While I was tangled with my boyfriend in bed, I heard violent thumps coming from the door outside.

I opened my eyes in a daze. "Is… Is someone knocking on the door…?"

The man nibbled my earlobe, his voice hoarse and slurred, "Must have been the wind, baby…"

In front of my eyes, the comments flew past.

[Sweetie, look at the man in front of you a little closer, won't you?]

[This is hilarious! The MC thought the contract only works one-on-one, but he forgot he had a twin brother from the very same bloodline, haha!]

[Heh! Why just one brother if you can have both? She won't have to worry about going hungry ever again. What a lucky girl!]

As my brain worked to process the information, a man's trembling roar came from outside the door, "Hyde, you scumbag! Get out here right now!"

I was a succubus that Jack had picked up from the side of the road.

However, he had already stopped feeding me for half a month, saying that I had bullied Stephanie.

I protested again and again, "I didn't bully her! I just asked her to stop calling you in the middle of the night! I haven't eaten my fill in ages…"

He sent me a chilly glare. "Do you think that's an adequate reason?"

Then, he took a glance at Stephanie's message on his phone, telling him she wanted to cut contact with him, and his tone took on a tinge of irritation. "You've been by my side for ages, but it seems the only thing you've learned how to do is to humiliate people with money!"

"I didn't humiliate her!"

His gaze was icy cold and judgemental, but I stood my ground, defending myself. "It's none of my business if she thinks that money is humiliating! I for one, think that money is the best thing in the world!"

Besides, it was clearly her fault in the first place! Sunday nights were the only time I was allowed to feed, and it was already nowhere near enough for a top-ranked succubus like me.

On top of that, she would always call Jack, and my feeding session would be cut short by her episodes of "getting harassed by men in a restaurant" or "needing someone to fetch her because she was too drunk".

Every single time, Jack left immediately, leaving me high, dry, and most importantly, still extremely hungry.

And so, I went to see her in private, handing her some money and asking her if she could choose to call Jack at another time.

The moment that proposition left my mouth, she acted as if she'd been humiliated in the worst way humanly possible, gritting her teeth and crushing the bank notes I gave her under her foot. "Don't worry, Miss Vesper, I have absolutely no interest in your boyfriend. I wouldn't look twice at that kind of man, so high and mighty, and I'd already rejected him more than ten times before you two even met.

"He’s the one who said we could still be friends. I didn’t expect you to mind so much." Her eyes were rimmed red as she scoffed. "Honestly, why does it feel like I did something shameful? Tell him that I won't ask him for help anymore in the future. I don't want to be called a mistress."

And with that, she turned and left without a single glance back, all pride and icy arrogance. Her straight, unyielding figure definitely had the ability to stir a man's desire to conquer.

I carefully thought over everything she said, and promptly concluded that she wouldn't disturb my feeding again.

Before I could be happy about it, however, the whole thing reached Jack's ears, and the man who had always been calm and elegant got angry at me for the first time, believing me to have bullied Stephanie, and to be stubborn enough not to admit it.

"Do you know how difficult it is for someone as proud as her to ask for help in the first place? Why did you need to destroy her dignity like that?"

My eyes reddened with tears, but I kept on repeating, "...But it's not my fault…"

I had always been obedient, but this was one time I simply refused to bow my head.

After going back and forth several times, Jack's patience finally ran dry.

"Looks like you won't know your place if I don't teach you a lesson."

Tugging his tie loose, he stood up, annoyed. "That villa in the outskirts is empty anyway, so might as well get you to reflect there. If you don't learn to behave, starve. Do you think there's anyone else who can feed you besides me?"

Meeting the warning in his dark eyes, I tried hard to hold back my tears. "Fine then, don't feed me! I don't need you to feed me!"

I was a top-ranked succubus, for crying out loud! I could get any man I wanted!

He let out a cold snort, neither agreeing nor denying. He knew better than anyone what a contract bond actually meant, anyway.

-

With anger in my chest, I forced myself to hold on for three days, then another three. Even when I was dizzy with hunger and I couldn't stand straight, I still refused to call his number.

The best way to tame prey had always been to corner it, wait for it to be drained of every last drop of resistance, before appearing as its savior.

Jack had always been a patient hunter.

The summer days were hot, humid, and full of rain. By the tenth day of being locked in the villa, a storm raged outside, wind and lightning tearing the sky apart.

I wrapped my arms around myself tightly, burying half my face against my knees as my teary eyes looked outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows.

If Jack appeared now… Perhaps I could forgive him, just a little.

In the past, whenever thunder rumbled outside, he would stop working and pull me into his arms, coldly chiding me for being childish while wiping away the tears at the corner of my eyes.

But now, the entire villa was silent. He didn't even bother to call me.

I sniffled hard and tucked my face deeper, trying to hide myself from the world.

Suddenly, a crack of thunder lit up the living room, and the front door slammed open, bringing with it a gust of cold, rainy wind.

Stunned, I jerked my head up, and someone in a bright red race suit appeared in my line of sight without any warning.

Cool and tall, the man had black hair that was wet with rainwater and features that were both familiar yet not at the same time.

Before any rational thought formed, my instincts kicked in. The tears that had been threatening to fall finally did, and I threw my pillow away, running towards the man and pouncing into his arms barefoot.

"Jack!"

-

I was still very angry, but the emotion that welled up in my heart the moment I wrapped my arms around his waist wasn't anger, but a huge wave of hurt and sadness.

"I hate you…" Tears streamed down my cheeks pathetically as I weakly pounded my fists against his chest. "I hate you so, so much…"

Suddenly, my wrist was grabbed by a big, wet hand.

