?Chapter 1269:


    William stepped out first, walked around the car, and flung the door open. Without the slightest trace of restraint, he grabbed her arm and dragged her out.


    Ste cried out, panic breaking through her voice as she struggled against him, her heels scraping against the pavement. “Let me go! Where are you taking me? Please, let me go!”


    But William didn’t respond to her cries. His hand, hot and unyielding, mped around her arm as he dragged her inside.


    The door mmed behind them with a violent thud, the echo reverberating through the empty house like a final seal shutting out the world.


    The vi’s interior was vast but lifeless. Its silence pressed heavily against the walls. Beyond the tall windows, the manicured garden shimmered under the moonlight—beautiful, yet devoid of warmth.


    There were no servants here. No witnesses. Only the two of them.


    Ste’s heartbeat roared in her ears, each pulse pounding like a drumbeat of dread.


    When William finally released her, she stumbled forward, barely catching herself.


    Her eyes darted across the unfamiliar room, panic tightening in her chest.


    “What… what is this supposed to mean? You’re not nning to let me go, are you?”


    Her voice trembled despite her effort to sound steady, her hands shaking, her body cold with terror.


    She was afraid of this man.


    William turned slowly, his gaze sharp and unrelenting. A chilling smile ghosted over his lips—cold, empty, cruel.


    “After what you did to me, Ste, do you really think I’d let you go?”


    Her panic gave way to anger, her tears spilling faster. “What did I ever do to you? I don’t even know you! Who are you, and why do you hate me this much? I’m calling Marc—he must be worried sick!”


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    Her voice cracked as she fumbled for her phone, clutching it like it was her only chance at freedom. Her fingers shook as she found Marc’s name, but before she could press the screen, William snatched the device from her grasp.


    The sight of her crying for another man ignited something savage in him. His vision blurred red, Arlo’s poisonous words wing at his mind until reason began to crumble.


    “Even now, you’re still thinking about that bastard?”


    He seized her chin in a punishing grip, forcing her to meet his burning eyes.


    “Look at me, Ste. Look at me. You think pretending not to know me can erase what you did? Don’t even think about calling him. Because if you do, I swear, I won’t stop myself.”


    His fingers dug painfully into her jaw, the pressure making her wince as tears blurred her sight. Even through the fear, she saw how impossibly furious—and dangerously beautiful—he was.


    Her strength gave out; she whimpered, copsing weakly onto the sofa. “I don’t… I don’t know what you’re talking about… Please, just let me go…”


    William’s gaze dropped and settled on the white gown that shaped her figure. The image burned into his mind like a cruel joke, stripping away everything he once thought was pure between them.


    What used to symbolize devotion now pierced through him like a de. Every fold of fabric seemed to sneer at him, whispering that she had chosen another man over the vows they once shared.


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