"Eleanor, you have been by my side a long time. Let me call you Elle."

He moves his chair towards me, subtly, but visibly.

"I think we should go on to more... informal terms," he says, looking at me.

"Sir Vala, I can't understand why possibly-"

"Call me Val, Elle," he replies smoothly. "I know what you call me in your circles," he stands up, going towards me, "but I'm not that strict alone. Rather I'm very obedient and can do whatever you say."

Now my boss is quite close to me, our lips almost touching, but he doesn't seem to notice.

"Oh my God, Elle, you make me feel - certain things," he whispers in my ear. "Would it be good, if you - cooperated with me more?"

I panic. He is so close. And it is not a good kind of panic. I have never been in such a situation before.

It is scary.

But what he says next is even scarier.

"I'm in love, Elle. I'm in love with your flesh, the way you look, the way you shy away from me," he firmly cups my chin. As if trying to pull it closer to him. His other hand traces an eloquent pattern on my waistline. Now we're definitely touching. Ignoring my shy protests, he leans in and breathes, looking at me:

"but, most importantly, I'm in love with the way your left eye bulges out when I put my lips against your neck."

And so he does. I gasp.

I don't want to be here anymore.

"Your curves are astounding," he says approvingly, "they're up to my standards".

I can only stand and listen as he explores me deeper, as if a masterful chef with an uncooked meal.

"Almost like a dead corpse on stove fire."

I try to scream. I moan.

"Who's gonna be leading the undercover mission, Elle?" He asks intently. "Who's gonna be in charge, if you're here? What are you doing?"

His voice takes on a more sultry tone as he pins me forcefully against the wall next to the doors.

"You're with me, darling. No one will distract you. No one can."

I am about to say something, but he kisses me. Finally.

I don't know if I want to run away or take it on, but I pick the third option: staying frozen in place. I'm terrified. I can't do this.

He releases me before I can even stifle a moan.

"Now you'll rot. With me. I signed you. You're now forever to be mine!"

I feel something churn inside me. This is wrong. This is wrong. This is wrong!

He is a monster.

I run. He lurches, as if hearing my thoughts. In his arms is a butcher knife covered with blood from meat... human?

I run.

As soon as I close the door, I feel a couple of knife hits trying to cut through the oak, but the latter remains intact. I see a couple of blood drops flowing down the floor though. My heart thumps in my head, my knees collapse and I struggle not to throw up. My adrenaline is the only thing keeping me sane.

One word surfaces in my mind.

Cairo.

I have to get there as soon as possible.

Anywhere away from the PN.

A/N: why do I write steamy scenes (kind of) so well in not-steam-oriented books, but take much more in the opposite? The 1 am motivation really does hit, lol.

I promised 50 shades of red. You got it hehe

FYI this is about something toxic and creepy. The fmc just has a feeling something's going on that shouldn't, even though she digs mmc, soo she trusts her instincts and escapes just in time. i won't glorify this half-sound relationship, spoiler: she won't fall for him in the end. It's about the importance of steering clear from people you don't have a good feeling about, even though they're cute/a good friend and seem cool. Imo toxic relationships shouldn't be glorified as much as they are in modern literature.

Let's root for the fmc to escape Val one day:) I'm sure she will.

See you next chap, 50sorers!