After Cassian departed, Mark made himself comfortable in the chair opposite Cixi, where Cassian had once sat. He had dirty blond hair, a rugged face, and a muscular build that stretched his suit at the shoulders and arms. When he stood next to Cassian, he was a little shorter than Cassian, probably six feet tall, while Cassian towered at approximately six feet two.
Cixi, at five feet five inches, was a respectable height for a woman, but in Cassian's orbit, she felt perpetually small.
"Are you not going to eat?" Mark asked, already reaching for the ham and cheese sandwich.
He pulled it in front of him and took a bite so large that it starkly contrasted with Cassian's usual elegance. She observed the difference.
While chewing, Mark added, "I will help you finish the food."
Cixi offered him a constrained smile and continued her meal. She was astonished that she could still consume so much more. Was she an eating monster she never knew about?
As time passed, Mark ate. And ate. And ate. He cleared most of the new dishes that were served. The bruschetta, hamburger, wraps, mini pizzas, and chocolate croissant. He ate like a machine designed for the sole purpose of consuming gluten and protein, and when he wiped his mouth, there was already another plate in front of him. Cixi watched him with pure amusement, struggling to reconcile the amount of food disappearing from the table with the muscular frame sitting across from her.
He was one of those rare individuals who could eat without pause and still look like they trained six days a week.
And when his hand reached for the last remaining dish, Cixi stopped him.
"Don't!"
Mark scowled, his fork suspended in mid-air, confused as to why she was stopping him when she clearly could not eat anymore.
"It's for the children," she explained. "The rest of it."
Seeing his questioning look, Cixi did not elaborate further. Mark set the fork down, drank the water the waiter had brought, dabbed his mouth with a napkin, and tossed the cloth onto the table.
He stood and walked to the counter to pay the bill, and Cixi sat, simply watching him.
When he returned to the table, the server came and cleared it. Not a minute later, another man in a black suit appeared from the entrance, carrying two bags. He handed them to Mark without a word and vanished as quickly as he had arrived.
Mark placed the bags in front of Cixi.
"Winter boots and a Chesterfield coat."
Cixi blinked hard. Once. Then twice. And then stared at the bag, then at Mark, then at the bag again, her brain stalling between the word and its meaning.
"These are for me?" She pointed a finger at herself, hovering uncertainly in the air.
"Yes," Mark clarified. "You do not wish to walk back wearing only socks, I am sure."
Cixi looked down at her feet, which were stacked one on top of the other beneath the table to keep them warm.
She hesitantly took the shoe bag first and opened it to find a pair of winter boots from a luxury brand whose starting price she knew, without needing to check, was fifty thousand dollars. Possibly more.
She stretched her neck in a daze, trying to confirm whether it was really meant for her.
When Mark nodded in agreement, her heart raced with disbelief.
Cassian had bought her boots that cost more than everything she had ever owned combined.
But Why?
Is it to add to her debt?
But then this would not count as debt, because she never asked for it, and she would tell him exactly that the next time they met. She was already composing the sentence in her head.
After carefully putting on the expensive boots, Cixi examined the red winter coat. The fabric felt heavy and warm, lined with something soft that brushed against her fingers when she touched it.
She gazed through the glass window and noticed that it had begun to snow. With no option left, she accepted the expensive, elegant designer winter coat since she hadn't brought a jacket when Cassian abducted her.
Although now that she thought about it, she did not understand why she never felt cold when Cassian was near.
Did he radiate warmth the way some people radiate menace?
She remembered the night near her building, the night Cassian had caught her when she plummeted towards the ground.
She had been barefoot, jacketless, trembling in the frozen air, and the moment his arms had closed around her, the cold had vanished, just like that. It was gone.
And he never wore a winter jacket himself whenever she had seen him.
As she rose from her chair, her feet sank into something impossibly soft, warm, and cushioned, like standing on a cloud engineered by someone who understood the feet's need.
Mark helped her into the winter coat.
The red coat against Cixi's golden hair and pale skin had done something unexpected to her appearance. She looked like someone from a magazine cover. Mark blinked, then shook his head and straightened his spine. "After you," he said, and walked to the cafe door and held it open.
The winter air hit her face as soon as she stepped out, but the cold stopped at the coat's collar and the boot's rims. She felt genuinely warm. And her thoughts involuntarily wandered to the man called Cassian.
