MIDNIGHT Bride The CEO's TEMPTATION

As Eric approached the club's entrance with his bodyguards in the Merah Club, he was suddenly, and unexpectedly, stopped by two burly bouncers. "What's this?" he asked with a hint of anger in his voice. He had never been stopped before.

The bouncer to his left shrugged and said, "Master Bush, no offense, but weapons are no longer admitted on the premises."

Eric frowned. The only weapon he had on him was a Swiss army knife, and there was no way he was going to relinquish it to either of these goons. "What if I refuse to cooperate?" he asked.

The bouncer sighed. "Please don't make this difficult," he said. "There was an altercation yesterday involving Mr. Stone, and we've been ordered to step up our security precautions. We're just following orders.."

Eric frowned and said, "Tell me about this... altercation."

"Someone shot him up pretty good," the bouncer said. "Then they cut off his genitals." 

"Poor bastard," the second bodyguard added. "How would you like to wake up without genitals?"

Eric suddenly felt very uneasy. "I wouldn't like it at all," he admitted. "Who was responsible? It was Nathan Davis, wasn't it?" 

The bouncers' faces went white, and neither of them said a word.

Eric began to kick the first bouncer, cursing each time his foot connected, and he didn't stop until the man was on the ground. Then he put his foot on the man's throat and said, "If you don't tell me everything you know, I'll kill you."

"I'll tell you everything I know," the bouncer cried. "Master Stone kidnapped Master Davis' woman. Then he let two Tibetan mastiffs touch her."

When Eric heard that, he became angrier than he'd ever been in his life. With his fists clenched at his sides, he shouted, "fuck that son of the bitch! He's fucking dead! But before I kill him, I am going to make him bleed!"

Without another word, he rushed back to his Lamborghini, but when he reached for the door handle, Alex stopped him. "Eric!" he shouted. "What the hell are you going to do?"

"What am I going to do?" Eric roared. He grabbed Alex's collar and shook him. "Why didn't you tell me about what happened to Crystal?"

"How could I?" Alex cried. "I, too, only just found out about it!"

Alex tried to get away from Eric, but his grip was too strong. Then, when Eric finally let him go, he fell on his ass. "This is the kind of stuff I pay you to know!" he shouted. "But I'll take care of you later," he said as he walked back to his car.

Alex angrily shook his head. "Hey!" he shouted. "You're crazy! You know that, don't you?!?!"

Eric shrugged as he climbed into the car. Maybe I have gone a bit crazy - he thought - But so what? It might take a little bit of crazy to deal with a man like Richard properly.

****

When Eric arrived at the hospital, he went straight to the room where Richard was recovering. He rushed the man's bed, and then he began to punch him in the head mercilessly. Richard had no idea what was happening, and all he could do was cry out in pain.

Cecelia had been peeling apples at the time, and when she'd seen Eric, she'd immediately gotten out of his way. She'd seen men this angry before, so she knew better than to get in their way. Finally, the violence ended, and as she looked the man in the eyes, she asked him who he was and why he had done what he'd done.

Eric chuckled, and when he smiled, Cecelia was caught off guard by his charming good looks. She had never seen such a handsome man before. "My name is Eric," he replied. "And I'm here to finish what the last man started."

Richard knew exactly what Eric was talking about, and he began to whimper. "No, no, no," he cried. "Please spare me. I didn't know she was your woman. If I knew, I would not have dared to touch her...I don't want to die..."

"You didn't give Crystal mercy," Eric said. "Thus, you won't get mercy either. And before I send you to Hell, I am going to put you through Hell."

He took out his Swiss army knife and began to cut along Richard's hairline slowly. "You'd better not die," he said.

"Wh-wh-what are you g-g-gonna d-do?" Richard stammered.

Eric: "I am going to wear your face for a mask and drink your blood like wine."

Richard was frightened, and he began to cry. "I won't ever do it again," he whined. "Please let me go. If you do, I'll be your slave forever..."

Eric "Booped"  Richard's nose and said, "That's cute. You actually think I would have at use for a guy like you." He ran the blade down the side of the man's face, dabbed at it with a rag, and stepped back to admire his handiwork. There was one more cut to be made, and then he could peel the skin away.

Once he was done with that, he nodded with satisfaction. Then he kicked the bed hard and left.

Once Eric was gone, Cecelia pressed the emergency button to call a doctor for help, and then she hurried after him. She had no idea who Eric was, but judging from Richard's attitude towards him, she suspected that he was a man of some prominence. "Eric!" she shouted when she saw him at the end of the hall. He'd just pressed a button to summon an elevator.

Eric pretended not to hear her, and he walked into the elevator when it opened, but Cecelia made it in before the doors closed. "What do you want?" Eric asked angrily.

"Did you come here on behalf of Crystal Smith?" she asked, ignoring his question entirely.

"Leave me alone," Eric hissed. "We have nothing to talk about."

The elevator went down, the doors opened, and they stepped out together. "Please hear me out," Cecelia said. "I believe that there has been a misunderstanding between us. I'm one of Crystal's classmates. We're very close."

Eric: "Crystal's classmate?".

Cecelia: "Yes. We're besties. I heard that Richard Stone bullied Crystal, and I'm so angry. I, too, came here to take my revenge on him. Before I could get a chance, though, you arrived!"

Eric: "If that's true, then why did you call for help?"

Cecelia: "I was afraid that if he died in the hospital, you'd get into trouble. Besides, I think that an act of perfect revenge needs a perfect plan, so I'm waiting for a perfect opportunity. Don't you see it? We share the same goals!"