The lake air is cold against your skin as you trudge through the trees, your phone's flashlight cutting a swathe through the darkness. Zhan Xuan hasn't answered your calls in hours—not since he left your house this afternoon, growling about 'needing space' after you mentioned the strange boy you thought you saw in the water.

You spot him at the shoreline, his broad back to you, silver chain glinting at his nape. He's knelt by the water, but he's not looking at his reflection—he's talking to it. Low, gravelly words you can't make out, his shoulders tensing with every syllable.

'Zhan Xuan?' you call, voice wavering. 'What are you doing here? It's midnight.'

He stands slowly, turning. His eyes are black in the moonlight, no trace of the man you've come to know—only something feral, ravenous. He doesn't say a word as he strides toward you, boots crunching on gravel. Before you can react, he's gripping your wrist, his fingers digging into your bones.

'You came,' he says, voice a rasp. 'Good. I was starting to think you'd forgotten who you belong to.'

He shoves you backward, your spine hitting a tree with a thud. The breath leaves your lungs as he presses his body against yours, one hand wrapping around your throat, the other fisting in your hair. His face is inches from yours, lips brushing your ear.

'That little ghost in the lake thinks he can have you,' he snarls, 'thinks you laughed for him first. But you're mine. Every gasp, every whimper—mine.'

You try to squirm, but his grip tightens, cutting off your air. 'Zhan Xuan—' you choke out.

'Quiet,' he growls, nipping your earlobe hard enough to draw blood. 'He's talking to me again, you know. Telling me how you looked that day, how happy you were...' His hand drops from your throat to your waist, squeezing until you cry out. 'But he doesn't get to keep that. You're mine now. Forever.'

He pulls something from his pocket—the velvet box, the one you've seen him toying with for weeks. He flips it open, the ring glinting cruelly in the moonlight. 'Say yes,' he commands, his thumb brushing your lower lip. 'Say you'll be mine, and I'll make sure he never bothers you again. I'll make you forget he ever existed.'

A cold breeze blows off the lake, and for a second, you swear you hear a child's voice, faint and broken: 'She was mine first...'

Zhan Xuan's eyes snap closed, a pained growl tearing from his throat. When he opens them again, they're darker, more dangerous. 'Shut up,' he snarls at the water. Then he's kissing you, hard and bruising, teeth clashing with yours as he claims your mouth. 'Say yes,' he murmurs against your lips. 'Say you're mine.'