เข้าสู่ระบบLiora's Pov The morning sun beat down mercilessly onto the cracked asphalt of the outer transit station, but the heat outside was nothing compared to the blistering, toxic hostility radiating from the crowd of workers waiting for the early corporate transport shuttle. I stood near the back of the queue, my fingers clawing into the rough fabric of my canvas bag, my heart hammering a frantic, exhausting rhythm against my ribs. I had my head firmly bowed, the stiff white cap pinned securely into my dark curls, desperately trying to shrink into the heavy gray cotton of my maid uniform. I wanted to be an invisible ghost. I wanted to dissolve into the shadows of the lower staff and forget the shattering intensity of what had happened in Adrian's room just hours before. But the universe had absolutely no intention of letting me hide. "Look at her, still pretending she doesn't know she's the most hated woman in the city today," a sharp, venomous voice hissed from the center of the
Liora's Pov The harsh morning sunlight cut through the gaps in the heavy velvet drapes like a sequence of physical blades, instantly shattering the warm, dark illusion of the night before. I woke up with a sharp jolt, my heart immediately hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs as the reality of my surroundings crashed back into my mind. I was lying on the absolute edge of the massive king-sized mattress, the heavy down comforter clutched tightly against my chin, hiding the bare skin beneath. Two feet away, the silk sheets shifted with a loud, crisp rustle. Adrian sat up, his broad, bare back completely rigid as he swung his long legs over the side of the bed. The raw, muscular density of his shoulders was framed by the bright morning light, but his entire posture was locked into a line of pure, unyielding stone. The frantic, breathless vulnerability of the night—the low moans, the frantic whispers against my neck, and the desperate hunger that had completely shattered his
Liora's Pov Adrian’s weight pressed down on me, a heavy, solid heat that anchored my shivering body to the silk sheets. The frantic shouting from the elite party, the sting of my stepmother’s public rage, and the cruel, classist insults he had hurled at me just moments ago all faded into the background. The only things that existed in the room were the rhythmic, ragged gasps of his breathing and the erratic drumming of my own heart against my ribs. He didn't move aggressively. For a long, agonizing second, Adrian simply pinned me beneath him, his dark, wild eyes searching mine in the dim amber moonlight filtering through the heavy velvet drapes. The hard, untouchable mask of the corporate executive was entirely gone, replaced by a raw, turbulent vulnerability that made my chest ache. His large hands traveled slowly up the sides of my arms, his touch no longer a cold, iron grip but a feverish, trembling stroke that left my skin tingling. "Liora," he whispered, his voice
Liora's Pov "Yes, you did!" I sobbed, my shoulders shaking violently as I tried to push my weight against his chest to force his suffocating presence away from me. "You use your money to blackmail my sister's future! You use your legal directives to lock me inside your master wing! You treat human beings like property for your inheritance, and then you get furious when the world treats your property with the same contempt that you do! If you hate my poverty smell so much, if my presence makes you so entirely sick, then open that security lock and let me leave this place right now!" "You are never leaving this wing, Liora," Adrian growled, his voice dropping an octave, becoming entirely primal and menacing as he violently grabbed my wrists. He didn't push me away; instead, he yanked my arms down, pinning my hands against his waist, dragging my body forward until my chest was pressed flat against his bare torso. The suffocating physical tension inside the master bedroom reached a
Liora's Pov The frosted-glass doors of the executive washroom clicked open, and the moment my heels hit the bedroom carpet, the stinging air of the master suite felt instantly unbreathable. I hadn't changed and I was still wearing the liquid black silk mini-dress, the fabric damp from the melted ice at the venue, clinging to my hips with a suffocating, scandalous tightness. I hadn't washed away anything. My skin was still burning from the humiliation, and my dark curls were a wild, chaotic mane around my bare shoulders. Adrian was standing near the foot of the massive bed, his ruined white silk shirt hanging completely open, his chest heaving as he stared at the bloody linen panels. The second his dark, wild eyes locked onto my frame, his jaw clenched into a hard, furious line. "Did I not give you a direct command to wash that garbage off your skin?" Adrian growled, his voice dropping into a deathly low, freezing register as he took a predatory step toward me. "You walk ou
Liora's Pov "That's not true!" I wept, the hot tears finally pouring fast down my cheeks, my voice a small, intimidated whisper as I shrank back against the mattress. "I was thirsty! I didn't want to disturb your corporate meeting, so I just went to the banquet table. I didn't know that man was going to follow me!" "Oh, please! You expect me to believe you didn't see the way he was looking at you?" Adrian laughed humorlessly, a bitter, mocking sound that made my ears ring with an intense heat. He resumed his violent pacing, his leather boots digging heavily into the carpet. "You are an idiot, Liora! A stupid, incompetent gutter servant who thinks she can navigate a room filled with the most powerful elite in this city! You sat on that couch, pulling up that short dress, entirely inviting that kind of attention because you wanted a reaction! You wanted the entire room to look at you!" "How can you say something so incredibly cruel?!" I cried out, my shoulders shaking violentl







