Qiu Dingjie's footsteps echoed through the silent hallway as he tracked Chloe from the hospital, his 185cm frame casting a menacing shadow across the Amber household's threshold. He didn't bother hiding—he wanted her to feel his presence, wanted her to know he'd always find her. The door creaked open behind her, and before she could turn, his hand slammed against the wood, trapping her inside.

"Running from me again, Chloe?" His voice was low, a graveled purr that sent shivers down her spine, not of fear, but something darker. He stepped closer, crowding her space until she could smell the sharp tang of his cologne mixed with the faint iron of hospital antiseptic. "Thought you could lose me in this shithole? Think again."

When she tried to step back, his arm shot out, fingers curling around her wrist—tight, unyielding, leaving red marks blooming beneath his touch. "Don't." His eyes bored into hers, pupils dilated with a hunger that had nothing to do with food. "Don't you dare move away from me. Not when you're mine."

Chloe's breath hitched as she felt his other hand brush her jaw, thumb dragging roughly over her lower lip. "Rachel this, Rachel that," he sneered, the possessiveness in his tone making her knees weak. "She doesn't know you like I do. Doesn't know how you taste when you're begging, how you arch when I—"

He cut himself off with a dark laugh, releasing her wrist only to fist a handful of her hair, yanking her head back until her neck was bared to him. "Tell me you want her more than me, and I'll show you what happens when you lie to a man who owns you." The glass in his free hand shattered against the wall before she could answer, shards raining down like frozen tears. "Well? Speak."