Chapter 2
It was a viral article everyone was talking about.
The title was: [10 Levels of Possessiveness: How Deeply Does Your "Daddy-Type" Boyfriend Actually Love You?]
I clicked on it without really thinking about it.
[Level 1 Possessiveness: Likes to check your phone, wants to know who you're chatting with every day.]
[Level 2 Possessiveness: Doesn't like you getting too close to guysor even girls.]
[Level 3 Possessiveness...]
I texted Sophia back, feeling like she'd lost her mind: [Why'd you send me this?]
Sophia: [Scroll down to the fifth one.]
I scrolled down.
[Level 5 Possessiveness: He'll get furious if you share a "fun thing" with your friends that he doesn't know about. It's not that he's mad you're happy. It's that your happiness didn't come from him.]
My heart skipped a beat out of nowhere.
Sophia's message popped up right after: [So? Does it sound like him? Has Charles had a thing for you all along?]
Me: [No way! He's my uncle!]
Sophia: [You're not even related, so what's the big deal? Think about it. Has he ever let you stay out overnight? Let you wear short skirts? Or even let you date anyone?]
My hand gave a little shake.
Every single thing Sophia said was spot on.
All these years, I just thought Charles was super strict, just old-school.
But what if Sophia's actually right?
What if all that strict, possessive stuff he does is actually because he has feelings for me?
I didn't dare let my thoughts go any further.
The steam in the bathroom was making me feel lightheaded, and my heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might jump out of my chest.
I stared at my flushed face in the mirror, and no matter how hard I tried, his last words kept echoing in my mind: "Go to your room and wait for me."
After my shower, I slipped into the most modest cotton nightgown I had.
My heart was all over the place. I had no clue what Charles actually wanted by making me wait for him.
Is he really going to give me a massage?
Ever since I started college, Charles has been so busy with work that it feels like we haven't been this close in ages.
Most of the time, he was just this stern, distant guardian, not the same guy who used to carry me on his back through the streets.
I shook off my silly thoughts, grabbed my tablet, and put on the romance anime I've been binging lately, just to distract myself.
On the screen, the male lead was pinning the female lead against the wall, pulling off that classic "wall slam" move.
He slowly leaned down, getting right up to her ear, his breath practically crackling with electricity.
The anime's background music and the flirty voices of the main characters sounded extra clear in the quiet room.
Just then, the door opened.
Charles walked in.
He looked like he'd just showered too, wearing deep gray silky pajamas, the collar slightly open, revealing his sharp collarbone.
His hair was half-dry, with droplets still clinging to the ends, and he carried a clean, soapy scent.
My heart skipped a beat.
He spotted what was playing on my tablet and stopped in his tracks for a moment.
I freaked out and wanted to shut it off right away, but he just walked over at his own pace and sat right beside me.
The mattress dipped deeply under his weight.
He didn't even glance at me, just watched the two anime characters on the screen with obvious interest as they were about to kiss.
"Did she suggest you learn from this too?"
His deep voice came out, laced with a teasing edge that was hard to miss.
I knew right away he was talking about Sophia.
"No! I was just watching for fun," I replied, feeling a bit nervous.
"Oh? Just watching for fun?" He chuckled, finally shifting his gaze from the screen to my face. He tapped my cheek lightly with his knuckles. "Then why's your face so hot?"
My cheeks burned up instantly, like they were about to catch fire.
On the tablet, the male lead's lips were just about to touch the female lead's as he whispered in a low, seductive voice, "I can hear your heartbeat."
Right then, Charles leaned in closer to me.
His warm breath tickled my ear.
He gently rested his hand over my heart, saying nothing, just staring deep into my eyes.
It was like I could hear the words he wasn't saying.
"Emily," he finally said, his voice low and every word making my heart race, "what are you so nervous about?"
The last thread of reason in my mind snapped with a loud crack.
That article Sophia sent me was flashing through my brain like a barrage of comments.
[Level 5 Possessiveness: He's not mad that you're happy. He's mad that your happiness didn't come from him.]
[Level 7 Possessiveness: He likes to test your limits with both words and his presence, and takes pleasure in seeing you flustered.]
I jerked my head up, meeting his eyes, dark and bottomless.
Inside them, I saw the familiar, restrained anger I knew so well, and beneath it, a fierce possessiveness I'd never dared to examine.
I didn't even know where my courage came from. Maybe I was channeling the anime heroine.
He expected me to shrink back like always, but instead, I reached out and grabbed the front of his sleepwear.
"Charles," I pulled him closer to me, not holding back.
"What are you so mad about?" I asked.
He clearly didn't expect that. He froze for a moment, caught off guard.
For the first time ever, a look of shock flashed across his deep eyes.
He looked like a big dog that just got swiped by a kitten. He was completely thrown off, like he had no idea what just hit him.
His reaction gave me this strange, unexpected sense of satisfaction.
So I got even bolder.
Just like those anime heroines, I braced myself on the bed and awkwardly, totally fearless, shuffled forward on my knees until I was kneeling right in front of him, boxing him in between me and the headboard.
"Are you mad because I shared my new toy with Sophia? Is that what's got you all worked up?"
I deliberately leaned closer, tracing gentle circles on his tense arm with my finger.
"What's the matter?
"Are you jealous?"
My teasing was like dropping a pebble into a deep, still pool.
The shock in his eyes vanished in a flash, replaced by something far more dangerous and intense.
He smiled.
"Emily, do you even know what you're doing?"
The next second, the world spun.
My attempt to act calm shattered in a heartbeat. He slipped his hand under my waist and, in one smooth motion, flipped me over, pinning me beneath him, completely at his mercy.
He braced himself above me, locking me in between his body and the mattress.