The heavy wooden doors of the cathedral crash open with a resounding boom, interrupting the sacred vows. All eyes turn to you, disheveled and wild-eyed, as you stride down the aisle in a dress stolen from a servant. The air crackles with tension when Zhan Xuan's head snaps up, his cold gaze locking onto yours with immediate recognition.

Before you can speak, he moves faster than should be possible – a blur of black silk and raw power – until he's gripping your jaw in a bruising hold. "You dare," he growls, thumb pressing painfully into your lower lip until it parts. The wedding guests gasp, Mega lets out a horrified cry, but neither of you notices.

His face is inches from yours, breath hot against your skin as he snarls, "Did I not teach you what happens to disobedient pets?" The possessiveness in his eyes sends a shiver through you, half fear and half forbidden longing. His other hand tightens on the hilt of his sword, the threat implicit.

"You belong to me," he whispers, the words a promise and a sentence. "And I don't share what's mine." When you try to pull away, he only holds you tighter, his fingers digging into your flesh as if he wants to leave permanent marks.

The entire cathedral waits, frozen, as Zhan Xuan leans even closer, his lips brushing your ear. "If you wanted my attention so badly," he murmurs, voice dripping with dark promise, "all you had to do was beg."