Cassian’s smile deepened by the slightest degree. "And yet," he said softly, "you are still here and want to keep my lips for yourself. How selfish of you!"

If not for her curse on the line, she would have smashed that document on his face and left already. "Yes," she said with unabashed confidence.

Cassian’s brow lifted.

"Yes," she repeated, this time more firmly. "I am selfish! Because I like you! I want to keep your lips for myself! ... It strokes your pride, doesn’t it?"

Cixi couldn’t come to a conclusion on who to curse at that moment. Her fate, perhaps, or the grim reaper who shared her name. She couldn’t believe she was cursed simply because of a name.... It was her fate! It was the fault of the gods, the heavens, and the underworld for allowing it to happen.

The faint, dangerous smile lingered at the corner of his mouth, though he said nothing.

"At least I am not a big fat liar like you!" Cixi shot him a glare. "You deceived me! I can’t believe I fell in love with a liar. But what can I do now? My heart just doesn’t listen to my head. So, I guess I have no choice but to let you play with my Feelings!"

Cassian kept that faint smile on his face while he listened to Cixi’s complaint without interrupting her. He simply let her speak, as though her frustration amused him. When she finally fell silent, he spoke at last.

"Go home, Cixi. I am done with you for now!" His tone remained maddeningly calm. "Next time, arrange our meeting either at my personal space or at your apartment..."

Cixi opened her mouth at once, ready to argue, but he cut her off before a single word could leave her lips.

"I’ll have the document prepared," he continued, his eyes holding hers with infuriating steadiness. "And I am going to add some of my own terms to it."

Before she could react, Cassian lifted his hand. His fingers brushed her flushed cheek, tracing the heat there so lightly that the touch should not have unsettled her as much as it did.

"Then we shall see," he murmured, "whether you and I can agree to each other’s terms."

Cixi was at a loss for words as his fingertips brushed gently against her skin. In that instant, she realised how utterly blissful his touch made her feel. And yes, she felt a sense of impending doom in that moment.

She stared at him. Deep down, she should have known this devil would never make things easy for her. Nothing with him would ever come simply. Not even a contract. Not even a kiss....

How was she supposed to survive him?!

The question rose in her mind once again, heavy and unwelcome.

Cassian glanced towards the door.

At once it opened, and Mark stepped inside. "Make sure she reaches home safely," Cassian ordered without taking his eyes off Cixi.

Cixi, however, still had more to do. There was something equally more important she needed from him than a signed contract.

She turned, her eyes dragging briefly over Mark before locking directly back onto Cassian.

"You... you spoke of my parents," she began, and for the first time since entering the room, her voice carried something rawer than embarrassment or defiance. "You said the people who raised me were my kidnappers. That my actual parents were someone else. You even said you knew who they were, and that you wanted to introduce me to them."

A desperate spark of hope lit up her chest.

If she truly had parents somewhere in this world, then this was not a small matter. Unless, of course, Cassian lied to her, and he had only been toying with her heart all along.

"Was that a lie?" Cixi demanded softly. "I know you claim you do not remember me, but you can easily ask your men. You can ask Mark if he knows."

She turned her neck to look directly at Mark. The stoic bodyguard stood rigidly near the heavy door. Only when he felt her desperate gaze on him, Mark’s eyes flicked passively toward her, then immediately shifted to Cassian, before staring blankly at the empty wall, offering absolutely nothing.

"I have been informed."

Cixi’s head snapped back at Cassian. Her heart lurched, and excitement rushed through her chest, so sudden and bright that she had to fight not to let it show too openly. Yet Cassian saw it nonetheless.

His internal calculations shifted slightly as he stared into Cixi’s light grey eyes. His plan had changed.

What he had intended six months ago no longer mattered. Back then, perhaps he would have handled this differently.

But today, Cixi had arrived with a contract in her purse, boldness on her tongue, and too much hope in her eyes.

He now intended to keep the Romanov secret buried for now from her after witnessing her desperate, clumsy attempt to seduce him.

"They live on a different continent," Cassian stated coldly. "It is not currently workable to contact them for now."

Cixi frowned in deep confusion. "But you specifically told me you were ready to introduce me to them soon."

"That was six months ago," Cassian drawled as he strolled back to the spot where Cixi had kissed him, crossing his long legs. "Life changes in a single second, Lousy Kisser. You are clinging to outdated notions. Back then, it was feasible. Now, it’s not." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Cixi’s brain stalled entirely. ’Lousy kisser?’

He keeps changing from scammer to fake fiancee to little lamb and now lousy kisser. And he had said it so casually, directly in front of his bodyguard.

Was that truly the name he had chosen for her now?

And did he really have to call her that in front of other people?!

A horrifying thought hit her so abruptly that it nearly showed on her face.

What if he called her that in public?

What if he said it loudly in front of a crowd?

And Cassian was capable of doing that.

Her heart thudded with sudden dread.... Everyone would know how bad a kisser she was.....

Cixi cast a mortified glance over her shoulder at Mark, then rapidly lowered her vocal pitch into a harsh whisper. "Stop calling me a Lousy Kisser."

"That completely depends on you," Cassian shot back smoothly, entirely unfazed by her embarrassment.

"My given name is Cixi!"

"Yes," Cassian agreed lazily. "But you are a Lousy Kisser also."

Cixi could clearly see the mocking glint dancing behind his dark eyes. He was thoroughly enjoying tormenting her.

"Should I call you a big fat liar?" Cixi challenged him, her temper finally spiking above her embarrassment. "In the public?"

"People will just laugh at you," he tilted his head, genuinely presenting his logic. "Look at me. Am I fat? No! And if I formally tell the public that you are only calling me a liar because you miserably failed to seduce me... and now you are taking out your frustration on me... who do you honestly think the crowd will believe?" Cassian smirked, "A handsome Greek god-like man or a so-so looking girl."