ログインThe air in the room was thick, charged with a heavy, magnetic heat that made every breath feel like a choice. August leaned over me, his eyes no longer icy but burning with a dark, predatory focus."Let me savor you whole," he whispered, the words vibrating against my skin. His voice was a husky rasp, a sound that stripped away the last of my defenses.I was melting. Every part of me—every suppressed longing and every silent ache seemed to converge in this one moment. My body wanted him with a ferocity that frightened me. When his fingers slid down, testing the waters, I couldn't hold back a sharp intake of breath. The friction, the heat, the sheer intimacy of it made the world outside the bedroom walls cease to exist.And then, he did something I never expected. He lowered himself, his touch shifting into something so primal and intense that a jagged moan escaped me, stealing the very air from my lungs."Ahhhh... August..."I grabbed his shoulders, my fingers digging into hi
The piano had become my only sanctuary. Ever since that night in the car—the tears, the desperate hug...August had retreated behind a wall of icy silence.He ignored me during the few moments our paths crossed.I played until my fingertips ached, the notes of a melancholy nocturne echoing through the empty hallways. I was bored. No, it was more than boredom. It was a slow, agonizing erosion of my sense of self. I was a woman with a $300,000-a-month price tag and absolutely no purpose.The sound of tires screeching against the driveway snapped me out of my trance. My heart did a familiar, unwelcome skip. He was home.I stood up, smoothing my dress, and met him at the base of the grand staircase. He looked exhausted, his tie loosened and his jacket draped over his arm, but his aura was as sharp as a piece of glass."August," I said, stepping into his path. "We need to talk."He stopped, his gaze raking over me. "What do you want, Spring? Is the $300,000 monthly allowance not hit
I pushed my plate away, the appetite I’d had a moment ago completely gone. If he wanted to go back to his cold, office-ordered salads, fine. Let him be miserable. I wasn't going to be the one to bridge the gap if he was just going to slam the door in my face every time.After breakfast, the house felt too small. I walked alone through the garden. My feet led me toward the lake, where the white pavilion sat in the middle of the water. I’d been curious about it since the day I saw it, but I’d always stayed back.I was scared of August. I was scared that if I stepped foot on that pavilion, he would find another reason to wrap his hands around my throat.I wonder if he built that for her, I thought, staring at the intricate woodwork. Was it a sanctuary? Or a tomb?I suddenly slapped the side of my head. "Thui, thui! Stop it!"What was happening to my brain? Why was I so invested in August’s life lately? Why did I care about his pavilion or his past lovers or his tears? It was exhau
The drive back from the Old Mansion was a descent into a different kind of darkness. The moon, which had looked so hopeful over Grandpa’s rose garden, now felt like a cold, watching eye. Inside the car, the air was a gloomy sensation that seemed to radiate off August in waves. It was the dangerous, suffocating calm that comes just before a hurricane breaks the shore.August sat in the corner. He looked like a man being consumed from the inside out."Did... did Grandpa say something?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. I had to gather every ounce of my courage just to break the silence.He didn't answer. He just stared straight ahead, his jaw locked so tightly I thought I could hear the bone grinding.It’s okay, I told myself, clutching my hand to my chest. I knew this was coming. This behavior wasn't new. August was a pendulum, swinging between icy indifference and explosive heat. I tried to look out my own window, focusing on the city, trying to convince myself that I didn't
“A normal life?” August stood up, his voice rising to match his grandfather’s.“Is that why you made Winter get into that accident? If you truly wanted me to be happy, why didn't you allow her to be in my life? You treated her like trash until she ran away from you and into her grave!”August threw his hands into the air, his composure finally shattering.“You don’t know the whole story, August,” Grandpa said, his voice suddenly, terrifyingly quiet.“Then tell me!” August burst out, stepping into his grandfather’s space. “Tell me the whole story! Tell me why the woman I loved is gone and the woman who killed her is sitting in your sunroom painting pictures!”The old master let out a roar of his own, slamming his stick against the floor. “Have some sense, you foolish grandson! Use that brain of yours! Those ‘parts’ they found in the car... was it ever confirmed they were Winter’s? Use your head!”August stammered, his momentum failing. “Well... the parts they found... the fire wa
August had been standing in the corner for five minutes, unmoving, his phone gripped so tightly in his hand that the casing groaned.He watched them.He watched the way his grandfather leaned forward, eyes sparkling with a mischievous vitality that August hadn't seen in years. He watched Spring laughing without restraint as she tried to navigate a chessboard. The scene was domestic, warm, and utterly revolting to him.How? The question hammered against his skull. How could his grandfather, the iron-fisted patriarch of the Harrington line, accept this girl so easily? The same man who had treated Winter like a common intruder.A year ago, these very walls had echoed with a different kind of sound. August remembered the shouting. He remembered the way his grandfather had insulted Winter, calling her unworthy of the Harrington name, until August had erupted in a rage he couldn't control. They had quarreled until the air felt thin. Winter had fled the mansion in tears, her face fille
As soon as the ordeal ended, I retreated. I didn't wait for permission. I dragged myself back to the Master Suite, my breath hitching as I finally closed the door behind me. I thought I was safe. I thought the walls would finally hold the world back. I was wrong. The door slammed open minute
Ever since we returned to August’s estate, the atmosphere in the house had shifted. It was a subtle, chilling kind of change. The air was no longer overt malice of Martha’s taunts. Instead, it was filled with terrified silence. Martha no longer looked me in the eye. When she spoke to me, her voic
Martha finally stepped back, her chest heaving with the exertion of her work. She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead with the back of a hand that had just spent an hour inflicting pain."I’m tired of beating them," she muttered, her voice thick with a sickening sense of accomplishment. She lo
I followed Uncle Hui up the grand staircase. Every step was a battle of will. I could feel August’s gaze on my back slicing through my dress. He was waiting for the Old Master to look away so he could strike."Madam, Young Master, the room is ready," Uncle Hui said, bowing as we reached the East







