"Elise, am I something you can casually give away?"

Before I could finish, Jonathan suddenly tightened his grip. He looked at me like I was some stubborn, hopeless case.

A sharp pain flared on my cheek, but I held it in and stared right back at him. I hadn't said anything wrong, and there was no reason to feel guilty.

His dark eyes gleamed like a stormy sea, and just when I thought he’d explode in anger, he said nothing and his face lowered toward my lip.

I let out a quiet hiss, holding back any words as my eyes welled up.

When I tasted the metallic sting of blood, I pushed him away and slapped his face hard.

He pursed his lips, glared coldly, said nothing, then grabbed my chin again and hissed.

My eyes widened as I struggled with all my might.

He easily pinned my hands behind my back, stealing the air from my mouth relentlessly.

That faint taste of blood spread through my mouth, seeping into every cell of my body.

Every pore in me screamed to push him away, to break free.

And I tried.

That feeling of being taken by force chilled me to the bone, filling me with despair and disgust.

However, he seemed blind to my fear and dread. For the first time, I understood how terrifying it was when he got serious. My strength against him was like throwing myself against a mountain. I felt on the verge of breaking in his arms.

He only needed to spark a small fire and I would turn to ash.

The more I resisted, the tighter he held me down.

A sob caught in my throat, I bit down hard on his tongue, desperate to pour out my fury.

Only then did Jonathan taste some pain. He paused slightly, but still didn’t let go. Instead, he held me even tighter.

He lowered his head to look at me, his eyes so unfamiliar they sent a chill down my spine.

Just then, a sharp knock came from the door.

“Jonathan, is Elise feeling any better?"

I looked up to see Alicia standing there, all wide-eyed and innocent, like she hadn’t just walked in on a painfully tense moment.

"I heard Elise got hurt, so I wanted to check on her."

She seemed oblivious to the uneasy atmosphere between Jonathan and me and simply stepped inside.

“Jonathan, I’m sorry for taking up your time. You would have had time to see Elise home if I hadn’t gotten hurt. Then she wouldn’t have nearly gotten into trouble alone at home.”

She was masterful at throwing shade. I wasn’t sure if Jonathan understood the meaning of her words, but I did.

She was clearly saying that she was the one who truly mattered to him, and I was always just his fallback.

Whether it was when both of us fell into the water before and he didn’t hesitate to swim to Alicia, or this time when both of us got hit and he chose to stay by her side in her hospital room, even with Jimalarady there, he still favored her.

That was exactly what Alicia was trying to say.

I closed my eyes, my patience for these two completely gone. “Can you leave now?”

The air froze.

Alicia looked taken aback by my bluntness. “Elise, what did I ever do to offend you?