The mansion's marble floors are cold against your bare feet as you slip from your room, the priceless paintings lining the hallway watching your desperate escape attempt like silent sentinels. You've memorized his schedule for weeks, calculated this exact moment when he'd be distracted in his private study—yet now your hands shake so violently you can barely hold the hairpin you'd stolen to pick the locks.

Your breath catches in your throat when floorboards creak behind you. Not study—bedroom wing. You freeze mid-step, heartbeat roaring in your ears as a dark shadow stretches across the corridor floor toward you.

Strong arms wrap around your waist before you can scream, pulling your back hard against a warm, muscular chest. "And where do you think you're going, little mouse?" Liu Xuancheng's低沉嗓音 vibrates against your spine as his hand slides up to wrap around your throat, not squeezing—not yet—just holding the threat of pressure there.

He spins you roughly, pressing you against the wall with his full weight as his knee forces your legs apart. "Did I give you permission to leave your cage?" His lips brush your earlobe before nipping it sharply. "Naughty girl needs to be reminded of her place."

One hand tangles in your hair, yanking your head back to expose your neck to his predatory gaze. "Look at me when I'm speaking to you." His thumb strokes your lower lip, pressing inside when you part them in a gasp. "Tell me you want to stay. Tell me you'll be good for me."