The Devil's Favourite Obsession

”There are too many drunk men here,” he said quietly, his grip on her waist not loosening. ”I am only trying to keep you safe.”

Cixi turned her head towards Marion and Lily. Both were watching her now, their brows slightly drawn as they looked at the man holding her too close.

”My friends are managing very well,” Cixi said, tugging at her hand slightly to test his hold.

”They are,” he agreed calmly. ”But none of the men are circling them the way they are circling you. Your two friends have already demonstrated exactly what they can do to anyone who crosses them. You...” His eyes moved slowly over her delicate, youthful face. ”... however, it remains the safest option.”

”Safest option?” Cixi snapped, her chin lifting defiantly. ”Maybe a swift kick to your ego, which clearly lies in your balls, will show you just how wrong you are about me. Now let go of me.”

Before she could wrench herself free, he added, ”Don’t forget your words, Cixi. Or do you want your friends to end up in the basement?”

The threat made her freeze where she stood.

Is this how it is always going to be?

It had been the same in college—men cornering her, completely ignoring the fact that she was smaller and weaker than they were, hurting her simply because they could.

Then there was Nelson.

The drug addicts in the alleyway.

And now this nameless stranger was refusing to let her go, holding her hostage under the excuse of protection.

”Cassian will not be happy,” Cixi reminded him, straightening her back slightly.

She was his fiancée.

Maybe she should use that word more often. If it kept men away, she would wear it like armour.

She had no interest in being cornered again. And whatever reckless thought she had entertained about a second kiss vanished completely beneath this man’s grip.

”Well,” the man said, leaning slightly closer, ”I don’t think Cassian cares.”

”I am Andi, by the way,” he introduced himself casually, completely ignoring her open hostility. As if she cared about his name.

”We all know he is not the relationship type,” Andi continued. ”None of us has ever heard of him being serious about any woman since he started dating at the age of twelve.”

The revelation hit Cixi a little harder. The number alone stunned her.

At twelve, she had been busy burying herself in her studies just to earn a single compliment from her parents, and Cassian had been dating.

Her shock must have shown on her face, because Andi chuckled at once.

”You didn’t know?” he mocked. ”He dated a woman five years older than him when he was twelve.”

He let out another grating laugh while her fingers slowly curled into her palm.

”You proudly announce that you are engaged to him, yet you know absolutely nothing about the man. I don’t even see a ring on your finger. What—”

”He gave me his word,” Cixi cut in instantly, weaponising the shameless lie without hesitation. ”And before he could buy one, he vanished.”

”Well,” Andi said, tilting his head slightly, ”now he has forgotten about you. He probably does not even care. He hasn’t searched for you all this time, and he certainly hasn’t bothered to keep you company tonight.”

Cixi bit down hard on the inside of her cheek as she held his gaze steadily.

Around them, the crowd continued to dance, while Marion and Lily slowly began making their way towards her, clearly sensing that the conversation was going wrong. However, reaching her was not easy through the thick crowd.

”In fact,” Andi added, his voice dropping slightly, ”when we first heard the sudden rumours about a fiancée, the entire underworld assumed some desperate woman was taking advantage of his absence to make herself famous.”

He stared directly into her eyes, trying to intimidate her, but Cixi refused to look away.

Looking away would mean admitting defeat. And she wouldn’t allow that.

Deep down, she knew he was right—Cassian did not care. Since returning from his supposed death, he had seemed different to her, or probably he was always like that... But she was not going to let Andi rub that reality in her face.

”If he had rejected me,” she said steadily, keeping her scattered confidence intact,” he would not have allowed me and my friends to walk out of that VIP room in one piece.”

He had asked for Binge’s hand and had threatened his men, yet he had not harmed a single hair on her head—even after she had slapped him.

Maybe somewhere inside Cassian, there was still a trace of kindness for her.

Maybe even he did not know it yet... That was the only conclusion Cixi allowed herself to keep.

”Now let me go.”

When Andi’s grip still did not loosen, Cixi drove her stiletto heel down hard onto his foot.

He groaned sharply in pain. His arm instantly loosened from around her waist, hissing and releasing her at once.

Cixi immediately stepped back and turned to leave, only to be caught again when his hand closed tightly around her wrist.

”I wanted us to start nicely,” Andi hissed from behind her, all traces of his smooth charm gone. ”But you asked for it.” His grip tightened. ”What do you think Cassian will do,” he continued softly, ”when he finds out a very... interesting video of his fiancée is circulating among men? Moaning another man’s name while touching herself with those pretty little fingers to her fuckable pussy?”

Cold dread flooded her veins at once, turning ashen. She froze. Her fingers twitched before she forced them still. For one terrible second, the air would not move in her chest.

At that moment, Marion and Lily began walking towards her.

Andi’s gaze flicked towards them briefly before returning to Cixi’s face with a dark, triumphant smile curling over his mouth, seeing Cixi in silence.

”It happens in places like this,” he continued casually. ”There is always one woman who becomes the centre of attention. And today, that woman is you, Cixi.” His smile deepened. ”Be careful what you say to your friends. I cannot guarantee I will hold back the information Cassian needs to know about his rumoured fiancée.” Then he leaned even closer. ”Do you know how many men have seen your video? I know a dozen in my circle alone.”

The words struck harder than any slap.

”I wonder how much more it has saved,” he added lightly. ”On their phones. On their desktops... laptops ...”

A creeping sense of dread coiled around Cixi’s neck, tightening like a rope.

”Now smile, come to me sweetly, and kiss me.” He stepped closer, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, drawing her near.

”Why are you treating my fiancée as if she were yours?”

The music died.