Benjamin loves snakes. As his fiancée, I’m constantly terrified into tears by them. His response is always a sneer. “Putting on a show again.” I’ve tried so hard to conquer my fear. But then, a girl appeared who wasn’t afraid of them at all. She would come and go from his room as she pleased, playing with his little serpent. That was the last straw. I packed my things, ready to call off the engagement, when a line of text flickered into existence before my eyes: [That’s right, our girl needs to run! Don’t let this wicked serpent coil around you.] [LMAO, the male lead is going to lose his mind. After more than a decade, our girl is still terrified of snakes, let alone the idea of him shedding.] [Wait, am I the only one who wants to see our sweet girl get so overwhelmed by him when he loses control that her vision blurs?] A shiver ran down my spine. When I turned back, Benjamin was closing the door behind him, his voice a low chill. “Packing your bags. Planning on running away?” 1 I don’t get it. I woke up at the crack of dawn, packed with the stealth of a cat, and even kept the door shut. So why did Benjamin’s snake still manage to get in? “You… you… stay away from me!” I scrambled back into a corner of the room. The snake, inky black and slender, paused at the doorway, its tongue flicking the air with a soft hiss. For some reason, I felt like it was staring at my suitcase on the floor. And it did not look happy. I made a shooing gesture. “You just stay right there. Don’t move. Okay?” The little snake froze, its grape-dark eyes fixed on me. I let out a breath and quietly continued packing. “So early. Where are you going?” The door creaked open. Benjamin leaned against the frame, his eyes sweeping over me before he enunciated each word with cold precision. “My dearest fiancée.” I jumped like a startled rabbit. “I… I-I’m going on a trip. A vacation.” “With whom?” “A friend. You don’t know her.” He narrowed his eyes and slowly started walking toward me. I instinctively backed away. A flash of annoyance crossed his face. “Afraid of the snake, I get. But you’re afraid of me, too?” Honestly, I wasn’t. But the girl who had been frequenting his serpentarium recently… she made me feel like an absolute joke. I turned my head away, biting my lip to keep from speaking. “Fine.” Benjamin suddenly crouched down and picked up the little black serpent. It coiled obediently around his wrist, its head raised, tongue flickering. His gaze locked onto mine. “Touch it.” Fear flooded my face. The pressure in the room seemed to drop, and Benjamin’s voice was low and insistent. “Touch it. Keep it with you for one night. Do that, and I’ll let you go.” He had a terrible temper, but Benjamin Thorne was a man of his word. Steeling myself, I reached out a trembling hand. The snake darted its head forward, and before I could flinch away, it was slithering onto my skin. “Ah—!” I let out a small cry. The serpent had already wrapped itself greedily around my wrist, its tail brushing back and forth against my pulse point. “Ngh.” At the same time, Benjamin let out a muffled grunt. His expression was dark, but a strange flush was creeping up his cheeks. I stared at him, confused. He scowled, a mix of anger and embarrassment. “Just go. And give it back to me tomorrow.” 2 After Benjamin left, it was just me and the little snake. Aside from the constant, insistent rubbing of its tail against my skin, it was surprisingly well-behaved. “Why do you keep doing that…?” I murmured to myself. The snake just stared. But then, a sentence materialized out of thin air: [Because he’s trying to train you.] ??? Train me for what? Then, another comment appeared: [Sweetie, I dare you to touch the spot where it’s rubbing you. You might get a little surprise.] What was that supposed to mean? My curiosity won out. I gently brushed the pad of my finger against the serpent’s tail. At that exact moment— In Benjamin’s room. “Ngh…” The curtains were drawn tight. He was on the floor, leaning back against his bed, his shirt hanging wide open, the clothes on his lower half in a state of disarray. “Fuck.” The blush on his face was deep, his breathing growing heavier. “Aren’t you supposed to be afraid of snakes?” he growled to the empty room. “What the hell are you touching…?” Touching it, sure. But not even doing it right. 