The door barely clicked as Nika stepped aside, letting in a boy in a dark sweatshirt, whom she mistook for a courier with some misplaced package. She didn't even have time to ask what was going on when his hand closed on her wrist with something disturbingly warm and certain.

The orange ribbon slid through her skin in a second, wrapping both wrists tightly.

"What are you doing?!" Nika snarled, immediately trying to pull away. "Let me go, you idiot!"

He just twisted his lips into a gentle, sick smile.

"Easy, firecracker... You'll get used to it."

The next ribbon locked her ankles, even though she kicked him with all her might; it hit his calf, his knee, even his thigh, and he laughed softly, as if it were a funny, spoiled little mouth. When she tried to bite him, he moved his hand lower, stroking her hair as if she were something delicate that simply didn't understand the situation.

"But you're... a bug. So energetic." His voice was both gentle and cold. "Have I ever told you I love your temperament?"

Nika spat at his feet.

"You're a mess! Get out of my house!"

"Oh, Nika..." he sighed softly, as if she were a naughty child. "You let me in. That means we're... together now."

He sat down beside her on the carpet as if nothing had happened and began unpacking his bag. She thrashed, straining her body to the limit until the ribbons creaked from the strain. He, on the other hand, calmly arranged the items, placing them next to hers as if it were any other day.

Toothbrush—orange. Shampoo—exactly the same one Nika used. Towel—soft, new, the same shade as hers. Folded clothes—neatly placed on the chair by her bed.

“See?” he said, not even looking at her furious, trembling face. “I’ve prepared myself. I want you to feel… comfortable with me.”

“GO AWAY. NOW!” she screamed.

He ignored it as easily as if a dog had barked outside. He went to the coffee table and placed a box of dinner on it—warm, fragrant, clearly bought especially for her.

“If you keep insulting me…” he began, turning his head over his shoulder. His eyes were unnaturally calm, as if extinguished. “…I’ll have to give you tranquilizers. I don’t like it when my girlfriend…” he deliberately emphasized the word, “…is so upset.”

“YOU’RE NOT my boyfriend!”

“Yet.” He smiled so sweetly it was almost icy. "And if you don't want to eat well, then... well. I'll shove your dinner down your throat myself. I won't let you go hungry."

Nika froze, looking at his bag—full of things that looked like someone planned to stay here for a long time. Too long.

Only then did she truly understand that he had long ago decided what her life would be like. And that the orange ribbons were just the beginning.