He passed by me, but I did not see him. He walked before me, but I did not notice him.
He seized, and who could stop him? Who dared to ask him, "What are you doing?"
Since this was the case, how could I dare to answer him, how could I dare to choose my words to argue with him?
Though I was righteous, I did not answer him. I only pleaded with the one who judged me.
If I call out, he answers me. Yet I still do not believe he truly hears my voice.
He breaks me with a storm, adding to my wounds without cause.
Even if I take a breath, he does not allow it, but fills my heart with distress.
"If you want to punish me, just take me to prison. Why dirty your noble hands?"
The quiet corridor echoes only with the rhythmic sound of footsteps. This hollow feeling fills Ivina with panic.
He did not respond, his lips tightly sealed in silence.
"Enough!" Her heartbeat nearly stopped. This aimless, uncommunicative walk, even in his embrace, offered no warmth.
His cruelty toward Xia Sang had already revealed the true face of a vampire to her, and her life held no mercy-worthy value.
But please... don't be so quiet.
Let a condemned prisoner scream on the way to the guillotine. Let someone as helpless as her waste a few more words before the end. Argue, complain, but never beg for mercy.
Luo stopped in his tracks, his red eyes staring at her blankly. The person who left him at a loss.
If she said she would stay, if she said she would keep her oath, if she said she would stay by his side... then he would believe her, and everything would be as if it had never happened, and she would still be his Ivina.
Ivina took a deep breath.
"Imprison me, or let me go."
Luo narrowed his eyes, a dangerous smile curling at the corners of his mouth. He strode forward, no longer heeding the restlessness in his arms.
The servants on either side had already turned pale. The king's anger was so evident that even the slightest misstep could bring disaster upon them.
As they walked forward, Ivina's growing anxiety nearly burst from her chest. After a dizzy spell, she found herself lying on the bed, her body aching all over.
Her black hair fell loosely across her forehead. Ivina saw Luo's back.
Turning around, he held two champagne glasses in his hands, the amber liquid bubbling inside.
"Drink it." Luo downed it in one gulp, then removed his black cloak.
"No!" Ivina quickly stood up and ran toward the door.
She had to leave this place; the Luo before her was no longer the man she knew.
His smile was so cold, with no trace of tenderness.
"Do you really want to leave so badly?" The fragile glass shattered the moment it hit the ground.
"Where are you going? To which man's embrace? Do you intend to disregard all the vows we made in the past? Hmph! This is the inherent flaw of humanity—thousands of years have passed, yet nothing has changed!"
"Let me go!" Ivina cried out.
"No more. From today onward, I will never let go. I will make you lose your freedom forever in my embrace." Luo curled his lips into a bloodthirsty smile.
His gaze was still as captivating as ever, but what she could no longer see was tenderness—only desire.
The sound of tearing echoed in the silent darkness. The buttons on Ivina's chest were easily torn open. Her black hair fell loosely over her snow-white shoulders, revealing her half-bare chest.
"Let me go!!" Luo's tongue skillfully teased Ivina's sensitive nerves. A faint blush had already crept onto her delicate skin.
"Ah... um, stop!" Her legs were firmly held up, her back pressed against the cold wall.
"Do you want to leave because I couldn't satisfy you? Will doing this now keep you here?" Luo mocked the tearful Ivina before him.
Her sorrow, he could no longer feel.
Licking her calves, his eyes fixed intently on Ivina, ruthlessly locking onto the slightest expression on her face.
"Ah… no, stop…" Her body refused to obey her will, trembling with excitement.
"Uncomfortable?" In the vast space, the luxurious decorations had become meaningless. The air was filled with the scent of sweat and rapid breathing…
The intimacy of their lips, the tight contact of their skin. Her body gradually began to feel strange, increasingly unable to resist Luo's demands.
"Ha... ah..." Between breaths, she could feel Luo's hands caressing her skin, the heat spreading throughout her body.
"Please, stop now, don't make me hate you..." These were the last rational words to come out of her mouth.
"If that's the case, then I can only say... we met too late..." If he had fallen in love with her thousands of years ago, then... how much better would things be now?
"Ah—!" A sudden, piercing pain spread throughout her body.
Was it too late?—She still remembered Luo's gentle laughter at that moment.
Luo watched her eat breakfast with affection.
Ivina, I hope you know that I will keep your secret, but this is not a deal—it is my love for you.
It will never happen again!
Pleasure and pain coexisted within Ivina's fragile body. For the first time, she felt Luo's warmth so vividly, but she could no longer see the true face of the man before her.