Reluctant Submission

Lily sat on the sofa in the grand hall, her mind swirling with frustration and resentment. The rich aroma of freshly brewed tea wafted through the air as the maid replaced her cup for the umpteenth time. Lily shifted her position, the plush cushions beneath her doing little to ease her growing discomfort.

At first, she believed Ethan to be nothing more than a wealthy playboy, a spoiled son of a rich family. But as she delved deeper into his background, the true extent of his power and influence became alarmingly clear. Had she known the truth from the start, she would have never agreed to his sordid proposal of an "equal exchange."

To become his mistress...

It was a trap, cunningly laid for her to stumble into. Like a skilled fisherman, he had baited the hook and reeled her in with expert precision, while she, in her naivety, had taken the bait all too willingly.

A devious, calculating man.

Lily's heart seethed with a potent blend of hatred and regret as she silently cursed Ethan's name. Nanny, ever attentive, politely interjected, "Miss Anderson, Mr. Blackwood's return time is often unpredictable."

The implication was clear - waiting any longer would be an exercise in futility. Lily understood that her presence was keeping the household staff from their much-needed rest.

"I'll come back tomorrow to wait for him," she replied with a courteous smile, rising from her seat and making her way towards the exit.

Days turned into a fruitless string of visits, each ending with Lily leaving the Blackwood family's lavish villa empty-handed. As the court date loomed ever closer, her uncle grew increasingly agitated, his hair thinning further with each passing day, the weight of the impending lawsuit bearing down upon him.

All because she had failed to meet Ethan Blackwood that fateful Tuesday night, he had saddled her with this immense burden.

A petty, vindictive man.

As Lily once again departed from the Blackwood residence, her hands as empty as her hopes, a sudden recollection struck her - the unfamiliar number Ethan had once used to contact her. Desperate for any glimmer of a chance, she hastily retrieved the number and dialed, her heart fluttering with a mixture of anticipation and dread.

The call connected, but was met with a heavy, ominous silence on the other end.

Lily steeled herself, clearing her throat in an attempt to imbue her voice with a honeyed sweetness. "Mr. Blackwood, it's me, Lily Anderson."

Even to her own ears, the cloying tone rang hollow and insincere.

After a momentary pause, Ethan's voice, as cold and unforgiving as a winter's frost, crackled through the receiver. "I don't know you."

Lily was rendered speechless, her mind reeling with a torrent of unspoken insults.

Bastard! Scum! Degenerate! Just how many women had he violated and discarded to forget her so easily?

But before she could utter a word in her defense, Ethan's voice, now tinged with an ominous chill, cut through the silence once more. "Be at Summer Night before eleven. Don't make me wait."

Summer Night - the city's most opulent nightclub and entertainment complex. Of course, a man like him would choose such a place to indulge his every whim and desire.

Lily glanced at her watch, with a mere twenty minutes remaining until the appointed hour. As she stepped through the doors of the nightclub for the first time, the cacophony of raucous laughter and pulsating music engulfed her senses, the air thick with the heady scent of sweat and alcohol.

Scantily clad dancers writhed and undulated around gleaming poles, their alabaster skin painted in a kaleidoscope of neon hues, eliciting waves of frenzied cheers from the intoxicated patrons. On the dance floor, a mass of bodies gyrated and swayed to the relentless beat, lost in a primal, almost feral display of unbridled hedonism.