He carried her back to the bed, pulling the thin blanket over her.
As the pad of his thumb casually brushed against her cheek, the smooth, delicate sensation made his heart tighten once more. He stared down at her serene sleeping face. The volatile dark energy that had plagued him for a whole week strangely subsided at this very moment.
Wen Shushu let out a soft murmur and slowly blinked awake.
The moment she opened her eyes, she collided directly with his deep, unfathomable gaze. Her entire body froze, and her small face flushed brilliant red in an instant. The chaotic scenes from the previous night rushed into her mind all at once, the dark shadow pressing down, the domineering kiss, the heavy stench of alcohol clinging to him, and her eventual retreat to the settee.
She was both mortified and embarrassed.
She shrank further into the thin blanket, revealing only a pair of glistening, tear-bright eyes, her voice faint and raspy.
“You… you… get out…”
Fu Yan looked at her trembling like a frightened little rabbit. His throat tightened, yet his words remained as unyielding as ever.
“This is my estate. I will stay wherever I please.”
Wen Shushu bit her lip, her cheeks burning hot, her gaze darting away as her fingers nervously twisted the corner of the blanket. “You were the one who said we would not interfere with each other. This is my room.”
“Wen Shushu, get one thing straight. This entire villa, from the wooden floors to the structural iron within the walls, belongs entirely to me.”
Looking at her exquisite, beautifully carved little face, so porcelain-white, so soft, with lips still bearing a delicate flush from his kiss, Fu Yan felt an unexplainable surge of heat in his chest.
“I… I can move somewhere else.”
Wen Shushu felt a suffocating tightness in her chest at his words. She had clearly taken no advantage of him, and the agreement had been laid out with utmost clarity, yet coming from his mouth, it sounded as though she were clinging stubbornly and refusing to leave.
Fu Yan’s expression darkened further. He braced one hand against the edge of the bed, trapping her completely within his shadow, a suffocating pressure crashing down upon her.
“Move?” his tone was ice-cold. “We already registered our marriage. Where do you think you can move to?”
“I… I… I just do not wish to be so close to you. We are merely husband and wife by agreement. You promised not to interfere with me.”
“An agreement?” Fu Yan sneered with disdain. “Last night I drank too much and stumbled into the wrong room. It was an accident. If you were truly sensible, you would not cling to such a minor detail and make a scene.”
He felt no remorse whatsoever, nor did he find anything improper about barging into her room in the dead of night and forcing a kiss upon her. In his eyes, her resistance, her fear, and her grievances were nothing more than childish ignorance and making a mountain out of a molehill.
Wen Shushu’s heart sank inch by inch.
So the so-called agreement had only ever been meant to bind her alone. He could interfere whenever he pleased, barge in whenever he wished, and force a kiss whenever he felt like it. And she did not even possess the right to refuse.
She bit her lower lip tightly, swallowed her tears and humiliation, refusing to say another word.
Seeing her keep her head lowered in silence, Fu Yan relaxed slightly.
“Apologies.”
Leaving behind that single word, he turned and strode away. The sound of the door closing remained heavy, shaking her heart to its core.
Wen Shushu curled deep into the thin blanket.
What was the use of an apology? Did a simple “apologies” suffice to wipe away last night’s forced entry, the coerced kiss, and the terror he had inflicted upon her?
During breakfast, Wen Shushu took merely two bites before setting her utensils down, rising to leave the dining hall. This time, she did not sit quietly waiting as she usually did, but walked straight out of Fu Yan’s line of sight, leaving him with nothing but a plain, stubborn back.
The hand Fu Yan used to hold his spoon paused mid-air. He raised his eyes, watching the direction in which she had vanished.
The little conservative was growing a temper now.
Pretentious and fragile.
Was it not merely getting drunk and walking into the wrong room last night…
He had already broken all precedent by offering an apology, so who was she showing that cold face to?
With a dark expression, Fu Yan drained the milk in his cup in a single gulp and slammed the vessel down heavily.
If it were that sweet darling from that night, he might have been willing to lower his stance and coax her a little.
As for this little conservative…
Forget it.
Dammit.
The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became.