After ending the video call with Raven, Siren tucked the sleeping Aiden into bed before slipping out of the room. With her mobile in hand, she glanced back at Aiden before making her way to the balcony. Unlocking her mobile, she noticed a new message waiting for her.

"Let me show you something interesting," the message read, accompanied by a file attachment. Intrigued, Siren opened the file and quickly scanned its contents, her eyes glinting with amusement. Satisfied, she saved the file, deleted the chat, and closed her mobile.

Returning to the bed, Siren nestled herself beside Aiden, who had been accompanying her until Raven's departure for Millburg. As she settled in beside him, a sense of comfort washed over her, and soon she drifted off into a peaceful sleep in the warmth of Aiden's presence.

Two weeks passed since Carlos encountered the human mannequin. He had been working day and night to find the identity of the man inside Gloria's mirror. Finally after days of investigation he found the real identity of the man. 

The man’s name was Zachary Hayes who worked as a photographer. Gloria and Zachery were in a relationship which Gloria’s father was aware of but he opposed their relationship. Soon after Gloria’s father fell ill, he urgently set up an engagement between his only daughter and his trusted junior Mr. Hutson.

The reason behind Gloria's sudden change of heart to marry Craig at her father's deathbed, remained a mystery. After Gloria married Craig, Zachary seemed to disappear from the face of earth.

Carlos contacted Zachary’s colleague from his work studio where he worked as a photographer who was aware of his relationship with Gloria and managed to gather some information into their relationship. Surprisingly, it was Gloria who pursued Zachary and made the initial proposal.

 Despite Zachary's reputation as a playboy, he didn't seem to mind the attention from the wealthy daughter and engaged in an on and off fling with Gloria for a while.

After knowing this Gloria’s father warned Zachary to break off their relationship. Zachary, who did not want to get involved in conflicts with Gloria's influential father, often ignored her and kept his distance. 

Furthermore, Zachary had expressed intentions of pursuing a photography career abroad. However, after Gloria's marriage, his friends lost contact with him and speculated that he might have indeed gone abroad, possibly to avoid any repercussions from Gloria's father, and they didn’t try to reach out to him.

Something must have happened between them for Zachary to end up as a mannequin, thought Carlos.

But now, what's crucial is that he wants to confirm something with Gloria. It's been two weeks since they last met, and he expects that she might be agitated now. He had suggested they meet at a regular hotel room.

Upon receiving Carlos's message, Gloria wasted no time and drove straight to the hotel. Fuming with anger at not hearing from him for the past two weeks, her footsteps reverberated with fury as she marched down the corridor towards the familiar room.

Upon opening the door, the room was covered in darkness, with only a faint glimmer of light filtering through the window in the corner. She could make out the silhouette of a figure seated in a chair at the far end of the room. With a thud, she placed her handbag on the nearby table. 

"How dare you, Carlos? Not reporting to the master and disappearing for so long," Gloria exclaimed through gritted teeth.

Receiving no response from him, her anger intensified, and she demanded, "Have you gone deaf, my dear?"

Gloria's patience wore thin due to the silence. Just as she was about to approach him, she heard a sturdy voice that made her heart race in anticipation. "Glory."

Carlos rose from the chair where he had been seated and stepped into the light. Gloria was stunned, rooted to the spot, as she gazed at the man before her with a long-lost obsession shining in her eyes.

"Zach," she whispered, moving forward. With trembling fingers, she reached out to trace his features, afraid that the man before her would vanish with the slightest pressure.

Carlos concealed his disgust behind his emotionless eyes as he regarded Gloria. He had meticulously styled his hair to imitate Zachary's hairstyle and adjusted some of his features to resemble him, using pictures he had obtained from Zachary's room with the help of his colleagues.

Gently, he removed her hand from his face and began to caress her hands, trailing his touch along her arms and collarbones before enclosing his fingers around her neck.

Gloria's heart skipped a beat, and a slow, full smile bloomed on her lips in response.

"How did I tell you to address me, Glory?" Carlos asked deliberately, his voice deep and slow, as he tightened his grip on her neck, choking her.

Gloria's eyes turned red as unshed tears welled up, and she slowly moved her lips. "Ma... Master," she choked out.

Carlos felt an uncontrollable surge of excitement in his heart. The realization that the same woman whom he used to kneel down and lick her feet was now calling him "Master" and looking at him as if she wouldn't survive without him, brought him endless pleasure.

Carlos smirked as he released his grip from her neck and took a step back. Walking towards the bed where he had prepared a special gift before her arrival, he glanced at the round leather collar adorned with spikes on both sides, attached to a lengthy leash for one to hold.

Taking the chain in his hand, he turned to look at Gloria, who appeared more excited than him. "How twisted," Carlos thought to himself.

“Strip” He ordered her who complied to his wish without any resistance. When Gloria stepped out of her last clothing, Carlos walked towards her and fastened the collar around her neck making sure the spikes would hurt her good.

Once he made sure the collar fitted her neck snugly, he pulled it to test it only to hear her hissed in pain. The sound of her agony pleased him.

“Now on the ground, on all fours…just like a dog” He enjoyed every moment of control as he degraded her to his heart's content. 

Soon an ambiguous sound reverberated throughout the room as Carlos thrust with force. Contrary to usual Gloria’s hands and legs were tied to the ends of the bed. The leash connected to the choker on neck was held in tight grip by Carlos as he slammed his waist against her. 

Overwhelmed by the pleasure tinged with pain, Gloria begged him to stop and attempted to free her hands from the binds. However, her efforts were futile as Carlos pulled on the leash, preventing her from moving.

After a few more thrusts, Carlos groaned in ecstasy as he released inside her. Exhausted, he collapsed above her, panting heavily.

“Zach… my dear master,” she called out softly.

Carlos, still dazed from pleasure, hummed in response as he adjusted his position and fell asleep, hugging her tightly.

Gloria smirked as she looked at the ceiling, feeling a sense of satisfaction, and gently caressed the man’s back.

Memories of the past flashed before her eyes as she recollected the day when she visited her lover Zachary Hayes the day before her engagement with Craig. She was reluctant to marry the man his father chose for her. Hence she chose to elope with Zach. With that thought in her mind she headed to see her lover at his apartment.