Chapter 5

“Why are you here?” I couldn’t hide my surprise. This man shouldn’t be here at this hour. Every other time, he'd come back in the middle of the night, say nothing, and immediately take out his frustrations on me. “Am I interrupting something?” His towering figure blocked the doorway, his grip on my wrist unrelenting as he shoved me against the living room wall. My back slammed into the hanging chandelier, making it swing violently. With a sharp click, the lights flickered to life, casting Darius’s brooding face in harsh clarity. The silver, wolf-like gleam in his eyes locked onto mine, cold and mocking. His gaze seemed to cut through me, piercing deep into my soul. “I haven’t seen you in days, but it looks like... you’ve blossomed.” He grabbed my chin, inspecting my flushed face with a disturbing intensity. “In the time you’ve been gone, you’ve certainly been enjoying yourself, huh? Who were you with, hm?” His voice was low and edged with fury, but it made my scalp tingle, my heart hammering in my chest. “I wasn’t with anyone. I just went on a business trip…” His fingers tightened, as if to snap the delicate bone beneath his grip. “Seraphina, your talent for lying is impressive. Full of nothing but lies!” He narrowed his eyes, a cold flicker of something darker beneath them. “Do you really think I’m that stupid? A business trip? If it was just work, why couldn’t I reach you? And what is this? The glow of someone who's been… well taken care of? You took the money I gave you and ran off with your lover, didn’t you? How bold.” I couldn’t understand how he’d jumped to this conclusion. There were times I’d disappeared before, especially when I was sick, but back then, he hadn’t shown an ounce of concern. What had made him so suspicious this time? “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Where I go is none of your business.” “Seraphina, don’t talk to me about freedom!” His eyes flashed dangerously. “You owe me a life. Until that debt is repaid, you don’t get to talk about freedom!” “Repay my debt? What do you want from me?” At this point, I couldn’t care less about explaining the car accident. “Darius, do you really need me dead to be happy?” “Ha. Do you think I want you dead?” Darius scoffed, his gaze full of mockery. “Seraphina, you think I believe a word you say? You’re just a coward—a greedy woman who clings to life and money. You don’t have the guts to die.” I lifted my eyes to meet his, an overwhelming urge to tell him the truth surging inside me. I was sick. I didn’t have much time left. But what would telling him accomplish? Would he clap his hands and curse me for deserving it? “I don’t want to argue with you.” I tried to push him away and leave, but Darius forcibly pinned me down. “Seraphina, have you forgotten what you are? A Lesser wolf?” Lesser wolf… That’s how he always described me. My heart clenched. I didn’t understand. What was going on with Darius tonight? “You’re a whore I bought with my money. You owe me a life. And for the rest of this lifetime, without my permission, you don’t get to be with any other man!” “I haven’t—Darius, what are you even saying?” “Still playing dumb?” He gripped my arm and dragged me toward the coffee table, pointing at the scattered photos. “Look for yourself!” The coffee table was covered with pictures of me and Damon. Damon Hawthorne had been my childhood friend. We were close, but after he went abroad for school, I visited him once, and later, I fell madly in love with Darius. I endured his torment every day and gradually lost touch with Damon. The photos were from when I visited Damon a few years ago. There were pictures of us shopping, eating together, and even entering and exiting hotels. “This is…” “Did you sleep with him?” Darius’s voice cut through my thoughts. “Tell me, Seraphina Lycoris—when you were abroad, were you letting him sleep with you ‘for free’ every day?”