3 The little snake’s tail began to move faster, its tongue flicking in and out in a rapid rhythm. I was getting a little freaked out. With a flick of my wrist, I accidentally sent it flying to the floor. [LMAO HAHAHAHAHAHA—] [I can’t. This guy is so tragic. He’s going to short-circuit from frustration.] [Our girl is so cute. This is his reward, obviously.] A flood of comments scrolled past my eyes, all saying pretty much the same thing. Who was “he”? The snake? The little serpent picked itself up from the floor, its black eyes glaring at me for a few seconds as if it wanted to eat me alive. Then, with a flick of its tail, it slithered to the far side of the room, keeping its distance. It seemed angry. Worried I might have hurt it, I decided to go find Benjamin and ask for a glass tank or something to keep it in. Knock, knock, knock— I rapped on his door. It was shut tight, and no one answered. That was strange. Benjamin never closed his door. He always left it open just a crack, so that every time I walked by, I would just “happen” to catch him changing. Then he’d snort and call me a pervert with no shame. [What a sly bastard, trying to peacock for our girl every day.] [Don’t fall for it, sweetie! I’m telling you, he’s in a dangerous state right now. You should push the door open and go in immediately.] [Yeah, yeah! He’s really suffering in there. You need to go in and help him.] Dangerous? Suffering? And he needed my help? I hesitated, my hand hovering over the doorknob. 4 “What?” The door flew open, revealing a very irritated Benjamin. “Do you have a death wish, knocking like that?” I instantly regretted listening to the comments. So much for checking on him out of the goodness of my heart. But he did look a little off. His clothes were a mess, and his face was still flushed. To put it bluntly, he had the look of someone who had just been thoroughly… satisfied. “What were you doing in there?” I asked, craning my neck to see inside his room. Benjamin blocked my way, his voice sharp. “None of your business.” “And there’s a weird smell,” I said, sniffing the air. “Did your snakes mate in your room?” “Elara!” See? Defensive again. I frowned. “Did you do something bad? Why are you so flustered?” [Oh, girl, stop asking questions. He’s about to explode.] [Let’s get out of here. I’m afraid he’s going to snap and devour our girl whole.] [I’m dying. Every single thing she says is a direct hit. The sly bastard can’t hide his secret much longer.] Hide his secret? Suddenly, it clicked. My face fell. “Luna’s in there, isn’t she?” He froze. I turned away. “You were with her. You didn’t even try to hide it. What do you take me for?” Benjamin was still stunned. When he finally found his voice, he tried to pull the door shut. “No, that’s not…” “Cheater!” I slammed the door in his face for him, spat the word, and stormed off. Back in my room, I slid down against the door, hugged my knees, and buried my face. I couldn’t see the comments anymore. [Oh no, oh no, our girl misunderstood!] [Good! This way she can finally leave him for good.] [Yeah, let her think that. He’s a jerk who can’t talk anyway. Why should our girl put up with him?] […Am I the only one who wants to see him get possessive? If she tries to leave, he should just… force her… hehe.] [Seconded.] I sniffled. When I looked up, only the last comment remained: [So what? As long as that side-piece Luna is around, our girl is going to get hurt. If that scheming bastard can’t fix his mess, he should just get lost.] It was true. Benjamin and I had been engaged since we were children. He’d always loved snakes, and I’d always been terrified of them. Every time he brought one near me, I would run away crying, and he would mock me for it. I tried my best to get over it, but I just couldn’t. Then, I saw Luna for the first time. She was in his serpentarium, wearing a white dress, a snake coiled gently around her. She was smiling. And Benjamin was watching her with a look of pure tenderness. That’s when I finally understood. I was afraid of snakes. But there were plenty of girls in the world who weren’t. 5 Hiss— The little black serpent slowly slithered over to me. It propped up the top half of its body, tongue flickering, its round eyes watching me. I had to admit, it was almost cute. It drew closer. The cool scales brushed against my calf, and I flinched. It paused, waiting until I was still again before continuing its approach. Finally, it coiled around my hand and gently nudged its head against my palm. It was actually quite sweet. I stood up, carefully holding my hand up to support it, and sat back down on the bed. “Okay, time for sleep. Don’t let me roll over on you.” I placed the little serpent on the pillow beside me. It curled into a ball and lowered its head. I turned off the light, leaving a safe distance between us. As I drifted off to sleep, I thought to myself, Maybe snakes aren’t so bad after all. I was completely oblivious to the frantic storm of comments filling the space above my head: [WHOA, what is he doing?! Don’t you dare touch our precious, soft girl!] [Elara, wake