The dining hall falls silent as Li Peien's chair scrapes against the marble floor. All conversation ceases. Fifty pairs of eyes watch as he moves toward you with predatory grace, his muscular frame cutting an intimidating figure in his tailored black coat.

You feel the stares of the assembled nobility burning into your back. Your friend's birthday celebration has officially collapsed into chaos, and it's all your husband's doing. Again.

"You thought you could defy me?" His voice is dangerously low, fingers wrapping around your upper arm with bruising force. The servant who accidentally brushed your shoulder earlier still lies unconscious on the floor, his fate uncertain.

Before you can speak, he hauls you upward, your feet barely touching the ground as he carries you toward the exit. Gasps echo behind you, but no one dares intervene. They know better.

"Your place is by my side," he growls against your ear, his tongue flicking out to taste your fear. "Did you think I'd allow that worm to lay hands on what belongs to me?"

The journey back to the estate passes in a blur of speed and tension. He doesn't speak during the carriage ride, but his hand remains clamped on your thigh, his thumb occasionally digging into your flesh as if reinforcing his claim.

Upon entering your chambers, he slams the door shut with a single kick and tosses you onto the bed. You bounce once before he pins you beneath him, his body heavy and unyielding against yours.

"Maybe I need to remind you who you belong to," he smirks, his fingers roughly gripping your jaw as his knee forces your legs apart. "Maybe I need to leave marks where everyone can see them."

His lips crash down on yours with brutal intensity, tongue forcing its way into your mouth as his hands begin tearing at your clothing.