The man in front of me stepped back, putting distance between us, before he drawled, his voice lazy and teasing, "Whoa there, throwing yourself at me already?"

Perhaps it was because his soaked hair covered his brows that he looked a little less aloof than he usually was. To top it off, the red race suit he wore gave him an almost roguish air.

However, my thoughts had become sluggish after being starved for so long, so all I felt was confusion. "Why are you wearing those clothes?"

If I remember correctly, Jack always turned his nose up at car racing. In fact, he practically despised it.

He furrowed his brows as he held my wrist, which was heating up. "You're here all alone?"

What a strange question.

"Weren't you the one who told me to reflect on myself here?"

He lifted his gaze and swept the villa with a glance, then touched my forehead. Dazed, I leaned my head backwards slightly.

With a 'tsk', he said, "How do you have no idea that you're running a high fever?"

A fever?

I touched my cheek in a daze.

-

I had always been more partial to cold temperatures, so even on rainy days, the whole villa was blasting with air-conditioning.

The first thing he did was find the remote and turn them all off.

The villa was unoccupied in the first place, so there wasn't so much as a flu tablet in sight. He could only use a wet towel to cool me down.

The phone rang for a long time before someone finally picked up. The voice on the other end was clearly annoyed. "What?"

Hyde didn't bother with pleasantries, his tone lazy and proud. "What, can't I call you without a reason? By the way, the succubus you locked up in the Southern Villa seems to be running a fever. Aren't you going to check in on her?"

"Why did you go over there?" The man on the other end was clearly displeased.

"Well, my car broke down, and the villa was close by, so I ducked in here to wait out the rain."

On the other end, the navigation announced a turn into the old district.

Hyde chuckled, his voice laced with mischief. "Oh my, isn't that where your precious damsel in distress lives? What, is Prince Charming swooping in for the rescue again?"

In the background, Stephanie's cold voice came through, tinged with stubborn displeasure. "No need to take a detour, just drop me off at the next junction."

"Shut up." Jack's voice was even colder. "Just find her a doctor, Hyde. I don't have time to go."

Glancing at the downpour outside the window, Hyde drummed his fingers lazily against the windowsill. "Bro, humor my curiosity. You're ignoring your feverish little girlfriend, all in favor of taking a detour to send Stephanie home. Is she really that fragile? Or are you planning on cheating on her?"

It was blunt, crude, and hard to hear.

"We're just friends," Jack corrected stiffly. "Stephanie got soaked in the rain, and she looks terrible. I can't just let her be."

"What about Lily, then?"

"What could happen to her, staying in that villa all day? Succubi heal fast, so it's fine even if she starves and has a little fever for a few days. She'll act up again if I don't teach her a lesson."

Hyde couldn't help but laugh, not able to hold back his commentary, "Wow, mistresses really do get all the love, huh?"

Those words seemed to hit a sore spot for Stephanie, and her voice cut in sharply. "You can leave me, Jack. I can handle things myself."

"Sit still," Jack ordered, before turning toward the microphone with a cold, steely tone. "I already told you that we're just friends. If you spout that nonsense again, I'll make sure your racecar team disbands tomorrow!

"Just find her a doctor and leave the villa. I'll go see her in a few days."

After that, he hung up.

Hyde curved his lips in a lazy, mocking smile.

Friends, huh?

What an ambiguous, yet proper word.

He turned around and saw me, burning with fever, half-conscious in bed. My tender skin glowed pink, and my eyes were hazy with tears, unfocused and bewildered as they landed on him.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and his lips lifted faintly.

He wanted to be friends with this succubus too…

The kind of friends who could kiss and sleep together.

-

The rain outside only grew heavier, with no sign of stopping.

After a while, the man checked my forehead again and replaced the towel with a fresh one.

Suddenly, his phone rang. After answering it, he was just about to step out of the bedroom, only for me to grab his wrist.

"Don't go…"

I knew this scene too well. These late-night calls either came from the company or Stephanie.

Maybe it was the sickness making me extra fragile, but tears welled up in my eyes. I butted his wristbone softly with my head, clinging to him. "Jack… Won't you stay with me…?"

Someone was still speaking on the other end of the phone, and I saw his Adam's apple bob very lightly.

Outside, thunder roared, and the rain wrapped the world in sound.

Silently, my hunger crept up on me again. I sniffled and widened my eyes to make myself look more pitiful. "Don't go… I'll starve to death…"

The man just stared at me, not saying a word.

In the heavy silence, the hope in my gaze slowly dimmed.

Suddenly, I remembered what he said to me once, when he pushed me away coldly. "Do you think of anything other than kissing and hugging all day?"

I bit my lip, muttering, "B-But I'm really hungry…"

"Can't you just endure it? Isn't once a week enough for you? If you don't know how to control your urges, what difference do you have from wild animals by the side of the road?" He was clearly irritated, and every single word was laced with poison and aimed where it hurt.

I couldn't help the tears that fell from my eyes, yet bit my lip and stifled any noises that would come out, in fear of annoying him even further.

He wanted me to have dignity. Self-respect.

But a succubus's instincts never bowed to reason.

Prolonged hunger would eat away at all our rational thought, leaving only the most primitive, pathetic instinct to survive.

So after the first time I couldn't help sneaking out to eat, he was so furious he almost laughed, before coaxing me into forming a contract with him.

He called it discipline and protection.

"The men outside are filthy."

He didn't like it when I came into contact with others, yet always refused to let me eat my fill, just like today.