Chapter 1
Everyone thought Maria Sinclair, the eldest daughter of the Sinclair family, was crazy.
She set her sights on Elias Lawson, the cold and moonlit second son of the Lawson family. One rainy night, she had her men block his car, slammed a contract in his face, and said, "Sign it. From today on, you're mine."
The whole Capital City was betting on when Elias would run away.
But what no one knew was that during that seemingly violent act of possession, Elias' fingers trembled around the pen, not out of anger, but because he was afraid he might laugh.
Until one night, Maria saw a line of text float across Elias.
[Poor villainess. She has no idea that Elias' first love is about to return from abroad.]
Her movements paused.
Then she smiled.
It was a kind of cold smile Elias had never seen on her before.
She was done with this game.
*****
The room was stiflingly hot.
Maria straddled Elias' waist, her fingers hooking the sash of his robe, winding it around her fingers again and again before letting it slip free. In the dim light, the satin shimmered with a cold, pale glow, like a tame snake.
He lay back against the dark gray pillows, his eyes half-closed, lashes casting a faint shadow that made his expression unreadable. His jaw was tense, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly.
Maria lowered her head, softly catching the thin skin over his throat between her teeth, feeling the pulse beating beneath.
"Well," Maria laughed, her voice teasing and a little unclear, "Mr. Lawson, you're awfully quiet tonight."
He didn't say a word, just turned his head aside, exposing a pale stretch of his neck. As if forced. As if enduring.
Maria had long since gotten used to this.
Ever since she slammed that contract down in front of him, Elias had always been like this, unwooing, unyielding, unanswering.
Sometimes, when she pushed him too far, his ears would flush red and his breath would turn ragged, but he'd always grit his teeth and stay silent, as if protesting against his own body's reactions.
Everyone in Capital City said Maria had crushed Elias, left him completely spineless.
She couldn't care less.
All she wanted was him. Whether he wanted her or not, he was hers.
Maria grabbed his chin and made him face her, forcing him to meet her gaze.
Elias' eyes were a pale brown, and under the light, they looked like molten amber filled with something she couldn't decipher.
She didn't bother to try.
She leaned down and kissed him.
Just as their lips were about to touch, a line of text suddenly drifted fleetingly into her peripheral sight.
It hung there in the air, half-transparent, glowing with that tacky neon light of cheap digital screens.
[Ahhh, my heart can't take it! How much longer does Elias have to endure? When will the villainess leave?]
Maria's lips paused mid-motion.
Her lips were barely a finger's width from Elias'.
She stared at the line of text.
The words kept scrolling, drifting slowly from right to left like live chat comments, with more popping up behind.
[Almost there, almost there. This is the night when the villainess gets completely dumped by Elias in the original story.]
[Who would've thought that when Isabelle Linwood comes back, Elias kneels in the snow begging her to forgive him? I'm obsessed!]
[Hey girls, remember this scene? The villainess forces Elias to hook up, and he just suffers through it. Later, in a flashback, he says all he could think about was Isabelle's face that night.]
[Oh, no, shut up! No more heartbreak, please!]
[Poor villainess. She has no idea that Elias' first love is about to return from abroad.]
Maria didn't move.
Her eyes narrowed a bit, but her face stayed almost the same.
She just held that almost‑kissing pose, like a paused frame.
Elias seemed to sense something.
His lashes fluttered, and he opened his eyes, meeting her gaze.
"What's wrong?"
His voice was soft, colored by a low hoarseness that lingered from desire.
Maria slowly straightened up.
She looked at his face, the face she'd been drawn to from the very first moment.
High, sharp brow, straight nose, thin lips that formed a cool curve when pressed together. Now, because of their earlier play, his lips were redder than usual, his collar was pulled open, and there was a fresh bite mark on his collarbone.
Maria smirked suddenly, faint and fleeting.
Then she slipped off the bed.
Barefoot on the carpet, she bent down, picked up her jacket from the floor, and put it on. Smooth and unhurried, calm as ever.
"Maria...?"
He pushed himself upright, his robe sliding off his shoulders, revealing his lean chest.
For the first time, his expression shifted. His brows drew together, and a hint of confusion, barely noticeable, appeared in his eyes.
Maria turned to glance at him, her gaze utterly calm.
No anger, no hurt, not even disappointment.
Just calm, like a bystander watching something none of her business through a pane of glass.
"I'm tired," Maria said, "Go ahead and get some rest."
She opened the door and walked out.
The door closed quietly behind her.
Elias sat on the bed, unmoving for a long time. Her warmth and scent still lingered in the air, the sheets were rumpled, and the bite mark on his collarbone still burned faintly.
Slowly, he reached up and brushed his fingers over the bite mark.
Then he curled his fingers around it.
The confusion in his eyes gradually sank away, replaced by a heavy, unreadable emotion.