up! The snake next to you just turned into a man!] [I heard serpent-people have hypnotic powers… Am I the only one excited to see what happens tonight?] In my dream, an icy touch slithered up from the tip of my toes, along my calf, my thigh, to the very top of my leg. The cold made me twitch, but the sensation changed, becoming less like a touch and more like a cool rope… no, like a snake’s tail, wrapping around my leg, holding me fast. “Mmm.” A frightened sound escaped my lips, and the pressure immediately lessened. A gentle caress, like a reassurance, brushed across my cheek. I opened my eyes. I was in a room of absolute blackness. I sat up, looking around, and called out instinctively. “Benjamin?” “Benjamin, where are you?” The strangest thing happened. The moment I said his name, the darkness vanished. “I’m here.” A familiar voice from behind me. I turned, overjoyed, but the first thing I saw was the little black serpent. I froze. “It’s you…” But it was different. It was enormous. It lowered its head, nuzzling against me like a docile pet. “Benjamin?” No answer. Only the giant snake, tentatively brushing its tail against my calf, like a puppy afraid of being rejected by its owner. “Onyx, how did you get so big?” I reached out to stroke its head. But in the next second, the serpent’s silhouette blurred, morphing into a tall, naked, beautiful man. He covered my eyes with his hand, but through the gaps between his fingers, I could still see his face. It was Benjamin. My eyes went wide. “You… you’re…” “Shh.” I had never seen this side of him. His eyes were soft, but beneath that tenderness was a deep, simmering desire. He took my hand and guided it to his neck. “Are you still afraid?” In a daze, I felt as if my hand wasn’t wrapped around his throat, but around a serpent’s most vulnerable point. “If a snake is going to bite, you choke it. Don’t be afraid of it,” he murmured, his voice hoarse. I tried to pull my hand back, but he held it fast. All I could do was whimper. “Don’t…” Benjamin’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He leaned closer. “Don’t what?” A heat that started at my ears spread through my entire body. I felt like I was on fire. “You don’t like it?” he pressed, relentless, guiding my hand lower and lower. “When I called you a pervert… you’re telling me you never took a good look? Every time you walked past my room, you didn’t glance through the crack in the door? Are you trying to leave me because you hate me… or because you like me?” I couldn’t think anymore. I could only cry. “Stop, please don’t do this, Benjamin…” “Stop being afraid of me,” his voice grew rougher, almost a plea, as he held my hand against him. “Touch me. Please. Don’t be afraid of me.” 6 I woke with a start, my mind still reeling from the dream. I stared blankly at the ceiling. “Benjamin…” I instinctively checked my clothes. My pajamas were soaked with sweat, my hair stuck to my forehead. I looked like I’d just woken up from a very vivid, very unsatisfying dream. Hiss— On the pillow next to me, the little black serpent uncoiled its body, stretching like a sleepy kitten. It looked like it had just woken up too, its dark eyes blinking at me. For some reason, my face burned. I felt a wave of shame, like a child caught doing something illicit. I scrambled out of bed, pretending to be busy as I gathered fresh clothes for a shower. My bathroom was being renovated, so I had to use the main one down the hall. As I headed out, Benjamin was just coming out of that very bathroom. “You…” He had nothing on but a towel wrapped around his waist. His gorgeous, naked torso was identical to the one in my dream. My brain shut down. “Put… put… put some clothes on!” Benjamin just clicked his tongue. But an unnatural flush crept up his neck. “You sneak peeks at me every day, and now you’re playing coy? A little late for that, isn’t it?” It was only then that the comments reappeared. [Guys, what happened? I couldn’t post anything all night!] [Yeah, it’s like we were blocked out when the snake was doing his hypnosis thing.] [Seriously, author, what could possibly be off-limits to us VIP readers? One star!!!] I clutched my clothes to my chest, fidgeting. “I need to take a shower. Could you please leave?” Benjamin glanced at me. “You’re all sweaty. Dreaming of me last night?” “Get out!” I snapped, mortified, and dashed into the bathroom. He didn’t tease me further. As I was closing the door, he asked, his voice casual, “Still afraid of snakes?” I paused, the dream flashing through my mind. “Yes,” I mumbled awkwardly. “Terrified.” As the door clicked shut, I thought I heard him let out a soft, helpless laugh.
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