I maintained my innocent smile at Mrs. Coi, outwardly ignoring her sudden and alarming fantasy about our future children. I had the contract; I had my exit plan. Her words, though disturbing, couldn't touch me.
Then I saw Sebastian rub his head with a gesture of rare, visible frustration. He cut Mrs. Coi short, preventing the conversation about children from continuing.
"Mrs. Coi, please, can you help me bring her to the master bedroom?" he requested.
"And she also has a backpack in the car; please tell someone to take it up. Besides that, help me shop for new clothes for her. The old clothes she has won't do. I have other things to do."
Mrs. Coi beamed with delight at the directive. "Of course, Little Master, I will be sure to help you with that."
Sebastian gave the old woman a curt acknowledgment. "Thank you, Mrs. Coi. Then I am leaving her to you. I still have something to do."
I watched Sebastian turn and walk deeper into the house, disappearing into the vast interior and leaving me alone with the Head Butler. All I could do was continue to offer the old woman a pleasant, vacant smile.
"Come, come, Lila," Mrs. Coi chirped, taking my arm lightly. "Let me show you to your room—the place you'll be staying for the rest of your life."
Mrs. Coi began leading me toward the sitting area. The moment I saw it, I couldn't help but gasp.
The space was impossibly huge. If I were to compare this single room with my entire tiny house back home, my whole old life would have been compressed into a corner of this one sitting room. The luxury was staggering, forcing me to confront the reality of Sebastian's wealth.
The more I saw of him, the more weary I felt. Someone as wealthy, and by extension, as dangerous as Sebastian, was absolutely not my first marriage option.
The only thing that maintained my sanity was the knowledge that I would be free after five years.
I continued following Mrs. Coi across the sprawling sitting room. She led me to an inbuilt elevator, which was another shocking detail. An elevator in a private home? It was an extravagance I couldn't have imagined.
Mrs. Coi noticed my shocked expression. "Little Master built this for me," she explained kindly. "As you can see, I'm old and definitely can't manage climbing those grand steps every day. Little Master told me to retire, but I refused, so he had no choice but to build me an elevator."
I nodded at her explanation, absorbing this tiny detail of Sebastian's hidden, pragmatic kindness. Mrs. Coi pressed the elevator button, and we both stepped inside.
As we ascended, I seized the opportunity to ask the question that had been lingering in my mind since she first addressed him. "Mrs. Coi, why do you call Sebastian 'Little Master'?"
She smiled at me. "Oh, I was his grandmother's favorite maid, and I took care of his father. His father is called 'Master,' so he is his father's child, and therefore, of course, he will be a 'Little Master' then."
We exited the elevator, and Mrs. Coi started leading me down another extremely long hallway.
"I heard you talk about his grandmother," I said, trying to casually gather more information. "Where are his parents, and why aren't they living with Sebastian?"
"Little Master has always been an independent child," Mrs. Coi answered easily. "So, of course, he left home earlier to live alone. And his mother couldn't bear for Little Master to be alone, so she sent me with him."
I began to understand the family dynamics: Sebastian was deeply independent, almost deliberately isolated, yet his family maintained ties through the watchful presence of Mrs. Coi.
A more urgent question then pricked at my curiosity, a secret I was itching to confirm: Did Sebastian's family and Mrs. Coi know about his dabbling in illegal arms? The curiosity was immense, and I almost asked the old lady directly, but my self-preservation instinct kicked in again, stopping the reckless question before it left my lips.
Mrs. Coi finally pushed open a door at the end of the hallway. "This is going to be your bedroom," she announced.
The moment I entered the room, the sheer size of it hit me first. I was certain that ten of my old bedrooms back home could easily fit inside this one space. The next thing I registered was the atmosphere: dark, overwhelmingly heavy, almost choking and depressing.
Why was everything in the room so dark? The walls, the massive furniture, the bedding—even the curtains were black. I was speechless. The only logical conclusion I could draw was that this must be Sebastian's room.
I turned to Mrs. Coi and asked the thought out loud. "Mrs. Coi, is this Sebastian's bedroom?"
She nodded. "Of course, it's Little Master's bedroom. Whose bedroom would it be if not Little Master's?"
The nervousness I had momentarily suppressed immediately returned, tightening in my chest. "But this looks like Sebastian's personal space, and I shouldn't stain it," I protested, trying to find a gracious escape. "Can you please take me to another bedroom, preferably one smaller than this room?"
Mrs. Coi shook her head gently. "This is going to be your room from now on. And you don't have to worry about staining Little Master's personal space."
Mrs. Coi stepped closer, her tone shifting from helpful to conspiratorial.
"Have you forgotten the fact that it's Little Master himself who asked me to bring you here?" she continued. "And why wouldn't you want to stay here, Lila, my child? Let me give you some advice, okay? Little Master is your husband, so you should embrace him closely and keep a tight hold on him."
She lowered her voice. "In fact, it's best if you start seducing him from now. The fact that Little Master chose you means he has at least a little bit of good feeling towards you, but he is still cold right now. I want you to seduce him quickly and make him addicted to you. Then he will stop being cold like he is now. He will be beneath you and listen to every word you say."
Her expression grew serious, earnest. "I'm telling you, Little Master's coldness is inherited from his grandfather and his father. But his grandmother and mother quickly subdued them, to the point that Little Master's grandfather and father only listened to their wives' words. So, Lila, you really need to be strong and show Little Master what you're made of. Conquer Little Master's heart, and I assure you that he will be obedient to you forever. I'm telling you, when the Dalton male falls for you, they will only be loyal to you till their death."
Every instinct in my body screamed to object: He's my husband for only five years! We have a contract! I don't want to seduce him! All this talk of seduction and lifelong devotion was making me incredibly anxious and nervous. I had no intention of having children or being bound to this dangerous man.