“…….”

“These are not the kind of things a mere maid can get her hands on, no matter how well paid.”

His voice sounded like a gentle exhortation. As if she had other options. But in reality, it was a dead end. Any more denial here would only make her look more ridiculous. She bit her lip hard, then fiercely.

“So, you’re threatening to call the police?”

“Me? To you?”

Like he’d just heard a bad joke. Aiden laughed ferociously. His golden eyes sank into a dangerous glow in the lantern light. Belviana gritted her teeth. If she opened her mouth, she felt as if she would unleash a torrent of accusations against him. It was better not to provoke him, at least not verbally. It had been eight years since she and Aiden had been separated-a short time, a long time, but enough time for a man to change from the inside out. What’s more, he was a man who had made his fortune in crime. A murderer, which meant he’d probably killed people.

A murderer. The thought startled her, and she instinctively brought her hand to the knife on her thigh. She wasn’t a trained assassin, of course, but perhaps if she caught him off guard, she might have a chance. If she could shake him off, it was only ten paces to the door. The coachman was already waiting at the back door. If only she could hurt him enough that he couldn’t catch her. She moved her hand to pull up the hem of her skirt.

But the awkward gesture caught Aiden’s attention. Without a moment’s hesitation, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her right thigh up against his own waist. It was a swift subjugation, and she urgently called out the name of the man she’d been avoiding.

“Wait…… A, Aiden!”

As he hiked up the hem of her skirt, all she could do was cling to his neck, trying not to fall. Aiden pressed his fingers into her thighs, parting the chain and flesh of her leather belt, and pulled out the dagger he had wedged between them.

“I thought you’d be a little more excited than this.”

“…….”

“Or did you get a new one?”

Unlike the way he dropped the dagger to the floor nonchalantly, Aiden’s face was a little more somber. A wounded look. Belviana was a little surprised to realize that she might still be some kind of weakness for Aiden, or that she might still be able to hurt him.

“Answer me, Belviana.”

The way he said her name sounded, a little strained, still clumsy. Belviana bit her lip; she didn’t want to admit it, but her heart fluttered at the sound of his voice. Her lowered eyebrows waggled thinly as she avoided his gaze.

“It’s not like……, it’s not like that.”

She tried to reply nonchalantly, but her throat tightened a little. Aiden squinted, as if trying to gauge her sincerity, then smirked.

“Sounds good to me. Anyway, even if it’s real, you’ll never see him again.”

“You, what the hell gives you the right to…….”

“I told you.”

“…….”

“You’re going to be with me anyway.”

On a topic she was left alone for eight years. He recited it as if it were the only truth in the world. She looked a little stunned, a little fed up.

Once she’d stripped away the surprise and tenderness, all that remained was ego and pride. She’d thought her love was a play that had already closed, but now the lights were back on, and she felt like a puppet in a puppet show that had been forced up. Was it right to hug his neck and whisper that she loved him? Was this the man she loved? It was an unbridgeable parallel. It was the beginning again. She hated him, and all her affection trumped her betrayed heart.

“That can’t be true. I…… hate……, I hate you.”

“You are lying.”

His hand on my waist tightened. His palm wrapped around her back, slowly sliding down, his fingertips pressing deliberately against the spots. Left shoulder, lower back, pelvis, elbow, inner thighs……. He knew the location of every tiny dot on her body; it wasn’t her body he was touching, it was her memory. Her body reacted immediately, even if her mind denied it.

Aiden’s lips brushed lightly across the exposed collarbone. Belviana let out a strained breath. His hand was hot, and the contact was stimulating enough that she involuntarily clutched at Aiden’s arm, sobbing softly. It would be a complete lie to say she didn’t miss the sensation, even a little. She would occasionally indulge in lustful thoughts of Aiden in her mind’s eye, and it was hard not to be aroused by the sight of him, but it quickly turned to self-hatred and strangled her. It was horrible. She thrashed against Aiden’s chest.

“Aiden, please……. I……, I’m sick and tired of all of this, and I just want to erase you from my life once and for all. Do you understand?”

“…….”

“Just let me go…….”

She was relieved that his grip on her wrist had loosened, but the next moment Aiden grabbed the back of her hand and spread it out, palm up. Belviana was rather startled by the dagger that was suddenly in her palm. Her fingers clumsily clasped together, Aiden moved them one by one until she had a firm grip. Once she had a firm grip on the dagger, he loosened the kravat with his left hand. The blue artery contrasted with the nape of his neck.

“Here, see?”

“…….”

“Stab it if you want. You don’t even have to stab that deep.”

To stab a man. Before he was a hated man, he was a man who bled red when he was stabbed. The chill in his tone made Belviana jerk her head up angrily. She squinted in the darkness. She stumbled over her words. But Aiden’s face was deadly serious, without a hint of jest.

“Look at it right. You only need to do it once. Then you’ll have your wish, and you’ll be rid of me forever.”

The words sounded like he’d never let her go, not until he died, and she realized he was serious.

The lantern’s light flickered slowly and was soon extinguished by the breeze. It was pitch black. A pitch-black night where you couldn’t see a thing. Belviana felt Aiden gently tug her chin up. She panted like she’d been on a long run.

“Stay with me.”

If you don’t stab me, I’ll go all the way, he whispered in her ear, a harsh declaration. No, she wasn’t even sure if he’d said it or not. Only her breathing sounded harsh in the darkness. Aiden’s fingertips gripped her chin, and then his fingers brushed against her lips as if he were trying to get her to relax.

Belviana let out a soft moan. That was the signal. The man’s lips, cold in the dawn air, impatiently sought out and met her red ones. It was a dark, devouring kiss.

Lips and tongue intertwined in a familiar way. It was cold at first, then hot with each touch. In the darkness, where she couldn’t even see his face, she was instantly transported back to eight years ago. The only thing that was different was the fact that she didn’t feel the slightest bit uncomfortable touching him.

She clutched the collar of Aiden’s shirt and shivered involuntarily. It was a kiss that seemed to steal all the air from her lungs. The hunger of a starving man for a sip of water he can barely get his hands on. It tasted like bitter iron from his crushed lips.