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Chapter 8
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2021-10-15 13:22:31“She said that,” Elena replied, pointing at Yoselin while looking up at Holden.
Both Yoselin and Zheneria froze.
God!
Yoselin felt as if she had slapped herself in the face—hard.
At that moment, the store manager returned and handed Holden a strawberry jam cake. “Sir, here is your order.”
“Let’s go,” Holden said calmly.
“Okay.” Elena followed him out, turning back slightly to wave a little goodbye at Yoselin.
Yoselin stood rooted to the ground. She had never imagined Elena would be this fortunate—to have a man like that beside her.
“Yoselin… I think you might really have to call Elena your boss,” Zheneria muttered blankly.
Yoselin shot her a vicious glare.
“I mean,” Zheneria continued with a grin, “if Elena is keeping a pretty boy this gorgeous… how much does it cost to raise him?”
Yoselin, normally confident and praised as attractive, felt crushed. Holden hadn’t looked her way once—as if she were invisible.
But Zheneria’s words reminded her of something else: a man like him wasn’t cheap to “keep.” Elena must have access to far more money than she expected.
Just the thought of that made Yoselin tremble with a twisted excitement.
“Manager, please give us the cake we ordered. We’re leaving,” Yoselin said, heading to the counter.
“I’m sorry, ladies,” the shop manager said politely, “your payment will be refunded—doubled, even. But this cake can no longer be given to you.”
“Why?” Yoselin and Zheneria were stunned.
The manager gave a thin, bitter smile.
…what?
“Manager! Are you humiliating us?” Yoselin slammed her hand on the counter, rising in anger.
“Humiliating you?” the owner shot back. “Isn’t it humiliating enough for me already? You offended a very powerful man. Even if this cake is meant for dogs, you won’t be getting it!”
The luxury car stopped in front of Green Garden. Holden handed Elena a black, gold-stamped card.
“Here. Take it.”
Elena’s fingers trembled. Why was he giving her his card?
“This isn’t mine,” she said, shaking her head.
Holden curled his thin lips into a lazy smirk. “You can’t afford to feed me with that pale face of yours. But you—” His eyes darkened slightly. “I can afford to feed my wife.”
My wife.
The words slid out in that low, seductive voice, and Elena felt her heart contract sharply. It wouldn’t stop racing.
She immediately opened the car door and jumped out.
This man was a tyrant. A complete tyrant.
Elena carefully stepped into the living room, slipping the black card into her bag.
“Elena, you’re back. How did things go with your family today?” Mrs. Lu asked, smiling warmly.
“Grandma, everything went well. Come, let’s eat cake together.”
“Oh, I love cake,” the old lady said, waddling into the living room eagerly, hands outstretched.
Holden entered next. Instead of going into the living room, he walked upstairs. Halfway up, he paused and looked down at his grandmother.
“Grandma, you have high blood pressure. Just a little bit.”
“I know, I know,” she said honestly—right before stuffing yet another forkful of cake into her mouth. “I only took a small bite. It’s delicious.”
Elena giggled at the old lady, then turned to look at Holden on the stairs. “Do you want some too?”
“No,” he said flatly. He didn’t like sweets.
“Oh.”
“The corner of your mouth…” he added.
Elena blinked. The veil that usually covered her face had lifted from the movement, revealing part of her delicate jawline and the curve of her crimson lips.
Her cherry-colored lips were stunning.
He remembered a magazine once featuring a list titled “Lips Men Most Want to K!ss at First Sight.” Elena’s lips would be at the very top.
She had a small smudge of cream on them now.
The moment he mentioned it, Elena stuck out her tongue and licked the tiny smear away.
Holden clenched his jaw, tugging at the knot of his shirt collar. His Adam’s apple rolled as he turned and walked upstairs into the study.
Elena’s ears burned red. That look in his eyes had nearly melted her—combined with him loosening his tie? Lethal.
She quickly grabbed a tissue and wiped her lips.
“Grandma, who is that man?” Elena asked the housekeeper as an elderly gentleman was led upstairs.
“Oh, that is Mr. Nan Yuan,” the butler replied. “He comes once a month.”
Elena’s heart skipped.
If he was here, it must be for Holden’s sleep disorder.
That meant the condition was far worse than she thought.
She grew uneasy and walked to the study door. Suddenly, strange noises echoed inside. Alarmed, she pushed the door open.
The study was a mess. Papers scattered across the floor. A broken clock in Mr. Nan Yuan’s hand. And Holden—standing in front of the desk, chest rising and falling like a beast barely contained. Veins bulged on the back of his hands.
He looked up as the door opened. His deep, narrow eyes locked onto hers.
He looked like a different man entirely.
“Get out,” Holden snapped, his thin lips forming a cold arc. “Get. Out.”
Elena didn’t move.
The butler hurriedly helped Mr. Nan Yuan outside, carrying the broken clock.
Two worlds separated by a single door.
“Mr. Nan Yuan, are you all right?” Elena asked.
“At first,” he sighed, “I could hypnotize Master Lu and let him rest for a day each month. But his mind now runs too fast. He is hyper-alert. His mental defenses are terrifyingly strong. I can no longer put him under.”
Elena wasn’t surprised. Holden was brilliant, cautious, composed, and exceptionally controlled—almost unnaturally so.
She turned the lock, took a breath, and reached for the doorknob again.
“No, Miss Elena, it’s dangerous!” Butler Freddy panicked. “Do you forget what happened last night?”
“That’s why I must go in,” Elena said firmly. “If his sleep disorder evolves into a mental break, he won’t be able to suppress the dark side inside him. The second personality could take over completely.”
