The morning light streamed into the hotel room through the blinds. Yuqi groaned, wincing slightly as the sun hit her eyelids, then slowly opened her eyes.
At first, she was confused when she saw the unfamiliar room until she finally remembered where she was and what happened the previous night.
Her face started burning red and she felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach when the memories resurfaced.
His lips on her neck.
His mouth on her nipples.
His fingers teasing her core.
His hands spanking her ass.
His groans in her ear.
That was enough for her to be wet all over again.
Get it together, Yuqi.
She sat up, covering her chest with the bedsheet, and looked around, finding a space beside her.
Ezra was gone.
And there was a note on the nightstand.
She reached for it and opened it up.
Had business to handle. I’ll think about your offer and will get back to you.
—E.X
Simple. Direct. No warmth, no affection—just an impersonal formality disguised as a message.
Yuqi exhaled sharply through her nose at the letter, and yet her pulse jumped anyway because he was going to think about clearing Ming’s debt. That was a good thing, right? Or did it mean that he had his fun with her and would still go ahead and terrorise Ming until he paid him back?
Yuqi's hands trembled slightly as she gripped the note, her mind racing with possibilities. The sheets carried a faint scent of his cologne—expensive and dark, something that made her stomach flip again despite herself.
She scanned the room: her dress was still on the floor next to the edge of the bed, her panties and bra were strewn across the room. But no sign of Ezra’s clothes or any evidence of last night’s negotiations.
Her face burned hotter at how easily Ezra had unravelled her—how willingly she’d let him.
The clock read 8:47 AM. No Ming calls yet (good), multiple spam messages and missed calls from Minnie (worse).
She was alone in this lavish prison, wondering if this was a cruel game where he kept her dangling until she begged harder?
One Month Later…
The café buzzed with its usual midday rush—customers were chatting amongst themselves, the espresso machine was hissing steam, the usual liveliness you’d expect from a café.
Yuqi moved efficiently behind the counter, wiping down tables, smiling, and taking orders from regulars who greeted her.
It was a normal day—or as normal as it could be when your boyfriend still owed a dangerous man an obscene amount of money.
She hadn’t heard from Ezra since their meeting at the hotel. She never said a word to Minnie about how it went despite her persistence.
“It’s done and over with, Minnie. All I have to do for now is wait and hope he considers my deal,” she would tell Minnie whenever she brought up the subject.
Ming was still blissfully unaware of her meeting with Ezra. No way she was going to tell her boyfriend that she slept with his loan shark in exchange for clearing his debt.
Just as she handed a customer their iced coffee, Minnie entered through the door and scanned for Yuqi like she always did during her shifts.
As soon as she spotted her, she gestured toward the booth in the far corner and immediately walked over.
“Start talking,” Minnie said as soon as Yuqi arrived, leaning forward, staring at her like a hawk.
Her eyes and demeanour had the quiet intensity of someone who would corner Yuqi during her next break or after her shift for answers.
No small talk today. Just pure bestie interrogation mode activated.
Yuqi sighed. "There's nothing to talk about."
Minnie’s face scrunched up like she’d just bitten into a lemon. “Fuck you mean ‘Nothing to talk about?’ You haven’t said anything about your meeting with Ezra since I picked you up from the hotel,” she replied incredulously.
“Right. ‘Cause you’re dying to know the explicit details of me having sex with him,” Yuqi retorted sarcastically.
“You know what I mean.” Minnie rolled her eyes. “Like, how did it go? Did he say yes, or is Ming fucked?”
Yuqi was silent briefly before sighing. “I dunno. He left a note the morning after, saying he was gonna think about it. Whatever that means.”
"Well, that's vague," Minnie frowned. "And not a word from him since? No call or text. Or mailing Ming's pinky toe to you."
Yuqi's face pulled in disgust. "Ew! No! Why would you think that?"
"He's a loan shark. It's what they do. Ask Nate Jacobs."
"You watch waaaay too much TV."
"At least I'm cultured."
Yuqi rolled her eyes. “No. Ezra hadn’t contacted me since. That’s what’s kinda stressing me out currently.”
“Wooooow. All that work to get his meat inside you and he ghosts you?” Minnie replied.
Yuqi’s cheeks burned at Minnie’s crude phrasing and she smacked her friend’s arm lightly.
“Jesus Christ, Minnie!” she hissed, glancing around to make sure no customers heard.
“What? If it were me in your position and dude ghosts me after I put in the work looking all hot and dolled up and giving him the pornstar experience, I’d be offended,” Minnie retorted.
“Okay, first off, you’re depraved. Secondly, I didn’t sleep with him to give him the pornstar experience. I slept with him as a transaction,” she muttered the last part, though honestly—she hadn’t exactly been unenthusiastic either.