*Music recommendation - Nomyn - Quietude - YouTube*
"W-what are you talking about?" she stammered through her question, fighting to sound confident but failing.
"You are going to receive seventy spanks once we arrive at my apartment." Cassian delivered those words so matter-of-factly, so devoid of theatrics, that they landed like a verdict read aloud in a courtroom.
The air was suddenly drawn from Cixi's lungs, leaving her momentarily stunned before she could respond. "I didn't know that billionaire Mafia Cassian Crown was a pervert."
Cixi's treacherous mind, without understanding why, recalled Cassian's morning activity with a woman on the couch, which now made her feel embarrassed.
She could not explain how she felt about this man, and the inability infuriated her more than anything he had done.
Cassian did not behave like Nelson. Neither did he behave like Silvia and her loyal dogs.
Cassian was something else entirely. Something she had no framework for. He had shown her kindness — feeding her when she was starving, saving her life when she had jumped from the terrace and then he had kidnapped her, called her his prisoner, informed her she owed him a debt she never knew existed, and shattered the foundation of her identity by telling her that her parents were not her parents.
How was she supposed to feel about a man who saved her life and then brought a kiosk with him?
"Why am I getting spanked for trying to protect myself?" She demanded a reasonable answer, although no answer can be valid. She craned her neck to survey the street.
People were staring at them. Some women wore expressions of jealousy. Others laughed openly, nudging their companions and pointing at her.
When Cassian felt no obligation to respond to his decision. Cixi sighed heavily and hadn't given up.
"People are looking at us," she persuaded Cassian, her voice dropping with hope. "You are a rich, famous man. What if there are paparazzi taking your photograph right now and posting it on the internet? Do you want to be an internet sensation? Seeing a female with no money, no job and no future? Think about it, Mr Mafia Don. Do you really want to tarnish the reputation of your billion-dollar legal business? For heaven's sake, you are the acting president of the Crown's premium luxury hotel. What will your father say? What if you lose the title because of your simple mistake?" She twisted to look at his face, or at least the back of his head. "Even if it doesn't bother you, I have absolutely no interest in becoming famous." With her deepfake video, she didn't want to become more known to the people, and who knows what they will do with the picture and the video, which is not hers?
She prayed, hoping her words could bring some sense to him.
Would it work?
"Little Lamb." Cassian took a long, unhurried drag of his cigarette, the ember glowing like a tiny sun against his lips. "They will lose their eyesight and hands if they take my picture without my permission."
He delivered this information with the nonchalance of a man sharing his favourite recipe, casually and warmly, as though blindness were a seasoning he added to dishes that displeased him.
The chill that ran down Cixi's spine had nothing to do with the afternoon cold air.
"Who are you? Devil?" She had meant to ask silently, meant for it to remain a whisper inside her own skull, but her mouth betrayed her, and the words tumbled out.
"I am the Devil — for the others. And for you — Cixi McLore — I am your Master."
Cassian took one final, long drag, filling his lungs with smoke. Then he paused, dropped the cigarette to the sidewalk, and crushed it thoroughly beneath his shoe.
Carrying Cixi, he walked through the cafe entrance. Only then did he lower her and carry her in bridal style. "If you run from here or make a scene," he murmured against the crown of her head, "my men will shoot you."
Cixi, for a second, was taken aback, but she did not flinch. She did not gasp or tremble or shrink. Instead, a scoff escaped her. Instead, a quiet scoff slipped from her lips — the sound of a woman who had already survived bullets, bridges, and the dark pull of the ocean… and still walked forward, carrying her own curse.
"I will survive, Mr Mafia Don," she said lightly, lifting her chin with stubborn defiance. Her gaze moved past him as she glanced around the cafe, taking in the curious eyes that lingered on them.
"Why are we here?" she asked calmly. Then she shifted slightly in his hold and added with a small pout, "And could you please let me go now?" Her lips curved softly as she looked up at Cassian with wide, doe-like eyes.
Cassian responded by narrowing his gaze at her. "The last woman who tried to pout and act cute with me," he said slowly, "spent a year in a dog shelter. She slept beside them. She ate the same food they did. She took a bath when they did. She had to follow the dog's rhythm."
