Chapter 144: Let Him Experience It First

Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Let Him Experience It First

Chapter 144: Let Him Experience It First

After hearing the apartment door close, Rhea Maddox swallowed slowly.

She had read about this kind of thing before. She understood the general idea, knew what people enjoyed about giving up control, and had even prepared some of the equipment herself.

Understanding it and actually experiencing it were completely different matters.

The restraints Cyrus had put on her left almost no room to move freely. Her wrists were secured behind her back, her ankles were bound, and the blindfold took away the last easy sense of what was happening around her.

Instead of making her panic, the helplessness sent an unexpected rush of satisfaction through her.

Rhea’s breathing deepened.

How long did Cyrus intend to leave her like this?

What would he do afterward?

Had he gone somewhere to prepare something?

Or had he never left at all?

That possibility made her pulse jump.

Maybe Cyrus was still inside the room, standing somewhere beyond the blindfold and deliberately refusing to make a sound. Maybe he wanted to watch her struggle with the uncertainty. Maybe the entire point was to let her imagine he had left while he silently observed what losing control did to her.

The thought alone sent another tremor through her.

Rhea shifted her legs as much as the restraints allowed and exhaled slowly through parted lips.

So this really was as intoxicating as she had imagined.

With nothing else available to her, her thoughts became much more active.

One hour passed.

Rhea had no clock to check, but enough time went by for the initial novelty to deepen into something stronger.

A breathless sound escaped her before she could suppress it.

Cyrus really was terrible.

She had assumed he knew nothing about this kind of scene. Yet somehow, the way he had left her alone felt so deliberate that she started doubting her assumption.

Was he naturally good at this?

Had he somehow understood that the uncertainty itself would make the restraint feel more intense?

Leaving someone alone without telling them when he would return was apparently one of the cruelest ways he could have approached it.

Rhea turned the question over in her head.

If Cyrus had genuinely intended to leave, why had he asked for the code to her apartment door?

Why had he made so much noise when he walked out?

Wouldn’t someone trying to abandon the scene have slipped away more quietly?

No, he wanted her to know he had left.

That had to be intentional.

He wanted her wondering whether he would return.

He wanted the anxiety.

The explanation made far more sense to Rhea than the truth.

She decided to endure it.

Another half hour passed.

Eventually, she could no longer resist testing the silence.

"Cyrus, are you still here?"

No answer came.

Rhea listened carefully.

The apartment remained silent.

Her imagination immediately supplied the missing picture.

Cyrus was probably standing somewhere nearby with a drink in his hand, watching her through the darkness while deliberately refusing to respond.

The thought sent another shiver through her.

Another half hour crawled past.

The uncertainty that had initially bothered her started blending with the thrill of being restrained, creating a strange mixture that kept pulling her deeper into the experience.

He was absolutely watching.

He wanted to see how long she could stand it.

That was the only explanation she wanted to believe.

Another hour passed.

The possibility that Cyrus had actually left became harder to ignore.

Rhea tried to push it away.

The anxiety itself still carried a certain excitement, and for a while, that was enough to keep the fantasy alive.

Then another hour slipped by.

She no longer had any reliable sense of time.

The pleasure of surrendering control gradually weakened, while the uncertainty underneath it grew heavier.

Cyrus still had not returned.

Rhea began to wonder whether she had misunderstood everything.

Even then, she refused to give up on the idea that he might still be nearby.

Perhaps he wanted to see her finally break.

Maybe this was exactly what he was waiting for.

Rhea drew in a breath.

"Cyrus?"

Silence answered.

She waited.

Then, with far less dignity than she would ever admit at work, she tried again.

"Baby, I am done playing now. Can you let me out?"

Nothing happened.

Rhea went still.

Then another realization struck her.

They had never chosen a safeword.

She closed her eyes behind the blindfold, feeling increasingly ridiculous.

Of course they had not.

This was her first time actually doing anything like this, and Cyrus clearly knew even less about the scene than she did.

Neither of them had thought to establish one.

The last piece of confidence holding up her fantasy began to crack.

More time passed.

A lot more.

By then, the excitement had faded almost completely.

What remained was disappointment.

Rhea had spent hours imagining that Cyrus was controlling the situation with some hidden purpose.

Now she could no longer avoid the simplest explanation.

He had actually left.

From beginning to end, she had not managed to tempt him even slightly.

She had stood in front of him willingly, handed him the lead, offered him control, and told him he could do whatever he wanted.

Cyrus had responded by restraining her and walking out.

Rhea’s frustration sharpened.

So the problem had been her approach.

Regret mixed with irritation.

Then something inside her changed.

Heat rolled through the room.

The dark hair falling around Rhea’s shoulders suddenly caught a deep red hue near the roots.

The color spread quickly.

Within moments, the black had vanished completely, replaced by vivid red hair that seemed almost lit from within.

The temperature climbed with it.

