Forbidden Cravings

The mansion’s grand front doors felt heavier than they looked. I pushed the half-open one with a soft *clack*, stepping out onto the wide stone porch. Behind me, a couple of the younger maids paused in their morning chores, dusting the banisters, carrying trays of fresh flowers and gave me small, polite waves. I lifted my hand in a quick goodbye, smiling back, feeling oddly like I was leaving a whole little world behind.

I turned one last time. Elizabeth stood just inside the doorway, framed by the tall columns, wearing that same loose grey sweater and black pants. The sunlight caught her blonde hair, making it glow like gold. She raised her hand and gave a small, warm wave, lips curved in a soft smile that made my chest tighten.

I waved back, just as small, just as real.

I guess this is it. Now I should leave this safe heaven and go to my real heaven i.e: Aeri.

The cool morning air hit my face the second I stepped fully outside, bright and crisp. The sun was higher now, almost blinding after so many hours in dim rooms and steamy showers. I squinted, lifting a hand to shield my eyes.

"Damn, that’s too bright," I muttered to myself, blinking hard. "I guess I really lost track of the world out here... sigh."

*Beep-beep!*

A sharp car horn snapped me out of it. The black sedan that had brought me here last night was parked at the bottom of the wide steps, engine purring quietly. The driver tall, crisp black suit, dark sunglasses stood beside the open rear door, waving one gloved hand.

I jogged down the steps, shoes clicking on the stone.

"Right... can’t exactly walk home from here," I thought. This place was miles from the city, tucked away in its own private hills.

The driver gave a small nod as I slid into the back seat. The leather was cool against my jeans. He closed the door with a soft *thunk* and got behind the wheel.

The car glided smoothly down the long driveway, tires humming over gravel, then turned onto the wide highway. Trees and open fields blurred past the tinted windows. The radio played low classical music and soft piano notes that almost felt like background to the quiet.

"So... how did it go with Miss Elizabeth?" the driver asked casually, eyes fixed on the road ahead, hands steady on the wheel.

I leaned back against the seat, watching the scenery roll by green hills, distant city skyline starting to appear on the horizon.

"It went great," I said, keeping my voice flat, a small smile tugging at my lips as memories of the night and morning flashed through my mind.

He gave a tiny nod, the corner of his mouth lifting just a fraction. "Good to hear."

The car hummed on, smooth and quiet, carrying me away from the mansion and back toward the real world toward home, toward Aeri, toward whatever came next.

The black sedan glided smoothly along the winding highway, tires humming a low, steady song against the asphalt. Outside the tinted windows, the city had long since fallen behind, replaced by rolling green hills dotted with small farms and clusters of trees. In the distance, a chain of low mountains rose against the pale blue sky, their peaks softened by morning haze. Sunlight streamed through the glass, warming the leather seats and catching on the chrome accents of the dashboard. The faint scent of the driver’s cologne, something clean and expensive mixed with the new-car smell that still lingered inside.

I sat in the back, one arm resting along the top of the seat, staring out at the passing scenery. My black t-shirt felt a little wrinkled from yesterday, jeans still carrying the faint crease from being bunched on the floor all night. My hair was messy, still slightly damp from the shower, and my skin felt scrubbed clean but oddly heavy, like the weight of everything that had happened refused to wash away completely.

The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror. "Did she share her contact with you?" he asked, voice casual but with a tiny edge of curiosity.

I met his eyes in the mirror. "Yeah, she did. Why?"

He gave a small, knowing smile, the corner of his mouth lifting just a fraction. "Nothing. I just had a feeling she might do that this time."

I raised an eyebrow, shifting slightly in my seat. "She doesn’t do that often?"

"Often?" He let out a quiet chuckle, eyes flicking back to the road. "Not at all. She’s the private type...very private. No one knows how or when she moves. Even the men she spends time with... they have their lives on the line. She makes sure they can never track her back."

"Damn... that’s something," I muttered, leaning my head back against the seat.

I stared out at a small lake flashing past on the left, water sparkling like broken glass under the sun. The road curved gently, trees blurring by in streaks of green.

"She shared everything with me," I said after a moment, voice was quieter. "Even asked me to call and visit whenever I want."

The driver nodded slowly, like he’d expected exactly that. "I see. She must have gotten really attached to you then."

I frowned, leaning forward a little. "Is that so? Because I doubt we’ve only met twice so far."

"That’s not the point," he said calmly, eyes still fixed on the highway ahead. "The point is, she wouldn’t risk giving her personal contacts to a man who works at a brothel for no reason. Not unless she really trusted you. Not unless she felt something."

"Hmmm..." I sank back into the seat, staring at the back of his head. The words settled in my chest like stones, heavy but strangely comforting.

Yeah... that’s true.

Sharing her private number, asking me to call, to visit... that was a big risk. She knew exactly who I was, where I worked, how dangerous it could be if someone tried to use me to get to her. But she did it anyway. She didn’t hesitate. She looked me in the eye and told me to call her anytime, day or night.

Has she fallen in love with me?

The thought hit me quietly, slipping into my mind like it had been waiting there all along. I stared out the window at the passing landscape green hills rolling by, a distant mountain range turning purple in the morning haze, a few birds circling high above the road. My heart gave a strange little thud.

The driver didn’t say anything else. He just drove, steady and silent, letting the quiet stretch between us. The car hummed along the highway, carrying me away from the mansion and back toward the city back toward home But the question stayed with me, floating in the back of my mind like a secret I wasn’t sure I was ready to answer, while the sun climbed higher and the world outside kept moving on, bright and ordinary, like nothing had changed at all.