She Used Me for a Dare… Now I Own Her Mother

Chapter 294: Punishment – I

“Tsh! Tsh!” Helena sighed, feigning deep disappointment as she wiped a tear of laughter from her eye. “In the end, you really couldn’t hold your tongue for long, could you?”

She looked at Vivienne, pouting playfully.

“And I was enjoying it so much…”

Vivienne stared at her cousin, her mouth hanging open, her mind struggling to process what was happening.

The laughter. The casual dismissal. The complete and utter lack of shock.

’Why is she acting like this?’

Her eyes darted to Alex, searching for some sign of the reaction she’d expected… anger, betrayal, confusion… anything that would make sense of this nightmare.

But there was nothing. No shock. No fury. No recognition of being deceived.

Instead, Alex was smiling.

That slow, dark, predatory smile she was beginning to recognize… the smile of a man who held all the cards and was savoring the moment before he laid them on the table.

No…

The realization hit her like ice water.

’He knew.’

’He’s known the whole time.’

Alex saw the exact moment understanding dawned in her eyes. Saw the confusion transform into dawning horror, then settle into a numb, paralyzing dread.

He stepped forward, closing the distance between them with deliberate slowness.

Vivienne remained frozen on her knees, her hand still loosely gripping his cock… though all the confidence, all the power she’d felt moments ago had evaporated like smoke.

Alex reached down.

His large, warm hand settled on top of her head, fingers threading gently through her disheveled hair. He patted her once, twice… soft, almost tender gestures that felt utterly condescending given the context.

His hand slid down from her hair, fingers tracing the curve of her jaw before settling beneath her chin. He tilted her face up, forcing her to meet his eyes.

The contact was gentle, but the pressure was undeniable. She couldn’t look away. Couldn’t hide.

“So…” Alex said slowly, his thumb brushing across her lower lip as he held her gaze.

“You’re saying… that you’re not an assistant.”

He paused, letting the words hang in the air like smoke.

“You are Vivienne Vanderbilt herself. The CEO. The Billionaire…”

He leaned in closer, his eyes dancing with mockery.

“The mother of Jennifer.”

His thumb pressed slightly harder against her lip.

“And she…” Alex glanced back at Helena, who was still lounging on the table, watching the exchange with undisguised delight, “…is your assistant. Your cousin. Helena Vanderbilt.”

“Yes,” Vivienne repeated, though the word felt hollow now, stripped of all the power and triumph she’d felt when she’d first screamed it.

Alex’s smile widened, but there was no warmth in it. Only dark, cruel satisfaction.

“Interesting,” he murmured, his hand still cradling her jaw, his eyes boring into hers with an intensity that made her shiver.

“Then that story you told me on the terrace…”

His thumb moved, tracing the line of her jaw, following the curve down to her throat where her pulse hammered visibly beneath the skin.

“About how you wanted revenge on her. How you wanted to teach her a lesson. How you were so desperate to see the high-and-mighty CEO taken down a peg…”

He leaned down, his face inches from hers, his breath hot against her lips.

“That must have been fake too. Just like this little game.”

It wasn’t a question.

Vivienne’s heart sank. She’d been so focused on revealing the identity switch that she’d completely forgotten about the lies she’d spun on the terrace… the dark confession she’d made as “Helena.”

All of it had been a performance. A manipulation. A lie.

And now he was holding it up like evidence.

“Yes,” she admitted, her voice breaking slightly. “I… I just made it up. It wasn’t real. I was just…”

“Just what?” Alex interrupted, his voice soft but cutting. “Just playing with me? Just testing me? Just seeing if you could manipulate me into doing what you wanted?”

His thumb moved lower, tracing down the column of her throat to the hollow at the base where her collarbones met.

“Yes,” Vivienne whispered, unable to lie anymore, unable to hide. The truth was laid bare between them, and there was nowhere left to run.

Alex straightened, releasing her chin but keeping his hand resting possessively on her shoulder.

“So you’ve been a bad girl this entire time,” he said, his voice dropping to that low, dangerous register that sent involuntary shivers down her spine. “Deceiving me. Lying to me. Playing games with me.”

His hand slid down from her shoulder, trailing across her collarbone, down between her breasts, over the soft curve of her stomach.

“She’s right, isn’t she?”

Helena’s voice cut through the haze of Vivienne’s panic. She was still perched on the edge of the mahogany table, looking down at her cousin with a vindictive, satisfied smirk.

“She’s been very deceitful, Sir,” Helena purred, emphasizing the title to twist the knife deeper. “Lying to you. Pretending to be someone she’s not. A bad girl like that… she doesn’t just need a lesson. She deserves a punishment.”

Alex withdrew his hand from Vivienne.

The sudden loss of contact was jarring. Vivienne whimpered, her body swaying forward, chasing the touch that had just been tormenting her. But Alex didn’t give it back.

“I agree,” Alex murmured, his voice dark and final.

He didn’t give her time to recover. He stepped back, his hands gripping her waist firmly.

“Down,” he commanded.

It wasn’t a request. It was an order given to a subordinate. To a pet.

Vivienne didn’t argue. Her pride had already been shattered; her defiance was gone. Her knees shifted against the hard floor as she lowered her upper body, placing her palms flat against the wood.

“Ass up,” Alex ordered, his hands molding her into position. “Face down.”

She obeyed instantly. She arched her back deep, pressing her chest toward the floor and hiking her hips high in the air, presenting herself completely to him. She was no longer the CEO. She was no longer the mother of the bride. She was just a body, displayed for his use.

Alex stood behind her, looming over her vulnerable form. He took a moment to admire the view… the pale, trembling curve of her buttocks, spread wide and waiting.

He didn’t hesitate.

He pulled his hand back and swung.

SMACK.

The sound was like a gunshot in the quiet room.

“Ahhh!”

Vivienne gasped, her head whipping back, a high-pitched cry tearing from her throat. The sting was sharp and instant, a burning heat that radiated across her right cheek. But beneath the pain, a shameful, electric jolt of pleasure shot straight to her core.

Her ass jiggled wildly from the impact, the flesh turning a bright, angry red. She tried to hold still, but her body betrayed her, twitching and trembling in the aftershock.

“That’s a good noise,” Alex praised, his voice low and husky.

He reached out, but instead of hitting her again, he laid his palm flat against the stinging red mark. He rubbed it firmly, soothing the burn he had just created, confusing her senses even more.

“How should I punish you, Vivienne?” he asked, his fingers digging into her soft flesh.

Vivienne buried her face in her arms, a moan vibrating in her throat. She couldn’t speak.

Her mind was a mess of shame and desire.

“I asked you a question,” Alex growled, and he delivered another sharp, stinging slap to the other cheek.

SMACK.

“Oh, god!” Vivienne cried out, her hips bucking involuntarily.

“Tell me,” Alex demanded, gripping her hips to hold her in place. “How do you like to be punished?”

Vivienne squeezed her eyes shut, tears leaking out. She surrendered. She let go of the last shred of control she had been holding onto.

“Please…” she whimpered into the floor, her voice thick with submission. “Just… just use me… however you want.”