Cixi coughed once, then twice… just because that woman had puckered her lips and tried to act cute. He punished her?
She straightened her expression at once. "I pity your life, Mr Mafia," she stated without hesitation.
Cassian raised a brow at her audacity. Around them, the quiet cafe seemed to pause as if nothing else mattered but them.
"You… pity me?"
"Yes," Cixi answered simply. "Because if I asked you about your favourite moment in life, I am certain it would only involve punishing someone." She tilted her head slightly, studying him with surprising seriousness. "Instead of sharing life with someone you love," she continued, "you spend your days hurting people. Your life must be very boring… and very bloody."
A corner of Cassian's lips curved faintly, and his intense dark eyes burned darker. "I live to punish," he shared his secret. "I thrive on it! I wait patiently until people make mistakes, and then I deliver the punishment they deserve. Why do you think they call me the Devil?" A quiet chuckle escaped him as he watched her with amused disbelief.
"Love?" he repeated. "What is love?" He adjusted Cixi in his arm as she was secretly trying to free herself by pressing her body downward, but she would fail.
What people truly want is physical comfort," Cassian said calmly. "Love decays with time, Cixi. What people glorify as love is often nothing more than lust running through their veins. Once the excitement fades and people grow tired of seeing the same face and body, the desire disappears… and so does the love, sweetheart. That is why the world is full of divorces."
His lips curved into a faint, knowing grin, as though he had mastered the relationship. "People promise forever and yet the moment something new catches their eye, they walk away without hesitation." The amusement in his expression deepened. "Almost every married couple hides betrayal somewhere in their life... And the younger generation glorifies cheating with elegant names, pretending it is freedom or self-discovery." He locked his gaze with her. "So tell me, Cixi… what love are you talking about?" he questioned with a surprised tone. "Because everywhere I look, all I see is lust… and greed..." When he heard no retort from her, he continued. "You should be grateful that I am your master now," he added coolly. "Because I am going to teach you one of the most valuable lessons in your life, how not to fall in love."
For the outside world, people saw Cixi and Cassian were lost in each other's eyes. In truth, Cixi searched for a glimpse of truth in Cassian's words, but found nothing. He was giving her a perfect smile, yet something about those curled lips made her feel unsettled. It warned her that there was a darkness hidden beneath his seemingly perfect appearance, asking her to be careful with him.
She averted her eyes and once more focused on the cafe. Behind the glass cases lined with pastries that glistened under soft bulbs, rows upon rows of croissants with buttery shells, eclairs drizzled in dark chocolate, flaky sausage rolls that oozed savoury filling, sandwiches stacked with layers of colour and texture, and spiced empanadas with crimped edges that looked as though they had been assembled by someone who loved their work. The aroma of butter and sugar and freshly ground coffee wrapped around Cixi like a blanket she needed immediately.
"Why are we here?" She tore her eyes away from the pastries with visible effort and stared at Cassian with an expression caught between suspicion and bewilderment. "Do you think of food whenever I am around?"
Cassian's gaze drifted over Cixi, travelling from the crown of her dishevelled hair to the feet which had no shoes, and the look in his eyes was not desire, but assessment.
"Whenever I look at you, I feel sorry for your body for being starved." His voice carried no teasing, only the blunt observation of a man who had seen enough hungry people up close and despised them. "My kind heart compels me to bestow some mercy upon you." His dark eyes narrowed until he was certain she had his full attention. "Besides, I doubt you will survive sixty-two spanks in your current state. We need to fill you up with energy."
Cixi dug her nails into Cassian's neck on purpose to make him feel pain. But she received no such response.
Feeling frustrated and annoyed, "I am not hungry. I do not want to eat anything," Cixi refused, though her stomach screamed for food.
"Wonderful." Cassian's expression brightened, the way a child's face lights up when offered their favourite game. "Then I will handcuff your wrists, tie your legs, and feed you myself." He tilted his head, studying her with the delighted curiosity of a predator who had just discovered his prey could talk. "I enjoy that kind of kink immensely."