Lessons in Obedience

The next morning, the sky over the Kurosawa estate was heavy with clouds, a pale grey that promised rain but never delivered it—like a threat left unspoken.

Anika stood still in the middle of the vast dining hall, facing a table set for one. Not two.

Just her.

Aiko stood at her side, serene as ever. "The master is busy. You will eat alone."

"I'm his wife," Anika said sharply. "Does that mean nothing in this house?"

Aiko only offered a faint smile. "In this house, what matters is power, not titles."

The staff moved around her like shadows, silent and cold.

Every hallway whispered control. Every glance from a guard reminded her: You are owned.

But something inside her had changed since last night.

She'd seen him—really seen Rai Kurosawa. Broken and brutal, yes. But also human.

And she knew one thing:

If she didn't start claiming pieces of herself back… she'd lose everything.

That afternoon, she found herself summoned.

The door to his office loomed open, dark like a mouth about to swallow her.

Rai stood behind his desk, sleeves rolled up, tattoos visible, phone in hand. He didn't look at her as she stepped in.

>"Sit."

She didn't.

"I said sit."

"No."

That got his attention.

He looked up, slowly.

"Excuse me?"

"I'll stand," she said. "I didn't come here to be trained like a pet."

A flicker of something dangerous danced in his eyes.

"You think you're not one?"

Anika swallowed the fear clawing up her throat.

"I think I'm more than you expected."

The room fell silent.

Then, to her shock, Rai smirked. Not with amusement—but with warning.

"Lesson one," he said, walking toward her. "Obedience is not optional."

He stopped just inches away.

"This is not a love story, Anika."

"I know."

"Then why are you trying to make it one?"

She raised her chin. "I'm not. But if I'm going to survive here, I need to understand my captor."

Rai's gaze was sharp, assessing.

"You speak like a soldier."

"I'm learning from the best."

He tilted her chin up with two fingers, cold and precise. "You keep provoking me like this... You'll bleed."

She didn't flinch. "Better than fading quietly."

Something flashed in his expression—anger? Admiration? Lust?

It was hard to tell with Rai Kurosawa.

He dropped his hand.

"Very well," he murmured. "You want to understand me? Fine. Tomorrow, you'll accompany me to the warehouse. No guards. Just you. Lesson two."

She blinked. "What's lesson two?"

"Don't flinch when you see what I really do for a living."

He turned away like the conversation was over.

But before she left, he said one more thing, without facing her.

"And wear red. Not white. You're not here to look innocent."

Anika's heart pounded as she stepped back into the hallway.

She had crossed a line.

And he had let her.

She didn't know if that made her brave… or stupid.

But for the first time, Anika Sato wasn't just a pawn.

She had moved.