character three
772 Words
Inside the private suite, the shadows cast by the gilded lamps flickered erratically. The air was heavy, thick with the scent of a luxury that felt decadent and decaying.
In a fit of vengeful passion, Caspian crushed his lips against Daisy’s. His searing fingertips traced the curve of her waist, igniting waves of involuntary shivers. It felt like a silent execution—slow and agonizing.
Daisy’s face flushed a deep crimson. Her hands pressed against his rock-hard chest, desperately trying to shove away this suffocating, immovable wall of a man. But her feeble resistance, when pitted against his absolute dominance, served only as a perverse kind of foreplay.
Caspian seized her protesting wrists, intensifying his raid on her breath.
Suddenly, his hand inadvertently brushed against a dark bruise on the underside of her forearm.
Daisy let out a sharp cry of pain, her entire body recoiling violently.
Caspian froze. The oppressive weight of his body lifted slightly. He stared at the jarring purplish-blue mark on her pale skin, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous hiss. "Your arm. What happened?"
Daisy bit her lip and averted her gaze. "I... I fell."
Caspian remained silent for a heartbeat, then let out a dry, mocking laugh. "Daisy, since when did you become so difficult?"
He stood up and strode toward the suite’s open-concept kitchenette. Daisy felt an immediate lightness, the crushing pressure finally vanishing. She watched him with bewilderment, unable to fathom why he had suddenly stopped.
Moments later, Caspian returned, clutching a bag of ice from the freezer. He grabbed her hand, his movements brusque as he pressed the ice against her bruise.
"Sss—!"
The piercing cold made Daisy gasp. She instinctively tried to recoil, but he held her in a vice-like grip, rendering her immobile.
"Don't move," he commanded, his voice cold and hard.
A flush of embarrassment crept up Daisy’s neck. She was suddenly reminded of three years ago—how those same long, powerful hands had once tenderly blow-dried her hair. Her nose tingled with a sudden urge to cry. After a long silence, she finally choked out, "I thought you wanted to buy my 'services.' Why are you doing this?"
Caspian’s hand stiffened for a fraction of a second.
"Heh."
He shoved her away abruptly. "Don't flatter yourself."
"I have much better ways to play with you." He curled his lip into a smirk, tossing the ice pack at her. "Hold it yourself."
The room fell into a deathly silence once more. Caspian stood with his back to her, facing the massive floor-to-ceiling window. Outside, the neon lights of the CBD surged like a flowing ribbon of liquid fire.
After a long while, he spoke, his voice dripping with irony. "You left me because you loved money, didn't you?"
The words felt like a physical blow to Daisy’s heart. She lowered her head, her fingers digging into her own skin, but she remained silent.
Caspian turned around, looking down at her as she sat collapsed on the floor. "Give me a price. How much does it cost to keep someone like you? Hmm?"
Daisy’s eyes widened as she stared at the towering silhouette before her. "What did you say?"
She lowered her head, whispering, "I can't, Caspian. We—"
"You have no right to refuse."
Before she could finish, he was over her again, his hand gripping her chin.
"Daisy, you should feel honored," Caspian leaned in, his eyes dark and predatory. "It's a much better deal than selling smiles to every random man in that filthy hole."
He gave her no further chance to resist. Grabbing her roughly by the arm, he dragged her out of the suite and toward the elevator.
When they reached the lobby, the KTV manager was already waiting, hovering anxiously. Caspian wordlessly whipped out a thick stack of cash. The flying banknotes filled the air with an intoxicating, filthy scent.
"She’s coming with me."
The manager’s face practically bloomed into a frantic, greedy smile. He didn’t spare a single glance for Daisy. Instead, he clutched the money, bowing and scraping as he escorted them out.
As Daisy was shoved into the luxury car, she stole one last look back. The magnificent, triumphal arch of the KTV entrance looked like the gaping maw of a giant beast.
And she had just been priced and sold to the very man whose heart she had personally shattered three years ago.
- Writer