The walk to Marion's apartment passed in silence. Mark walked beside her, scanning every corner, every doorway, every passing car.
Cixi noticed two men walking a few feet ahead of them, and another two trailing behind at an estimated distance.
Her thoughts once more drifted to Cassian without her permission.
'Who is he?' she asked herself.
He told her he would lock her in a dungeon, and then bought her the most expensive boots she had ever touched and made her eat until her body felt satisfied.
He was hot and cold, cruel and caring, a contradiction wrapped in a tailored coat and tied with threats.
And before she knew it, Cixi was smiling.
And when she realised she was smiling, horror crossed her face. She scolded her brain like a mother catching a child stealing biscuits. She schooled her expression into something neutral and gave her thoughts strict instructions not to orbit around Cassian Crown.
In no time, she was standing in front of Marion's apartment building, and to her surprise, her feet did not ache or feel cold. Fifty thousand dollars, apparently, bought comfort on a level she had never imagined possible.
Mark handed her the packed food before informing Cixi. "There will be someone guarding you at all times when the boss is not around. Once he is finished, he will come to pick you up and take you to your parents."
He turned and walked away, and the four men who had been following her stayed behind.
Cixi took a deep breath, and she pushed through the glass door and stepped into Marion's apartment building.
'Meeting her parents...'
Those words stirred emotions Cixi had long buried after her parents' death. Cassian's words had planted a fragile hope in her heart, though doubt still shadowed it.
If her biological parents were truly alive, how would they react when they saw her? How would she feel when she finally stood before them? Would they welcome her kindly, or would she feel the same rejection she once felt from the parents who had raised her and were now gone?
Lost in those thoughts, she stepped out of the lift and tightened her grip around the handle of her bag.
Looking at the door, she realised she didn't have the apartment key thanks to Cassian.
When she glanced at her wristwatch, it showed the hour when the children usually returned home from school.
She pressed the doorbell.
After a moment, the elder daughter, Madeleine, opened the door, only after checking carefully through the peephole.
"Where were you?" Madeleine asked the moment the door swung open. She placed one hand on her hip, looking at Cixi with a mixture of curiosity and concern.
"I went out to get you all some nice sandwiches and dessert," Cixi replied lightly.
In truth, she had decided to bring food for the children the moment she tasted the cheese sandwich earlier that afternoon.
Madeleine's eyes brightened, and she immediately took the food bag from Cixi and hurried to the kitchen.
"I already had my fill," Cixi informed Madeleine not to make a plate for her.
Within minutes, Madeleine began placing the sandwiches and desserts onto three plates.
Meanwhile, Cixi quietly slipped into Melisha's room, where the girl sat at her desk doing homework. She carefully removed her white coat and placed both her shoes and coat in the wardrobe.
She did not want Martin asking questions about where the money came from, or who had given it to her, or what she had done to receive it.
"Melissa," Cixi called softly after closing the wardrobe.
The seven-year-old Melisha lifted her head, giving Cixi a questionable look.
"I brought some snacks and dessert. Would you like to try them?"
Melissa placed her pencil down, closed her notebook, and nodded with a wide smile. "Is it yummy?" Her innocent question drew a gentle giggle from Cixi.
"It is!" Cixi took Melissa's hand and led her out of the room. Then she knocked lightly on Michael's door and called him as well.
Soon, the three children sat at the dining table. Madeleine had already arranged the sandwiches and desserts neatly on each plate.
Cixi only poured herself a glass of water and watched them eat.
"I know this cafe," Madeleine said suddenly, glancing at Cixi. "It's a very expensive place. I always wondered if I would ever taste their sandwiches or desserts." And the children looked at Cixi with admiration. "Thank you for thinking of us and buying this."
Cixi smiled gently and corrected her. "It's actually a treat from someone I know."
"Then say thank you to that someone," Melissa said immediately.
"Thank you, Cixi… and your friend," Michael added quietly.
Michael rarely spoke unless it was necessary. He was the most intelligent among the children. He had recently scored the highest marks in mathematics in the entire country. Both Martin and Marion carried great hopes for this quiet boy.
After the children finished eating, Cixi cleaned the table and packed away the leftover wraps. She placed them carefully in the refrigerator for Marion and Martin. At least Marion would not need to cook dinner tonight.
As evening darkened outside, Marion returned home first. Martin arrived two hours later.
The moment Martin stepped inside, Cixi made herself scarce.
She waited for Cassian, but he never came.