Page 71 of His Obsession

“Do you have his office?” I ask Alan.

“No. It’s being turned into a storage area. No one wants that office now, so we are rearranging a bit. I have the office on the bottom floor.

“The one with windows for walls?” I ask.

“Mhmm. We thought it would make you and everyone else more comfortable if it was open like that,” Alan says.

“Did Jake… Did he hurt anyone else working there?” I ask.

“The night that someone drugged you, Jane told me and the detective that he raped her after Lucian got you back to your room. She told everyone in a staff meeting a few days ago as well,” Robert says.

“Oh my God,” I say. “That’s awful.”

“Not surprising,” Lucian says. “Until she is comfortable, I will be attending everything in person with her. I’ll sign whatever NDA you need me to.”

“The first time you come in with her, I’ll have you sign it then,” Robert says before looking at me. “How are you?”

“That’s… I don’t know how to answer that,” I say honestly.

“How are you feeling?” he asks.

“Uh. Better. I don’t know if you want specifics, but I’m getting there,” I say vaguely.

“I won’t lie. I am curious, but I am more so wanting to know if you are okay,” he says.

“Have you seen the pictures you had me take?” Lucian asks.

“I have,” I nod, and then turn to Robert. “How curious are you? I’m not afraid to talk about my trauma or discuss it. No one should have to hide what happens to them.”

“Do you want me to see?” he asks.

“I want you to know who exactly you hired,” I say bluntly. “I am not blaming you, but someone should have noticed. I think it’s important for you to understand what that cost me.”

“Okay,” he says softly. Lucian hands me his phone and I navigate to the picture. I had Lucian take it about twelve hours after I was found one of the times he woke me up to use the restroom. I hand the phone to Robert and his eyes go wide.

“Holy fuck, Elise,” he says. Alan glances and shakes his head.

“Is that a burn?” Alan asks.

“Yeah,” I say. “When it’s fully healed, I am having Lucian brand over it. I’ll spare you the details of why he did this or why I am having Lucian cover it, but it was a way to try to force ownership in a way.”

“You don’t have to spare us any details if you don’t want to,” Robert says.

“Well… Maple Falls is home to Luxe Fortuna, but Luxe Fortuna is where the top members of a community lives that… It’s a cult. Not a bad one, but it’s a cult,” I say. Lucian and Bradley laugh heartily.

“She’s not wrong,” Laura says.

“In what way is it a cult?” Alan asks innocently.

“Luxe Fortuna is a group of people who all essentially worship the Roman Goddess, Lady Fortuna and the Roman God Bacchus. We keep faith that they will lead us to our destiny and that everything has purpose. We have certain rituals and in short, everyone is open with their sex lives when in appropriate situations. It is something that is considered a normal part of human interaction, and it is celebrated. It is heavily influenced by dominant submissive relationships, so we have celebrations that lean into that,” I explain. “The turn of winter and spring are important, and so is Halloween. Marriages are ritualistic and the bond is an important ceremony. For example, Lucian is my husband. He is who my destiny intertwines with. We believe that we are fated to be together, so protecting that bond is important.”

“Soul mates,” Robert says. “By open.. What exactly does that mean?”

“It means… it’s like a nudist colony only instead of just naked people, it is normal to see people openly having sex. Submissives are expected to serve, no matter where they are. It is obviously kept appropriate in the sense that discretion is used around children and those who do not believe or understand,” I explain.

“Who is the leader of Luxe?” Alan asks.

“Lucian,” Robert says.

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