It is already night when the car comes to a halt. My neck hurts and I feel numb. When Ivy opens the door, I feel her putting tape over my mouth and binding my hands with chains. I can only hope that she doesn't notice the wild rhythm of my heart, which has rarely pumped so much hot blood through my veins.

Ivy, please, I hear myself beg in my mind. I never beg. It surprises me, but she has always been an exception.

Then she pulls me out of the car onto the rough asphalt. She has her problems pulling my weight, but somehow manages it.

By the time she stops, the trousers of my suit are already worn out and scratches run across my hands like fine threads. I have to suppress a chuckle. She seemingly doesn't even mind if the object of her obsession is damaged. Feisty.

At some point, she sits me down on a chair while she ties me to it with a rope. Then I open my eyes. Quick, dark, fiery.

Ivy is sitting in front of me on a second chair, on which she is kneeling. Her beautiful gaze stares down at me and I notice the silver chains on her black outfit, which sparkle almost as dangerously.

"My name is Ivy, in case you've forgotten," is the first thing she says to me and I can't help but let a deep, velvety chuckle escape my throat, even with the tape over my mouth.

I know, I want to say. I could never forget that name, I want to tell her. But all I can do is tell her with my eyes, which should be staring right into her soul by now.

She looks at me in surprise, but quickly pulls up her cold façade again. She then stands up and closes the remaining distance between us. Her hand finds my chin, which she lifts so that I have to look her in the eye.

"I should have known you'd like that, you dirty little whore," she says in a cold voice. Then she rips the tape from my mouth in one movement. "Come on, say something, Zaire."

Her smile is mischievous as she notices the astonishment in my features, which must be the first time it's reflected there. But the only thought I have at that moment is:

How does this woman know my real name?