Pain drained the color from Shi Yu’s face. She had no idea how Jiang Yichen had discovered her part-time job, much less what she had done now to unleash his fury. She bit her lip, remaining silent. What was the point of explaining? In his eyes, she was just like her mother, a gold digger who had shown up on the Jiang family’s doorstep and torn his parents apart. It was an accusation she couldn’t refute. Her silence seemed to drive him mad. He grabbed her, shoving her violently down onto the sofa. “You want money? Fine. I can give you that. Isn’t sleeping with me easier than whoring yourself out to all those other men?” He looked like an untamed beast. Shi Yu recoiled in fear. “Don’t do this… please, I’m begging you. It’s not what you think…” He silenced her with a brutal kiss, his mouth an invasion that stole the very air from her lungs. Gasping for breath, tears clinging to her long lashes, she knew she couldn’t fall any deeper. To yearn for the moments he wanted her like this… that would only make it impossible to leave. In a sudden act of defiance, she bit down hard on his tongue. The coppery tang of blood immediately flooded her mouth. Jiang Yichen flinched, his hand—all sharp knuckles and fine bones—instantly closing around her throat, though without any real force. Her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, her cheeks flushed. Her swollen lips parted as she gasped for air, her gaze fixed on his with a defiant spark. “Don’t treat me like this anymore. That night… I didn’t crawl into your bed on my own… I love you, but I’m not that depraved. It was just an accident.” Yes, it had been an accident. On her eighteenth birthday, he had discovered her feelings for him. He’d tossed her drawings and diary onto the floor with contempt, then stormed out and hadn’t returned until the early hours. She’d been too devastated to sleep, feeling as if her world had collapsed. How could she face him now that her secret was exposed? Hearing him downstairs, she’d felt a desperate need to explain. After hesitating, she finally knocked on his door, only for him to yank her into the room, sending the hangover tea she was holding crashing to the floor. After a night of unrestrained passion, she was branded the seductress. She wasn’t trying to absolve herself completely. She knew that if she hadn’t gone to his room that night, nothing would have happened. In a way, she had brought this on herself. She accepted that. After that night, the pattern began. He would get drunk and summon her to his room. It started as an occasional thing, then became more frequent. For a while, she’d allowed herself to hope, but she eventually came to a bitter realization: no matter how many times they slept together, she was only debasing herself. She would never win his heart. A humorless laugh escaped Jiang Yichen, his lips twisting into a cold, mocking smirk. “And every time since? Your lack of refusal, your eager compliance—were those all accidents, too?” Shi Yu froze, speechless. He said nothing more, simply ripping at the collar of her shirt with renewed violence. Suddenly, the piercing ring of a phone shattered the tension. It was Jiang Yichen’s. He froze for a moment before getting up to answer it. Seizing the chance, Shi Yu scrambled to her feet and fled. His eyes darkened as he watched her disappear at the top of the stairs. “Hello?” A voice on the other end reported, “We found him. The man’s name is Qin Feng. A university classmate of Miss Shi’s. They weren’t close.” The tight knot in Jiang Yichen’s brow eased slightly. He ended the call. She was the one who had forced her way into his world. And since he had never given her permission to enter, she could forget about ever leaving his grasp. … When Shi Yu stepped out of the shower, she heard the sound of a car engine fading into the distance. Jiang Yichen was gone again. She released a shaky breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She had managed to defend that final boundary. If it had happened again, she wasn’t sure she’d have the resolve to go through with leaving him.