Warm air shimmered faintly across the room.

Then the restraints around her wrists and ankles crumbled.

The material did not snap.

It burned away.

Ash drifted to the floor while her clothes remained completely untouched beneath it.

Rhea pulled off the blindfold.

Her eyes had changed too.

Red light gleamed in them as she scanned the room.

Nobody was there.

Cyrus had genuinely left.

Rhea stood.

She walked into the living room, found her phone, and immediately called him.

The call rang for a while before it finally connected.

No one spoke.

Rhea listened.

Cyrus was clearly awake enough to answer.

So he had not been trapped somewhere unable to respond.

He had simply left her there.

When he remained silent, apparently unsure what to say, Rhea ended the call herself.

A smile slowly appeared across her face.

She had made a mistake.

She should not have expected Cyrus to understand the appeal simply because she handed him control.

If she wanted him to appreciate this kind of game, then she should let him experience it personally first.

Elsewhere, Cyrus had been dragged out of sleep by the call.

When he finally noticed that it was already close to seven in the evening, he sat up abruptly.

Rhea had called him and said nothing.

That could mean something had gone wrong.

Worse, Cyrus was the one who had restrained her.

The cuffs and rope were secure enough that even he would have had trouble escaping quickly if placed in the same position.

He had no idea how Rhea had managed to reach her phone.

That only made the situation more concerning.

Cyrus got out of bed, changed quickly, and left his apartment.

He nearly collided with Daphne Whitlock, who happened to be stepping out of the neighboring unit with a food container in her hands.

Daphne immediately reached out and caught his wrist.

"It is already dark. Where are you going?"

"I need to deal with something."

Cyrus tried pulling his hand free twice.

Daphne did not release him.

He was forced to turn back.

"There is an issue related to work. I need to go take care of it."

That was not technically a lie.

Spending time with Helena had counted as paid work.

Today’s arrangement with Rhea had also been paid work.

Daphne looked at him for several seconds before finally letting go.

Cyrus started down the hallway.

Behind him, Daphne remained holding the food she had prepared.

Her voice followed him.

"Are you coming back for dinner?"

Cyrus stopped briefly.

"No, but thank you."

Then he continued downstairs.

Once outside, he called a rideshare and gave the driver Rhea’s address.

During the trip, Cyrus quietly cursed Vera.

That useless school nurse had completely ruined everything.

He had agreed to let her drink because she promised information about removing the ring.

Instead, she had drained enough blood to knock him unconscious and left without giving him the answer.

Because of her, Rhea had been abandoned for six hours.

Cyrus leaned back against the seat.

Could he actually explain this?

He was no longer confident.

He had only intended to leave Rhea restrained for three or four hours at most, enough time for her to experience how unpleasant losing control could become once the novelty wore off.

Then Vera had appeared.

After that, everything had gone wrong.

This entire niche interest seemed increasingly questionable.

By the time the driver arrived, Cyrus had gone through several possible explanations and disliked all of them.

He entered Rhea’s building and went upstairs from memory.

Before he reached her apartment door, his phone chimed.

A transfer notification appeared.

Cyrus stopped walking.

Eight thousand dollars.

The remaining balance.

He stared at the number.

Suddenly the phone felt uncomfortably heavy in his hand.

He could not accept this.

His goal had never been to leave her restrained for six hours.

He had only wanted her to realize that surrendering freedom was not as fun as she imagined.

If Vera had not interrupted everything, Cyrus would have returned much earlier.

Now Rhea had apparently decided not only to forgive him but also to pay the entire agreed amount.

That only made him feel worse.

Cyrus reached her door.

Even though he knew the code, he knocked.

The door opened almost immediately.

A wave of heat rolled out.

Cyrus frowned instinctively.

Rhea stood inside looking completely normal again.

"You came back?"

"I am sorry. I..."

"It is fine."

Rhea interrupted before he could explain.

"I was the one who made things difficult after drinking too much. I already sent the rest of your payment, so remember to accept it."

There was even a trace of apology in her expression.

Cyrus stared at her.

She continued casually.

"Do you want to stay for dinner? I ordered some food."

His heartbeat jumped for reasons he could not identify.

"No, I am not hungry right now."

The refusal came faster than he expected.

Only after saying it did Cyrus realize he had forgotten the question he originally came here to ask.

How had Rhea escaped?

He glanced past her into the apartment, then decided he did not want to stay long enough to investigate.

"I still have something to take care of, so I should go."

"That is fine."

Rhea did not stop him.

She stood in the doorway and watched Cyrus turn away.

He walked down the hall without looking back.

A faint red spark passed through Rhea’s eyes.

If the things she had prepared had not already been reduced to ash when she broke free, she might have been tempted to change the plan immediately.

Unfortunately, she would need new equipment first.

Next weekend would work just as well.

Rhea’s smile deepened as Cyrus disappeared from sight.

"You had better be free next week, baby."