The room was thick with tension, the kind that clung to the air like smoke from a fire that had burned too long, too deep. Taehyung stood before her, his dark gaze pinning her in place, unwavering, unreadable. His words echoed in her mind, a dangerous promise wrapped in the silk of his voice.
"Then I'll burn it down."
And the worst part?
She believed him.
No, the worst part was that a part of her wanted him to.
Her breath hitched as he took a step closer. The sharp scent of expensive cologne, leather, and something unmistakably him filled her senses. His fingers brushed against her cheek, featherlight, but the touch sent a violent shiver through her body.
"You're shaking, sweetheart," he murmured, his voice as smooth as velvet, but there was something sharp beneath it—something dangerous. "Is it fear?"
Or something else entirely?
She swallowed hard, her throat dry as she forced herself to meet his eyes. "I should hate you."
A smirk curled his lips. "But you don't."
She wanted to argue, to tell him he was wrong. But the words wouldn't come. Because he wasn't.
Taehyung's fingers tilted her chin up, forcing her to hold his gaze. His thumb brushed across her lower lip, slow and deliberate, as if testing her resolve.
"You think you have a choice," he mused, his grip tightening ever so slightly. "But we both know you don't."
Her breath stuttered. "You can't keep me like this."
His smirk deepened. "Watch me."
The next morning, she woke up to silk sheets and an empty bed.
The warmth of his presence had long faded, but the remnants of his possession were still imprinted on her skin. A bruise here, a whisper of his touch there—marks of a man who had never been taught to share, to let go.
She wasn't sure what was more suffocating—the luxury surrounding her or the invisible chains binding her to him.
The door creaked open, and a maid stepped inside, her gaze lowered.
"Sir instructed me to bring you breakfast, Miss," she said, placing the silver tray on the nightstand. "He also left a note."
A single white envelope sat beside the coffee cup.
With hesitant fingers, she unfolded the paper.
Come downstairs. Don't make me come get you.
She exhaled slowly. Of course, he didn't ask. Taehyung never asked.
Minutes later, she descended the grand staircase, her fingers gripping the cold railing. The sight awaiting her in the dining room sent her stomach plummeting.
Taehyung sat at the head of the long marble table, exuding power with every breath he took. A man stood beside him—one she recognized all too well.
No.
This wasn't happening.
Not him. Not now.
Her past and present collided with a force so brutal it nearly stole the air from her lungs.
"Ah," Taehyung murmured, amusement flickering in his dark eyes as he noticed her reaction. "I see you two are acquainted."
She couldn't speak. Her throat had turned to sandpaper, dry and useless.
"Darling," Taehyung continued, gesturing to the man beside him. "Your fiancé is here."
The words were a gunshot to her chest.
Fiancé.
The title felt foreign, wrong, like a chain she had broken long ago.
"You can't be serious," she whispered, forcing herself to breathe.
Taehyung arched a brow. "Oh, but I am."
The man—Daniel—stepped forward, his face unreadable. "I came to take you home."
Home.
A bitter laugh almost slipped past her lips.
"This is her home," Taehyung said smoothly, leaning back in his chair as if he were merely watching an amusing game unfold. "And I don't recall her asking to leave."
Daniel's jaw clenched. "She belongs with me."
A flicker of something dark passed through Taehyung's eyes, like a predator sensing a challenge. He rose from his seat, slow, calculated. The air shifted, thickened.
"Belongs?" he echoed, his voice dropping a lethal octave. "Interesting choice of words."
Daniel stiffened, but Taehyung only smiled—a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"You see," he murmured, circling the table like a wolf closing in on its prey, "I don't take kindly to men touching what's mine."
Her breath caught.
Daniel's expression darkened. "She was mine first."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Taehyung halted. His gaze locked onto hers, searching, demanding.
"Is that true?"
She swallowed. The room felt too small, the walls pressing in.
She had a history with Daniel. A past. A life before Taehyung had stormed in like a hurricane and rewritten her world. But did it matter now?
Could anything that came before him still hold weight?
Her fingers curled into fists.
"No," she said, voice barely above a whisper.
Taehyung's smirk was slow, satisfied. But his eyes—they were ablaze with something primal.
"Then I suggest you leave," he told Daniel, his voice dripping with finality.
Daniel's fists tightened. "You don't own her."
Taehyung's smirk vanished.
And in the next second, the room exploded.
A blur of movement—Daniel lunged. A fist swung. But Taehyung was faster.
The sickening crack of bone against flesh echoed as Taehyung's punch connected. Daniel staggered, blood trickling from his split lip.
Taehyung grabbed him by the collar, his voice a whisper of pure, controlled rage.
"She's mine."
Another punch. Harder.
"Touch her again, and I'll bury you."
The silence that followed was deafening.
Daniel coughed, spitting blood onto the pristine marble floor. But Taehyung wasn't looking at him anymore.
His gaze found her.
Something in his eyes burned deep, scorching, unrelenting.
A question. A warning. A claim.
She should be horrified. She should run. But her feet refused to move.
Daniel glared at Taehyung, his voice hoarse. "She'll never love you."
Taehyung's jaw flexed. A slow smirk curled his lips, dangerous and knowing. "She doesn't have to."
His words sent a shiver down her spine.
Daniel let out a hollow laugh. "You think you can keep her forever?" He turned to her, eyes pleading. "You love me."
The words twisted inside her, a ghost of a past she barely recognized.
She met his gaze.
"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "I don't."
Daniel recoiled as if she had slapped him.
Taehyung's hand found her waist, possessive, immovable. "That's enough."
His grip tightened, pulling her into him, against him. His lips brushed her ear as he whispered, "You made your choice, sweetheart. Now live with it."
Her heart pounded, a traitorous thrill rushing through her veins.
Because there was no escaping Kim Taehyung.
And she no longer wanted to try.