The Devil's Favourite Obsession

Cassian had been on his way to the lounge for a meeting where Mr Gambino was already waiting for him.

The matter had been important enough for the men ahead of him to clear the corridor before he even arrived. But the moment Cassian stepped into the lounge, his attention did not go to the private corner reserved for business. His gaze swept across the room once, noticing everything at once.

Binge’s three men were seated while the others were missing.

And among the missing ones was Cixi as well.

At first, his gaze moved with indifference over the dimly lit lounge, over the men with cigars and the women with painted smiles, and then towards the dance floor.

That was where he found her.

And that was where his gaze came to rest.

Not on the men near her.

Not on the flashing lights overhead.

Not even the crowd who was trying to move with the rhythm.

Only on her.

”Fiancée...” he muttered under his breath, the word feeling strange on his tongue.

Cixi stood in the middle of the dance floor, dancing awkwardly and hesitantly, which made her stand apart from every other woman around her. She was clearly not made for crowds like this, nor for music that demanded looseness of the body. And yet she was the only thing his eyes settled on.

Then his gaze shifted elsewhere, to the man dancing with her.

That was when the amusement came.

A dangerous kind of entertainment.

The man was not merely glancing at her.

He was devouring her with his eyes.

Cassian watched him for only a moment before speaking to one of his men without turning his head.

”Tell Mr Gambino I will be late. Offer him good company.”

His man immediately stepped away, following his boss’s order.

Cassian remained where he was, one hand slipping into the pocket of his tailored trousers, the other hanging loose by his side. His posture was almost lazy, yet nothing about him was relaxed.

He watched.

A notorious man made his move exactly as Cassian had expected.

He deliberately collided with Cixi under the guise of drunken clumsiness.

Cixi stumbled and fell into Andi’s arms.

And for a while, Cassian watched Andi’s hand.

If he remembered correctly, Andi was the sort of man who held women with confidence that bordered on arrogance. And now he had Cixi by the waist, keeping her in his arms longer than necessary.

Cixi was trying to pull away.

Andi did not let her go.

Then Cassian saw Cixi’s heel come down sharply onto Andi’s foot.

’Good.’

She tried to leave, and once again Andi caught her wrist, stopping her from walking away. Cassian saw him lean down and murmur something into Cixi’s ear.

Whatever Andi said, it froze her.

And now, Cassian started walking towards them.

His men moved before anyone had to be told. The crowd parted in a ripple, then in a wider break, the way water parts when something far more dangerous than a man enters it.

Cassian sauntered towards Cixi with arrogance, like a man who had never once in his life needed to rush for anything he intended to take.

Andi still had not noticed him.

Neither, it seemed, had Cixi, whose body had gone rigid with fear and panic while Andi had now wrapped an arm around her from behind, pulling her back against his chest.

Cassian stopped before them, standing close enough for his presence alone to crush the air.

”Why,” he asked, ”are you holding my fiancée as though she were yours?”

Silence struck the surrounding space.

The DJ had stopped the music when one of Cassian’s men signalled for it to be cut.

”You look very comfortable,” Cassian said in an almost conversational tone. His gaze flickered towards Cixi, then returned to Andi.

Andi instantly loosened his grip. He let his hands slide cleanly away from Cixi’s waist and took a slight step back.

”It was not like that, Cassian. I was making sure she was safe.”

Cixi remained completely frozen where she stood.

”By groping her, you mean?”

Cassian’s blunt question sent a visible jolt through Andi, his expression turning grave at once.

Cixi had not heard Cassian approaching. She had not even registered the music stopping or Andi pulling his hands away. Her mind was still echoing the venom Andi had just spat at her.

’The video is still circulating around.’

Cold beads of sweat formed instantly at her temples. Her throat went bone-dry. The frantic pounding of her own heart was the only sound she could hear.

It had been six months since anyone had dared to bring the video up directly to her face. In truth, she had prayed that the subject of the deepfake would never be mentioned to her again. The cocky man she had argued with at the Crowns Hotel had been the last person to bring it up.

While Cixi was drowning in dread, Andi defended himself.

”She wasn’t feeling well, Cassian,” Andi lied smoothly. ”She said herself that she was feeling dizzy. I was merely holding her gently,” he added, though his gaze betrayed him for a moment, falling to Cixi’s back before he forced it away again. Especially not in front of Cassian, who, apparently, was taking the word fiancée quite seriously. He dragged his eyes back to Cassian’s face. ”So she wouldn’t topple over. As her dance partner—”

”Partner?” Cassian interrupted him mid-sentence. ”Partnership is between equals, Andi,” Cassian directed an insult at him. ”You should have known your place. Now, let’s take her opinion as well.”

”Cixi,” Cassian called out, his voice a smooth, low command.

She didn’t answer. She couldn’t.

Marion, who had arrived at the same time as Cassian, gently laid a hand on her shoulder, causing Cixi to violently recoil from the sudden touch and stumble away a step.

Cassian’s already darkening mood immediately soured further. He shot a lethal look at Andi, then looked back at the terrified woman, who announced she was his fiancée.

This time, he walked to her and stood right in front of her, looking straight into her eyes. ”Cixi.”