Celia thought Nathaniel had lost his mind. He clearly knew she wasn't Sylvia, and yet he still treated her like this.
"Nathaniel Fu, let me go! Don't touch me! If you dare lay a hand on me, I'll sue you!"
"Sue me?" he echoed, laughing like he'd just heard the best joke in the world. "In this city? Do you really think there's a lawyer brave enough to take that case?"
He stepped closer, dark eyes locked onto her.
"You got into my bed pretending to be someone else. What—now you get to play innocent?"
It all made sense now. The reason he was so drawn to her, the reason she haunted his thoughts—she had always been the one. He had once doubted himself, but now he knew.
The arrogant man before her wasn't holding back anymore.
Realizing her protests wouldn't work, Celia softened her tone. "Nathaniel, please… we can't do this. Sylvia is waiting for you at home. Don't you have the Su family's birthday banquet today? Isn't today the day you make your marriage public? This—this can't happen, not now."
"As long as you let me go," she whispered, "you and Sylvia can live happily. I'll disappear from your life, for good. The three of us… we can return to our own separate paths."
Was she serious?
Sleep with him, then push him back to another woman like nothing ever happened? Like she could just hit reset on everything?
She thought she could end this game so easily?
She thought he didn't know?
He knew it all. And he was going to make her pay.
"This game," he growled against her lips, "has just begun."
"Don't say another word," he whispered, cutting her off with a kiss.
Celia pushed and resisted, but it was no use. His weight pressed her down. His scent—part smoke, part cologne, all him—wrapped around her like a vice. It made her dizzy, disoriented.
Her head hit the headboard as his hand braced behind her, preventing her from getting hurt. Her long lashes fluttered as panic surged. Crystal tears welled at the corners of her eyes.
"Why are you crying?" His voice was hoarse as it brushed against her ear.
Celia didn't answer.
Nathaniel paused. For a moment, something in him softened. He brushed her bangs away from her forehead, shielding her from the cold headboard. His lips left gentle kisses across her face, trailing down her neck.
Her skin was so delicate, and her swan-like neck still bore faint marks from where he had held her earlier.
"Look at me," he said.
Slowly, Celia opened her tear-filled eyes. Her pupils shimmered with pain and stubbornness, a haunting mix of black and white that pulled at something deep inside him.
He reached over and yanked a pillowcase to cover the fake scar on her cheek. Her small, pure face—delicate, beautiful, impossible to ignore—was finally revealed.
She was breathtaking.
"Tell me," he said, voice low and demanding, "who did you give your first time to?"
Celia glared at him, refusing to answer.
Nathaniel buried his face in her hair and took a deep breath. That familiar scent—it was hers. The scent he'd been obsessed with from the start. How could he have mistaken her for anyone else?
No, he hadn't. He'd known all along.
She was the one who had lied. A manipulative little liar.
"Still won't talk?" he murmured, brushing her ear with his breath. "What's the name of your first man? Say it. Out loud."
Celia was furious. She clawed at him, her nails leaving angry, red trails across his chest.
······
The next morning, a gentle ringtone pierced the silence of the room.
Nathaniel opened his eyes slowly, reached for the phone on the nightstand, and saw Sylvia's name flashing on the screen.
It was already eight o'clock. Of course—Sylvia was calling to remind him of the Su family's birthday party.
The party where he was supposed to announce his marriage to her.