Silence pervaded the study.
’’Second Master, Miss Yu doesn’t seem to be playing tricks or scheming against us this time... We misunderstood her gravely and now...’’
The chair scraped against the floor. Before the man could finish, Adrian was gone.
The door to Ella’s room was kicked open with a force that rattled the walls.
The moment Adrian stepped inside, a heart-wrenching scream tore through the air.
His breath caught. His vision blurred for a split second. Where was she?
His heartbeat thundered in his ears as his gaze swept the room—then halted.
Ella sat curled up on the floor, one arm wrapped around her knees, the other hand pressing a fruit knife to her throat.
"Don’t... come over..." Her voice was thin, hollow. Her dazed eyes flickered to his face, filled with hatred so deep it could curdle blood.
Adrian’s chest tightened. His fingers curled into fists.
Had it been a week? More? She had begun looking at him differently.
She had brought him lunch, eaten with him, and cared for him.
She had renovated the mansion library, cooked for him, and even suggested raising a pet together.
She told him she would try. She told him she would stand by his side.
She had taken slow, careful steps into his world. Only for him to rip the floor from beneath her feet.
Blinded by rage, he had locked her up like a criminal. Ignored her pleas. Crushed every fragile effort she had made to change.
How could she not hate him?
A chill seeped into his bones.
Slowly, Adrian stepped forward.
Her hazy eyes cleared up a bit. Her lips parted.
She looked at him with a hint of confusion.
When he reached out towards her, she flinched.
He retracted his hand, his fingers curling into fists.
There was only a distance of one step between them yet they seemed to be miles apart.
Adrian dropped on one knee in front of her and extended his hand towards her, still keeping a distance between them.
Her body was shaking. With tears rolling down her cheeks, she backed into the corner, pushing herself back against the bedside table.
Adrian paused, his hand hovering midair. "Hurt me instead.’’
The familiar deep voice seemed to sink deep into her consciousness.
In a daze, she dropped the knife in her hand onto the floor.
Adrian pushed the knife away swiftly without averting his gaze from her and pulled her into his arms.
In a trance, Ella clutched his collar. Her body trembled as she crawled into his arms. Tears rolled down her cheeks and stained his shirt, ’’I... did... not... Trust me... I did... not... do anything... I have... changed... I won’t... I...’’
Adrian closed his eyes, and held the back of her head. ’’Don’t... Don’t lock me up... I beg of you... I am scared...’’ the girl gasped for breath, ’’Don’t... lock me up... So... Sorry... I am sorry... I was wrong...’’
She trembled against him, her whispered apologies dissolving into his shirt. Adrian exhaled sharply, his grip tightening around her.
He had always thought pain was a blade to the skin—sharp, precise. He never imagined it could be a broken voice clinging to him .
’’Trust me... I did not... Please...’’
The moment he spoke, the girl burst into tears. Hot teardrops soaked into his shirt, seeping into his skin and etching against his soul.
Even after a long time, her cries did not die down.
A sharp, metallic scent hit his nose. His breath hitched and his gaze flicked downward. He froze. A dark stain spread across her black joggers near her thigh. Blood. His pupils shrank.
His pulse thundered and something inside him snapped. His hands clenched, then unclenched. A storm surged inside him, violent and unrelenting.
"What... have you done?" His voice came out tight, barely restrained.
Ella looked at him listlessly, and a drop of tear rolled down her eyes. In a daze, she mumbled, ’’I will forget... what day... it is...’’
Then her head lolled forward.
Adrian lunged before she could fall, catching her in his arms again.
His jaw tightened. "Ella."
He carried her to the bed in silence.
His hands were steady. His mind was not.
Ella did not know how long she slept for but when she opened her eyes, she did not know if it was day or night.
The ceiling blurred in and out of focus as she blinked groggily.
Almost on instinct, she turned to look in the direction of the door. The door was left slightly ajar.
A sharp sting shot up her leg when she tried to move. Her gaze flickered downward.
She was dressed differently. A loose top, a long skirt.
Slowly, she lifted the skirt to reveal her thigh.
The wound was neatly bandaged and on top of it, there was a tiny and delicate bow. She fiddled with the bow with a small frown before letting it go.
Ella exhaled softly and walked over the window. She leaned against the window, gazing out toward the garden.
Her entire rebirth had been spent moving forward. She had refused to acknowledge the months of torture she suffered before her death.
She thought she had gotten over it.
But the moment Adrian locked her away, every suffocating nightmare had come flooding back.
She had not expected herself to have such an outburst merely because of a locked door.
Especially for the wound. In all those months she had been locked in that cell before her death, she could not make out day or night.
Scared of descending into madness, she ended up cutting her thigh with the knife provided to kill herself. The cuts on her body kept track of the passing days.
Earlier, during her breakdown, she could not make out the past from the present. Everything had blended into her current reality.
Thinking of it, she took a deep breath. Then, another. Her heartbeat slowed, but the exhaustion clung to her.
When she saw Max near the estate entrance, it only took her a moment to figure what was going on and she had known what would play out after that. Except, she did not expect the situation to escalate so much.
In her previous life, Esther would orchestrate such chance encounters between her and Max. And on the side, she would inform Adrian about it.
Adrian, possessive and temperamental he was, would explode every time and with her own fiery temper, she had also fought back with equal intensity. This would consequently lead to mutual destruction.
The only difference was...