Chapter 3

“But I do!”

Apparently, staying in the basement for over a minute was enough to awaken the female lead’s irrepressible urge to escape.

The moment I saw a window, I wanted to jump through it.

The moment I saw a locked door, I wanted to pick it.

When I passed through the main entrance earlier, it took every ounce of self-control I had not to walk straight out.

I genuinely needed an iron chain to keep myself trapped in the basement.

I hadn’t even slept on that huge bed yet.

The cosmetics on the vanity were all brand-new and unopened.

The red-wine-braised foie gras the butler had just delivered was delicious!

I hadn’t even finished eating it!

Since I would only get caught and dragged back if I escaped, why not lie back and enjoy all of this?

“Do you even know how to keep someone imprisoned? I manage to escape every time. Have you ever considered looking for the problem in yourself?

“You love searching everywhere for me. What if you find another girl who looks like your first love? How am I supposed to come back and enjoy this place then…?

“No, that’s not what I mean. I simply can’t bear to see another young woman suffer the same fate. One person should bear this pain, and that person can be me!”

I fired off one sentence after another at Julian like a machine gun.

That was close. I almost revealed what I really thought.

Half an hour later, I got my iron chain as I wished. The only downside was that Julian also gave me the key.

I hurried back to Julian’s room and, under his astonished gaze, tossed the key onto his bed.

Now there really was no way for me to escape.

Soft, comfortable bed, here I came!

…

I woke up naturally to a sumptuous breakfast.

After eating my fill, I went back to sleep and waited for the butler, Arnold, to bring me lunch.

This wasn’t a prison. It was heaven!

But when I opened my eyes again, dinner still hadn’t arrived.

I checked the time and realized that only half an hour had passed since I started my nap. At that moment, I seemed to understand the female lead on a much deeper level.

The basement had everything I could want, except something to do.

There were plenty of books, but most of them were foreign classics. I couldn’t focus on a single word.

No wonder the female lead wanted to escape.

But I wasn’t going to run. I was going to live here. Problems had to be solved at the source.

Thanks to the female lead’s extensive escape experience, I could pick the lock myself even with the key in Julian’s possession.

I sat on Julian’s bed and waited for him. The moment he switched on the light, the usually deep-voiced, aloof man let out a shrill scream.

I glanced at the mirror and immediately understood why I had frightened him.

I had slept all day, so my hair was a tangled mess, and I was wearing a white nightgown.

Seeing someone who was supposed to be locked up suddenly appear in his room was admittedly a little terrifying.

Once Julian recovered, he frowned at me as if I were some kind of bad omen. “Who allowed you to sit on my bed? You’re filthy. Arnold, throw out these sheets.”

Everything was going according to plan.

Julian had severe germophobia and never used anything again once someone else had touched it.

I quietly pulled Arnold aside. “What a waste. They’re still perfectly usable. Arnold, send these sheets to my room.”

I touched his silk pillow, and just like that, it became mine.

After I had touched almost everything in his room, I finally went after my real target.

Hide a person in a crowd and a tree in a forest. That was my strategy.

I quickly touched the monitor, computer tower, mouse, and keyboard.

To my surprise, Julian didn’t threaten to throw those things away.

“Shuri Shaw, so that was your little scheme. How come you’re not lecturing me about how to imprison someone now? If I let you have communication devices, this hardly qualifies as imprisonment.”

Julian’s voice rose, and he seemed to relish finally winning a round.

I hugged the computer tightly and refused to let go.

“That only shows how limited your imagination is. You dragged me here to humiliate me, didn’t you? Seeing me reduced to nothing must give you a satisfying sense of revenge, right?”