Part 1From 99 to Zero

The afterglow lasted all of ten seconds.

Asher rolled off me, sated, and the next sound I heard wasn’t a whispered endearment, but the shrill, digital scream of the System in my head.

【Host, Affection Level has dropped from 99% to 60%! He is clearly unsatisfied with your performance.】

A knot of anxiety tightened in my gut. I spent the next three days spiraling, obsessing, trying to figure out how to improve my technique.

And then I heard him, bragging to his friends.

“Leah has no idea I can control her progress meter.

“It’s like training a dog. She’s good, I bump up the affection level as a reward. She messes up, I drop it to force a course correction.

“The first time we slept together? I didn’t get off, so I tanked the score to sixty percent.

“I guarantee you, right now, she’s at home researching how to serve me better next time.”

* * *

A wave of boorish laughter echoed from the private room.

I stood frozen in the hallway, a chill seeping into my bones that had nothing to do with the club’s air conditioning.

Just three days ago, I was living in a fantasy, convinced my mission was about to succeed. Asher’s affection for me had hit 99%. I was on the one-yard line, a single step away from victory.

That night, Asher had held me close, his voice a low rumble.

“Leah, I want you.”

He’d said that a union of body and soul was the highest expression of love.

I’d nodded, compliant, and let myself fall into the rhythm of his movements.

It was painful, but I was happy. This new layer of intimacy, I thought, would be the final push I needed to complete the mission and go home.

I never imagined it.

The moment it was over, Asher’s Affection Level plummeted to 60%.

Barely a passing grade.

I was baffled, assuming my inexperience had disappointed him.

But it was never about me. It was about his control.

Inside the booth, the laughter continued. I could hear his friends jeering.

“When it comes to training women, Ash is the master. With a cheat code like that, how could Leah not be wrapped around your finger?”

“Naturally,” Asher said, his voice thick with arrogance.

“These mission girls… they’ll do anything to get that score to one hundred percent.

“Take the other night. All I did was frown at her plain white underwear and dial down the affection. Next time? Bet you anything she’ll be in black lace, desperate to please me.”

“Damn, dude, that’s genius! You’re a fucking legend, Ash!”

“Oh, it wasn’t his idea,” a feminine voice purred next to him.

She giggled, a sweet, sharp sound. “I’m the one who told Asher that if you want total control over a woman, you have to crush her emotionally. Make her doubt herself. Then, right when she’s about to break, you give her a little taste of sweetness. She’ll be putty in your hands.”

“You’re a clever one, aren’t you?” Asher’s voice was laced with a syrupy affection I’d never heard him use with me. He was talking to the girl on his lap.

He’d mentioned her before. Tessa. Lithe body, sultry eyes. The club’s infamous, untouchable VIP hostess.

The room erupted in catcalls.

“Look at you, Ash, a girl on each arm. You’ve got it made.”

“Leah? Don’t make me laugh. She’s a clumsy amateur.” He pulled Tessa closer, his fingers tracing patterns on her skin. “This… this is what it’s really about.”

Tessa leaned into him, tapping his chest playfully. “Liar. Then why are you still with her? Am I not enough fun for you?”

“I need a wife. A well-behaved pet,” he said, without a hint of shame. “Besides, she’s been trying to complete this mission for so long, I almost feel sorry for her.” He looked down at Tessa, his eyes dark with a raw hunger. “But when it comes to what I want? I’ll always choose a little devil like you.”

The two of them tangled together, drawing more hoots from the peanut gallery.

“Ash, you’re playing with fire. Aren’t you afraid Leah will just give up?”

“Impossible,” Asher said, his confidence absolute. “Every time she gets close to quitting, I just crank the affection back up to ninety-nine percent. With just one point to go, how could she ever walk away?

“I’ll keep her dangling like that forever. Always one step away. Always mine to command.”