Chapter 3

• Lucien’s POV
• I was holding the unconscious woman in my arms, rushing through the messy bar.
• She was so light, curled up like an injured baby bird, her weak body still shaking a little.
• The suit jacket I put over her was quickly soaked by the rain, cold drops falling on her pale face, making the deep lines on her brow tighten even more.
• “Lucien,” my assistant David hurried after me, holding an umbrella, lowering his voice as he reminded me, “Mr. Elizabeth’s drinking party was about to start. If we left now, we would be right on time.”
• My eyes went to her lips, so pale, almost with no color.
• “Cancel it,” I said at once, my voice cold and firm.
• David froze for a second but snapped back quickly, answering respectfully, “Yes, sir.”
• Once inside the car, I carefully laid her down on the back seat and let her rest her head on my lap.
• The heater inside the car pushed away some of the cold, and her tight body seemed to relax just a little. My eyes went to her palm, covered in blood and small broken glass, but under that mess, I could still see the soft outline of her bones.
• A strange mix of something familiar and something painful rose in me.
• Back at the bar, when I saw her fall to the floor in the middle of that broken mess, it felt like something squeezed my chest, a sharp ache running through my whole body.
• I almost moved without thinking.
• Hearing her desperate voice, that wild night came back to me.
• About three months ago, after working nonstop for three days on an important project, my head was pounding badly. My assistant arranged for me to rest at the hotel beside the office.
• A figure with a scent of gardenias came close to me in the dark. She looked just as miserable, her body burning with heat.
• “Get away…” I had been annoyed, my head splitting, trying to push her off.
• But she didn’t move back. Instead, she leaned in closer, a hot hand slipping under my shirt to touch the tight muscles of my chest.
• “Help me… I feel so awful…” Her rough, strained voice had been full of pleading and need, pulling me in and making me lose control.
• I suddenly turned over, pushing her under me. My clear thinking broke completely, leaving only raw desire and instinct.
• I pulled her clothes off roughly, my hand grabbing her chest through her skin. The warmth under my fingers only pushed me further.
• “Ugh!” She flinched in pain, trying to push me away. “No… don’t…”
• “You don’t get to choose,” I panted, lowering my mouth to her neck and biting down to leave my mark. My other hand moved to force her legs apart. “Tonight, you’re mine.”
• There was no slow buildup, only me moving into her with force. The tight heat around me sent a rush through my body.
• “Ah! It hurts… please… stop…” She cried under me, struggling, but the more she moved away, the more I pushed in.
• “Stop?” I held her hips tighter, my movements rougher with every push, each one like a punishment. The sounds of our bodies meeting filled the room. “Look at how you react… your body isn’t saying that… holding me so tight…”
• Her cries and begging pushed me further. I felt like I had lost control, driving into her again and again. Her pale nails dragged lines across my back, and her weak sounds broke in between breaths.
• “Say you want me!” I shouted, pushing deeper.
• “I… I want…” She cried harder, her body slowly matching mine, no longer fighting.
• That night, we moved like two bodies locked together. I changed positions, pressing in deeper from behind, holding her against the cold glass window and watching her dazed face in the reflection.
• Sweat soaked the sheets, and the air was heavy with heat and the faint scent of gardenias.
• I took and took again until she finally went still beneath me, like soft spring water broken apart, only able to let out small, weak sounds.
• The next morning, I woke up with my headache gone, but she was gone too. Only a messy bed, the lingering tightness in the air, and that faint gardenia scent stayed to show that wild night wasn’t just a dream.
• I sent people to look for her for a long time. All I knew was that the assistant was someone my mom had arranged, but that woman? She vanished like smoke, no sign of her anywhere.
• In the end, I had to let go of all the people my mom planted and push the whole thing down inside me.
• Until now. Holding this woman in my arms, smelling that light gardenia scent in her hair, a wild, dangerous thought started to grow in my mind.
• “Sir, we’ve arrived at the hospital,” Alex’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
• The hallway had a strong smell of disinfectant.
• I stood outside the emergency room, staring at the red light above the door, my chest tight with a kind of nervous worry.
• I didn’t know how long I waited before the doctor finally came out. He pulled off his mask, tiredness clear on his face, but his voice was sharp with blame. “You’re her husband, right? What were you thinking? She showed signs of a threatened miscarriage, and you let her face that kind of shock? She has several injuries and serious blood loss! As her husband, do you even care?”
• I didn’t argue. I just asked in a low voice, “How is she and the baby?”
• “The mom was out of immediate danger, but her emotions were all over the place. She needed rest. As for the baby… early pregnancy was always weak. After this kind of stress, whether it stayed or not depended on the next 48 hours.”
• My heart sank.
• I pushed open the hospital room door. She lay there quietly, pale as a sheet.
• The wounds on her palm were wrapped up, but her brow was still tight, even in sleep, like she was stuck in some nightmare.
• As I stared at her face, the blurry pieces of that night began to come back clearly.
• On a sudden thought, I reached out, wanting to smooth the crease between her brows.
• Just as my fingertips were about to touch her skin, her lashes moved, and then she opened her eyes wide!