ᴇꜱᴄᴏʀᴛ ᴍᴇ

2.4

Days had passed since your escort had made a heartfelt promise to help you experience the release of oxytocin. Since then, he has been diligently exploring your likes and dislikes, taking note of your favourite foods, and seeking out places he believes you would enjoy. He even went as far as recommending books that he thought would resonate with you. The effort he put into understanding you was undeniably moving, and as a result, you discovered hidden aspects of yourself that even you had not yet realized.

Through his attentive gestures and thoughtful actions, Hollis had begun to see facets of your personality and preferences that you hadn't fully acknowledged before. He saw how empty your life was; a vague understanding of one's own likes and dislikes, a family with a lack of presence, and an existence with no friends nor foesーlike an ignorant princess trapped in a tower, except this princess had willingly locked herself up with the excuse of being an introvert.

"You've been reading these books again," he pointed out, popping up from behind you. "Did you even understand them?"

"Well, I've been trying to grasp all these concepts that I've learned in these books, but it's getting overwhelming to remember and understand them," you admitted sheepishly. "So I thought reading through them a second time might help me."

Hollis frowned. He can't understand why you would try so hard when it's obvious that you have no talent for such a thing.

His hands made their way to your shoulders, touching the white-coloured fabric of your dress that he had chosen for you today. You might not have realized this, but little by little, the Amorii has been starting to taint you with his colour.

It might not have been his intention at first, considering how wary he was after knowing that you were chosen by the founder herself. In fact, he had no interest in you, and he also had no hope of finding the love that he sought in you.

Yet you were too adorable to resist.

The more he spent time with you, the more he found how compatible you and him are; the way you would not look at other people due to your introverted nature, how you were so foolishly agreeable to do whatever he wished forーbe it cooking with him, for him, or wearing the clothes he's chosen for you without questioning anythingーit was what he had been searching for in a partner.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Hollis is a shallow guy whose type is an obedient, can't-think-for-self kind of girl. Though obedience is good, what he wanted wasn't simply mere obedience that can easily be nurtured through violence or manipulation. What he wanted was equalityーa love where his significant other would do the same as what he would do for her. Unfortunately, most humans would pretend to understand this sentiment before heavily berate him when they realize how far he would go for them.

"Isn't it better to remain like this?" He whispered from behind, his hot breath ghosting over your skin. "Why trouble yourself to become independent when many people would fight to remain at home like you?"

You shivered, feeling his breath on your skin. Heat crept to your cheeks, and you tried to think of an answer to that question as he remained close to you.

"Humans are socialized creatures," you said. "So at some point, I have to get out of my comfort zone. Besides, can a life confined within a closed space be considered living?"

"Are you not alive and kicking right now?"

"I'm only alive because I have you," you admitted. "It might not seem like it, but I'm prone to loneliness; that's why I resorted to hiring an escort because naturally befriending someone is not something I'm capable of. It makes me grateful that you're here, Hollis."

Hollis inhaled deeply, hiding the fluttering of his heart at your words. He wondered if you were a natural flirt or if you were doing this on purpose. At times, you were so innocent and gullible, but occasionally, you would say something so simple, yet it was enough to move his heart. He sometimes even wondered if he was that easy of a person.

"Then why don't you continue living like this?" He asked. "For you, darling, I can clear my schedule and be your exclusive escort if that will help you."

You laughed. "That's just pampering me into becoming a useless, no good, worthless, parasitic human. I would feel too guilty to keep spending on Yoー my brother's money."

The escort stared at the way your face would soften each time you mentioned that person. "You really love your brother, huh?"

"Well, he's family." You nodded.

"What about your parents? You mentioned your brother more than you mentioned your parents; are they not your family?"

He saw the way your expression shifted from elation to surprise. "Weー Well, they're family too, but I'm closer to my brother than them. They love me just as much as my brother, no doubt, but my brother and I, we just... I don't really know how to explain it, but I feel like we have this bond that makes us feel closer than anyone else."

The way you would shift uncomfortably, how you would avert his eyes, and that excessive praise for your brother. Hollis smiled coldly, feeling like he had discovered the reason for your inability to produce love. "Are you sure you don't harbour any feelings such as affection towards this brother of yours?"

"Huh, of course not!" You exclaimed, flustered by his accusation, which only confirmed his thoughts further.

"Hmm, then have you ever felt like your brother was the only one that you ever needed in your life?"

You opened your mouth to refute but found that his deduction was actually right, so you were simply speechless.

"Have you ever tried socializing and making deeper connections with other people only for your mind to think of your brother?"

You shut your mouth.

"Did you feel lonely because your brother is not by your side?"

You hesitantly nodded.

"I think that's your problem." The temperature rapidly decreased, causing you to shiver. "The reason why you can't produce love is because you're so emotionally attached to your brother that your mind has unintentionally closed yourself off from forming deeper connections with others."

Hollis sneered, clenching his fists at the thought of you harbouring such a deep feeling for someone else. He had thought that you were akin to a naive, gullible princess, and although his thought doesn't stray too far from what he deemed the truth, he can't believe that this princess that he had his eyes on actually had been trained to be dependent on someone else.

He had been reluctant to taint your pure, simple heart with his vulgarity just because you were a rarity of a client to come across to, but if another person had put his claim on you, then why should it matter if he decided to ruin you down further?

He grabbed your chin, making you look into his disgusted eyes. "That's not something a person should feel towards their family member. It's incestuous, forbidden."

ーand the first step is to twist that affection into chains of guilt, methodically pulling your reliance away from that person and ensnaring it around himself.