MIDNIGHT Bride The CEO's TEMPTATION

It took an enormous amount of effort on Nathan's part not to smash the bathroom mirror. When he closed his eyes, not only could he hear Crystal and Eric screwing, but his mind played an X-Rated picture show behind his eyes. The only thing that he could think to do to make it go away was to hurt himself.

After rummaging through the bathroom, he finally found a straight razor. He put it to his arm and drew several harsh, red lines. Blood oozed from the cuts, ran down his arms, and slowly dripped onto the sink - and as he stared at his face in the mirror, his Gerald persona was put to bed.

Nathan looked at the cuts, and he was numb to the pain. It was nothing compared to the pain he felt over losing Crystal. He wanted to confront the old Davis, but he knew that he needed to play for time. Only by gaining the old man's trust could he hope to find evidence of him monopolizing power. Until then, he could not let anyone know that he had reverted to his old self.

Ten minutes later, Vic knocked at the door and said, "Master Davis, the old Mr. Davis, and Master Bush are going home."

When he came out of the bathroom, he saw that Eric was holding Crystal's hand. Her face was flushed, and there were bruises on her neck. These were tell-tale signs that they had sex.

****

After seeing Eric off, Crystal went back to her room, but she didn't turn the light on. It had been a long night, and the darkness offered her some comfort. She leaned against the door and sighed in relief.

Gradually, she felt a chill creep over her. The way that Nathan was behaving was incredibly hard on her. She tried not to think about the love that they had shared, but her mind would give her no peace. Part of the problem was that she was confused. She thought - If Gerald is Nathan's second personality, what happened to the first personality? Is it possible that it will come back?

When no answers came to her, she began to weep. She held her head between her hands and applied as much force as she could. She thought how nice it would be to squeeze her head until it exploded. Then she wouldn't need to think about anything ever again.

Suddenly, the light in her room turned on, and when Crystal saw who was in the room with her, her face turned white. "Wh-Wh-Why are- y - you here?" she stuttered.

Nathan: "Mrs. Bush seems very unhappy."

"Why are you here?" Crystal asked again, this time with more confidence.

Nathan: "This is my bedroom. Why can't I be here? Don't forget that as long as you're here, you're still my plaything."

"I'm nobody's plaything!" Crystal sneered.

Nathan: "You could have fooled me. After all, weren't you just playing with Eric?"

"Whatever," Crystal replied. "Master Bush has a better figure than you do, and he is more skilled at the art of lo-"

Nathan didn't allow her to finish her sentence. Instead, he grabbed her by the back of her head, pulled her close, and began to suck on her tongue and gnaw on her lips. She started to bleed, and the coppery taste of blood mingled between them, but he did not stop his assault on her. Then, when he finally did let her go, he twisted her nipple as hard as he could and did not let go. "Who has better skills now?" he hissed.

Crystal wailed in pain as she tried with all of her might to pry his fingers off her breast, but it was of no use. Not knowing what else to do, she bowed her head to bite his hand. When she did this, though, she happened to see the cuts that he had carved into his arm. At first, she thought that the wounds were random, but then she realized that he had carved her name into his flesh. Why would he do that?- she wondered.

When Nathan saw where she was looking, he let go of her nipple and covered his arm with his hand. It was too late, though. She had seen the markings, and she understood what they meant.

"You're not Gerald! Crystal shouted. "You're Nathan!"

"I am not!" Nathan roared. "Never say that name again! Do you hear me!"

Crystal laughed and said, "Stop pretending! I don't believe that. Only Nathan would carve my name into his arm!"

Nathan refused to acknowledge what she had said. Instead, he ordered Vic into the room and demanded that he bring Helen to him.

Helen had been taking a bath, but it wasn't long before Elma ushered her in. There was a faint smile on her face, and it got bigger when Nathan invited her to sit on the sofa with him. He let her sit on his lap, and he carefully brushed her hair behind her ears. He looked into her eyes and said, "Has anyone ever said that you're very beautiful?"

Helen shook her head. Even if someone had, it didn't count. There was only one person's opinion that she cared about, and that was Nathan's.

Crystal wrinkled her brows. She was more confused than ever. She had seen her name carved into Nathan's arm, and she was confident that she knew what that meant. Not knowing what else to do, she turned around and began to walk towards the door. Time to leave - she thought. Before she got even halfway there, Nathan said her name. 

Crystal froze in place, and then she slowly turned back around. What now? - she wondered - If he is hoping to have a threesome with Helen and me, he can shove that idea up his ass! Once she was facing Nathan, she stood akimbo and said, "What now?!?!"

Nathan smiled as he ran his fingers through Helen's hair. "Is she pretty?" he asked. 

Crystal: "Sure. She's Mrs. Davis. Of course, she is pretty."

Nathan: "You were my woman, too. So, how about you? Are you pretty by default?"

Crystal did not want to answer his boring and meaningless question, so she turned back around to leave.

Nathan frowned, and Vic took the initiative to stop her.

Vic: "Miss Smith, please answer Master Davis' question. It's not an unreasonable request."

Crystal rolled her eyes and said, "I am pretty too, but not as pretty as her. There. Are you satisfied?"

"Not quite," Nathan replied. "Tell me this: In what ways are you not as pretty as Helen?" 

Crystal sighed and said, "Look, she is better than me in every way. Her figure, character, everything. Are you pleased?!?!"

Nathan laughed as he ran his hand over Helen's belly. "Did you hear her?" he said. "She is worse than you in every way. Only you are qualified to stand beside me. In my eyes, she will never be anything more than a plaything. To me, or to anyone else…."