his fat hand pinned her shoulder.
"Don't think I don't know why you came tonight. You want me to fund MAPLE Co., don't you?"
Cecilia froze, her movements stalling.
"I'll give you a million. All you have to do is make me happy tonight. Deal?"
Before she could respond, Jackson's collar was yanked from behind. In the next instant, a powerful force slammed him into the opposite wall.
Bang!
The crash echoed down the corridor. Cecilia's drunken haze cleared in an instant. She looked up—
Blaze.
"You bastard, what the hell—!" Jackson struggled to rise, face twisted in fury. But when he saw who stood before him, his arrogance collapsed.
"Mr. Diego…?"
Blaze's lips curved into a chilling smile.
"Quite the appetite you've got, Mr. Diaz. Your wife stays home resting for the baby, while you spend your nights out here—offering a million for a woman's company. Not too little, not too much…"
Jackson's face drained of color. He waved his hands frantically.
"No, no, you misheard! I was drunk, I didn't mean— I'll be leaving now!"
But Jackson had been Cecilia's last hope. If even he refused to invest…
"How? You can't bear to leave him?" Blaze's voice was sharp as a blade. The unwilling look in Cecilia's eyes only fanned the flames in his chest. His gaze turned colder, more dangerous. "Tell me, how does it feel to warm another man's glass? To sit at his table and smile?"
His lips curved into a mocking sneer. "To be nothing more than a woman pouring drinks?"
Cecilia's face drained of color. She lowered her voice, almost trembling. "You've got it wrong. I didn't… I wasn't doing that kind of thing."
Her perfume mixed with the strong scent of alcohol still clinging to her clothes. Dressed so carefully, reeking of wine… anyone could guess what had happened at that banquet. This woman…
"All for MAPLE Co. right?" Blaze leaned down until his breath ghosted across her ear, his voice ice-cold. Every word sank into her chest like a knife. "Your body. Your pride. Is there anything you wouldn't sell? Cecilia, I truly didn't expect you'd turn out to be this kind of woman."
"Enough!" Cecilia shoved him back, fury blazing in her usually calm eyes. "You should've known long ago! For the sake of benefits, I can marry a man old enough to be my—"
Her words cut off in a strangled gasp. Blaze's mouth crashed down on hers, ruthless and demanding.
He pinned her to the wall, tongue prying past her lips with merciless force. The kiss was punishment—cold, suffocating, cruel. Her body had nowhere to escape, no space to resist, only to endure as his dominance devoured her.
Until the sharp sting on her lip, the sudden taste of blood, finally made her shudder.
"—ah!" She broke free at last, gasping for air, chest rising and falling violently. Her knees nearly buckled, and she slumped against the wall, every nerve trembling as her heart pounded out of control.
"I'll give you two choices," Blaze said coldly. His black eyes held no warmth, only an abyss that threatened to swallow her whole. "Wait until MAPLE Co. collapses. Or… become my woman."
"No. MAPLE Co. won't—"
Her protest was cut short. His fingers tilted her chin upward, tugging at her wounded lip, making her hiss in pain.
"I don't mind making enemies of a few more Jacksons," Blaze murmured, voice dripping with menace. "But don't expect anyone to help you. Try if you like. You'll only prove me right."
His aura pressed down on her, suffocating, merciless. Cecilia froze, her panic flashing across her eyes—exactly what Blaze wanted to see.
"One week," he said flatly. "Think carefully about my words."
One week. That was all he gave her.
But Cecilia refused to bow her head.
Every night after, she forced herself into banquets, chasing investors with weary determination. Yet every answer was the same. Smiles. Excuses. And always rejection.
"Please, look through my proposal again—"
"No business talk tonight. Drink with us instead!"
Tonight was her last chance. She couldn't afford to fail. Yet after three rounds of wine, the men at the table only grew louder and less interested in her contracts. Panic gnawed at her chest.
"MAPLE Co. desperately needs this investment. This new project—"
"Cecilia." One of the CEOs sighed, pressing her papers back down on the table. His expression was uneasy. "Even if I wanted to help, I can't. Someone already warned us—don't get involved. Did you… offend someone you shouldn't have?"
Blaze.
Her mind shot to his face, that smug confidence in his eyes the night he cornered her. Could it be… he planned this all along?
Her hands trembled with fury. Clenching her teeth, she gathered her documents, ready to approach the next table. "I understand."
But before she could move, her phone rang.
"...Your father is in critical condition. He's in the hospital. Hurry."
That night, the temperature plummeted below zero. The silence of the midnight sky felt like a gaping black hole, swallowing all sound. The wind cut like knives, slashing against her skin as Cecilia rushed through the doors of the hospital, her body numb from cold and dread.
"Dad!"
The surgery had just ended. Her father was pale, covered in tubes, pushed out of the operating room. Cecilia stumbled forward, desperate for answers from the doctor—
Her phone rang again.
The doctor gestured for her to answer it first.
"Hahaha…"
On the other end of the line was laughter. Low, eerie, bone-chilling.
Cecilia froze, staring at her screen. It was a normal call. A normal number.
So why… why did it feel like something had just crawled out from the darkness to find her?