Freddy blanched.
Elena pushed the door open and stepped in.
“Get out. Don’t make me say it a third time,” Holden growled, the shadows in his eyes deepening.
Elena walked toward him, a bright sparkle in her gaze. “I just want to see what happens when you say it the third time.”
Holden trembled with effort. His veins bulged further. His self-control was slipping.
“Leave!” he roared, reaching out and shoving her away.
Elena lost balance. Her body fell forward—and her forehead slammed hard against the sharp corner of the coffee table.
Blood instantly spilled down her face.
“Hiss—” she gasped, clutching her forehead as warm blood gushed between her fingers.
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Elena woke up before dawn.The pain was no longer sharp. Just present. A dull reminder that her body had survived something her mind was still unpacking.The room was quiet.Too quiet.She turned her head and saw Holden sitting in the armchair by the window, jacket still on, tie loosened but not removed. He hadn’t slept there again.He hadn’t slept much at all since the attack.“You should rest,” she said softly.He looked up immediately, alert, as if he had been waiting for permission to breathe.“I’m fine.”She almost smiled at the lie.“You say that every time,” she murmured.“I need to.”That was the truth.Holden stood and came closer, careful, always careful now. He adjusted the blanket even though it didn’t need adjusting. Straightened the glass of water. Checked the IV like he didn’t trust the nurses.Obsessive wasn’t the right word.Terrified was.Elena studied him—really studied him—and saw the fractures he didn’t realize were visible. The tightness in his jaw. The way his e
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Distance, Elena discovered, was not created by miles.It was created by rules.Within forty-eight hours of their argument, the rules appeared.They arrived quietly—like dust settling on furniture no one remembered moving.Her office access card no longer opened the executive elevator. Her calendar showed meetings she hadn’t approved and absences she hadn’t requested. People still greeted her with respect, but something fundamental had shifted.She was no longer inside.She was adjacent.Elena stood in the hallway outside the boardroom, staring at the frosted glass.Holden was inside.She could see his silhouette through the blur—still, authoritative, absolute.The door did not open for her.She didn’t knock.She turned away.That was the moment she understood: Holden hadn’t pushed her out in anger.He had done it calmly.Deliberately.As if he were amputating something he loved to save the rest of his body.At home, the atmosphere was worse.Holden was everywhere and nowhere at once.
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Distance, Elena discovered, was not created by miles.It was created by rules.Within forty-eight hours of their argument, the rules appeared.They arrived quietly—like dust settling on furniture no one remembered moving.Her office access card no longer opened the executive elevator. Her calendar showed meetings she hadn’t approved and absences she hadn’t requested. People still greeted her with respect, but something fundamental had shifted.She was no longer inside.She was adjacent.Elena stood in the hallway outside the boardroom, staring at the frosted glass.Holden was inside.She could see his silhouette through the blur—still, authoritative, absolute.The door did not open for her.She didn’t knock.She turned away.That was the moment she understood: Holden hadn’t pushed her out in anger.He had done it calmly.Deliberately.As if he were amputating something he loved to save the rest of his body.At home, the atmosphere was worse.Holden was everywhere and nowhere at once.
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Elena learned, slowly, that recovery was not the same as freedom.Her body had healed enough to move without pain, to breathe without effort, to sleep without medication. But something else had tightened around her life—something invisible, relentless.Holden.He controlled nothing openly.That was the most frightening part.He didn’t forbid her from leaving the house. He didn’t raise his voice when she spoke to board members. He didn’t place guards directly at her side.Instead, the world rearranged itself around her.Cars arrived before she called for them. Meetings were “rescheduled” moments before she confirmed attendance. People hesitated before answering her questions—then glanced past her shoulder, as if seeking permission from the air.From him.The realization settled like a bruise beneath her skin.This wasn’t protection.This was containment.One evening, she tested it.She left without telling him.No security notice. No assistant. No destination shared.Just her coat, her
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Elena woke before dawn.Not because of pain—her body had finally begun to obey her again—but because of the quiet. The kind of silence that pressed too close, too aware.Holden was awake.She could feel it without opening her eyes.His presence had become that familiar: a weight in the room, steady and unyielding. When she finally turned her head, she found him sitting in the chair beside her bed, sleeves rolled up, phone dark in his hand, gaze fixed on her face as if she might disappear if he blinked.“How long have you been watching?” she asked softly.“All night.”She closed her eyes again.“That’s not normal.”“It’s necessary.”The same word.Always the same word.She pushed herself upright slowly. He moved instantly, hand hovering near her shoulder, ready to catch her if she swayed. She didn’t.“I can stand on my own,” she said.“I know.”“Then let me.”He hesitated—just half a second—but withdrew his hand.That hesitation told her everything.Breakfast was silent. Holden barely
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Elena had always believed healing would feel like returning to herself.She was wrong.Recovery felt more like inhabiting a version of her body that no longer belonged entirely to her—every movement monitored, every decision questioned, every silence filled by someone else’s vigilance.By Holden’s.He accompanied her everywhere now.Not obviously. Not openly.But always there.When she took calls, he stood close enough to hear her tone. When she read documents, he watched her reactions more than the words. When she slept, he timed her breathing like a countdown he was afraid would end.“Do you ever stop?” she asked one evening as he followed her into the study.“No.”It wasn’t defiance.It was confession.She closed the door behind them.“You don’t trust me to be alone.”“I don’t trust the world to leave you alone.”“That’s not the same thing.”“It is when the world has already tried to kill you.”She leaned against the desk, arms crossed.“And what happens when I want something yo
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