Cassius's eyes fluttered open to the gentle glow of morning sunlight filtering through the heavy curtains.
Birds chirped cheerfully outside the tall windows, their song mingling with the faint rustle of leaves in the chilly winter breeze.
For a moment he simply lay there, a lazy, contented smile spreading across his face.
Even after all this time, he still wasn't completely used to it.
Back in his old life, mornings had meant the harsh buzz of an alarm clock in a apartment bedroom, the distant hum of city traffic seeping through thin walls, the quiet loneliness of waking up alone.
Now he woke in a sprawling mansion, on a bed big enough for half a dozen people, surrounded by luxury and more importantly love he had never dreamed of.
He was profoundly grateful to the Goddess of Debauchery who had sent him here.
At first he had resisted.
But now?
No regrets.
None at all.
