?Chapter 1356:


    “Do you know what happened to thest person who crossed me?”


    The words weren’t a joke. They were a threat. A clear warning.


    Ste’s body tensed. She instinctively hunched her shoulders and pulled the nket higher. Her voice was quiet and wary. “If you hate me that much, then why are you in my room?”


    William didn’t answer right away. Instead, he walked over and lifted her nket without permission. His tone was cold. “You’re in my house.”


    The implication was clear—every room here belonged to him, including the one she was in.


    The sudden motion startled Ste. She instinctively clutched the nket to her chest, but in the process, her hand yanked at the IV tube taped to her skin.


    The needle was still in ce, and blood immediately backed up into the tube.


    William’s expression darkened. He stepped forward and grabbed her arm, his voice sharp. “Don’t move.”


    The sudden force in his voice made Ste freeze in ce. He pulled the tape off her hand and removed the needle. A ssh of blood stained the bed sheet.


    Ste didn’t dare make a sound. As soon as the needle was out, she snatched her arm back and curled beneath the covers like a wounded animal.


    William had showered earlier while watching over her, and now he climbed onto the bed without saying a word.


    The mattress was wide enough that there was space between them, but Ste stayedpletely still, her body locked with tension.


    “Why… why are you sleeping here tonight?” she managed to ask finally.


    He usually didn’te back. And even when he did, it was to torment her, not to share a bed. So why tonight of all nights?


    William turned his head slightly and looked at her. Her back was rigid, her whole body tight like a coiled spring. Something about that made him pause.


    Your source of stories: gαlnσν??s.c??m


    “We’ve already done the most intimate thing two people can do. You really think just lying here next to me is worse than that?”


    His words silenced Stepletely, theeback she wanted to give fading before it could form.


    Remembering their previous two encounters, she shifted farther away from him, trying to put as much space as she could between them. The movement was slow and painful, but she wanted distance.


    He didn’t allow it. He slipped an arm around her and pulled her straight into his hold, his grip firm and unyielding.


    Ste instinctively tried to break free, but he pressed down on her shoulder and spoke in a low, warning tone. “Don’t move, or I can’t promise I’ll behave.”


    She froze at once, staring at him with wide, frightened eyes.


    Her reaction stirred somethingplicated in William.


    He liked that she listened when he warned her, yet it irritated him that she would rather endure difort than share the slightest closeness with him.


    “Ste,” he said after a pause, “did Marc ever sleep with you? What happened between you two?”


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