Sunlight cut through the floor-to-ceiling windows, hitting Daniel's face hard. He groaned and turned away from the light, his head pounding like someone was using a hammer inside his skull.
'What the hell happened last night?'
Memories came back in pieces. Jimmy's bar. The young couple. Blood on broken glass. A woman with dark eyes and an expensive car.
Daniel opened his eyes slowly, squinting against the morning light. The hotel room came into focus. White sheets, marble surfaces, everything too clean and perfect. He was naked under the covers, which wasn't unusual after a night of drinking and bad decisions.
But what was unusual was the woman sitting in the chair by the window.
Cassandra. That was her name. She was already dressed in a simple black dress, her dark hair falling over one shoulder as she read something on her phone. She looked perfect, like she'd been awake for hours.
She noticed him stirring and looked up with a gentle smile. "Good morning, darling. How are you feeling?"
Daniel sat up slowly, the sheet falling to his waist. His head felt clearer than it should have after all that whiskey, but something was off. The way she was looking at him, the way she called him darling like they'd been together for years instead of one night.
"I'm... fine," he said, his voice rough from sleep. "Just confused why you're calling me darling."
Her smile widened slightly. "You'll get used to it."
Before Daniel could ask what that meant, there was a knock at the door. Three sharp raps.
"That must be breakfast," Cassandra said, standing and walking toward the door.
'Breakfast? She ordered breakfast?'
Daniel watched her move with that same confident stride from last night. This wasn't how hookups usually worked. Usually there was awkward small talk, maybe coffee if you were lucky, then everyone went their separate ways. But Cassandra was acting like they were in a relationship.
She opened the door and spoke quietly to someone in the hallway. A moment later, she wheeled in a cart covered with a white cloth. The smell of bacon and eggs filled the room, making Daniel's stomach growl despite his confusion.
Cassandra pushed the cart beside the bed and lifted the cloth. Simple food. Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice, coffee. Nothing fancy, but it looked good.
Daniel stared at the food, then at her. 'Why is she doing this? What does she want?'
When was the last time someone had brought him breakfast in bed? His ex-wife certainly never bothered, and hookups didn't usually stick around long enough to order room service. The whole thing felt wrong, too nice, too perfect.
"Eat," Cassandra said, settling back into her chair. "You need your strength."
Daniel looked at the food again. He was starving, hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday. But something about this whole situation made his skin crawl.
"I'm not really hungry," he lied.
Cassandra's smile didn't change, but something flickered in her eyes. "Of course you are. I can hear your stomach."
She stood up, picked up a piece of bacon, and took a bite. Chewed slowly, her smile never leaving her face. Then she sat back down.
"See? It's fine."
Daniel's stomach growled again, louder this time. The smell was making his mouth water. He reached for a piece of toast, took a small bite, and swallowed. It tasted normal. Good, even.
He ate another bite, then another. Within minutes he was devouring the eggs, the hunger hitting him all at once.
"Good," Cassandra said, watching him eat. "You'll need energy for work today."
Daniel stopped chewing. "Work? What time is it?"
"Seven-thirty."
"Shit." He swallowed quickly. "I need to get dressed. Where are my clothes?"
Cassandra walked to a closet Daniel hadn't noticed before and opened it. Inside were three suits, all expensive-looking, all in what looked like his size.
"Pick whichever you like," she said.
Daniel stared at the suits, his mind trying to process what he was seeing. "Where did these come from?"
"I bought them for you."
"When? How do you know my size?"
"I know what I need to know."
A chill ran down Daniel's spine. He wanted to ask more questions, but he was already running late. He grabbed the grey suit and headed toward the bathroom.
Daniel stopped walking. The words hit him like a physical blow, and he turned to face her fully, his mouth opening and closing without sound.
"Uh... when? How?" he finally managed.
The absurdity of it made him let out a nervous laugh. "You must be joking, right?" He looked around the room again, his paranoia growing. "Did my work colleagues put you up to this? They're always making jokes about my ex-wife."
He backed toward the wall, suddenly suspicious of every corner. "I might be able to... whatever they paid you." He looked around frantically for hidden cameras. "Where's the camera hiding?"
But Cassandra just stood there, looking at him with that calm, patient expression that was starting to unnerve him more than anger would have.
"We got married yesterday," she said simply.
"Yesterday?" Daniel's voice cracked. "No, no, that's not even possible. After work I went to Jimmy's bar and..." His voice trailed off as fragments of memory began to surface.
The memories came back more clearly now. The blood. The promise. The way she'd pressed her cut palm against his.
"We made a bond," Cassandra said softly. "Check your palm."
Daniel looked down at his left hand with growing dread. Where the cut from the broken glass should have been, there was now a thin scar in the shape of the letter C. It was large, unmistakable, and completely healed.
His hands started shaking. "What the fuck... what the fuck is this?"
"The C signifies my name," Cassandra said. "Cassandra."
She held up her own palm, showing him a similar scar in the shape of the letter D.
"And this is yours."
Daniel stumbled backward, his breathing becoming rapid and shallow. "No, no, no, this isn't real. This can't be real." His voice cracked as panic set in. "What did you do to me? What did you do to me!?"
"I know it's hard to believe," Cassandra said, her voice still gentle.
"It's very real."
Daniel's breathing was getting faster, shallower. "What did you do to me?". He asked again
Instead of answering, Cassandra walked to the nightstand. There was a small knife there, the kind hotels sometimes provided with fruit baskets. She picked it up without hesitation and drew it across her forearm.
Pain shot through Daniel's arm in exactly the same spot. He looked down and watched in horror as a matching cut appeared on his skin, blood welling up just like hers.
"Oh God," he whispered, staring at the blood. "Oh God, what did you do?"
"We are bound together," Cassandra said calmly, as if she was discussing the weather. "What I feel, you feel. Where I hurt, you hurt."
Daniel's legs gave out. He slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor, his whole body shaking. "This isn't happening. This isn't real."
"It is real, Daniel. We're married now. Forever."
"No." He scrambled to his feet and ran for the door, grabbing the handle and pulling hard. It didn't budge. "No, no, NO!"
He threw his shoulder against the door, then started pounding on it with both fists. "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"
Silence from the hallway.
Daniel spun around to face Cassandra, his chest heaving. "Let me out. Please. I don't know what you want, but just let me go."
"I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because you're my husband now. And husbands don't abandon their wives."
Daniel stared at her, seeing the complete certainty in her eyes. She wasn't joking. She wasn't playing some sick game. She actually believed this.
"If I..." He swallowed hard. "If I go along with this. Act like your husband. Will you let me go to work?"
Cassandra tilted her head, considering. "You can go to work, yes. But you'll come home to me every night. And you'll never try to leave me."
Daniel nodded quickly, though every instinct screamed at him to keep fighting. "Okay. Okay, I understand."
"Good." Cassandra's smile returned. "Now go shower. You don't want to be late."
Daniel picked up the suit with trembling hands and headed for the bathroom. At the doorway, he paused and looked back at her.
"Why me?"
Cassandra's smile grew wider, and for just a moment, something cold and inhuman flickered in her eyes.
"Because you were perfect for me, Daniel. Lonely. Desperate. Easy to love."
Daniel felt those words hit him harder than any physical blow. Because deep down, underneath all the terror and confusion, he knew she was right.
He was lonely. He was desperate.
And that made him exactly what she needed.