Elias's eyeshes fluttered slightly as he slowly opened his eyes. A trace of confusion and daze lingered in his gaze, but since he hadn't sunk into deep sleep, he regained full awareness almost immediately.

  He sat up slowly from the bed. The mattress dipped under his weight, and an apple rolled to his feet.

  Seeing the apple and remembering the sharp pain that had struck his back moments earlier, Elias instantly understood what had happened.

  Serena Bckwood let out a soft sigh, sounding almost helpless. "Liora, Elias was sleeping so peacefully. Why did you wake him like that?"

  Liora didn't bother defending herself. She simply gave a light ugh. "Since when does the sponsor arrive and the kept boy not get up to greet her?"

  Serena was finally here?

  With that realization, Elias didn't even need to think twice to know who had thrown the apple.

  He crouched down, picked up the apple, turned toward Serena, and hurled it back at her with force.

  Serena had been expecting it. She spread her fingers and caught the apple effortlessly. A fsh of coldness passed through her eyes, but her expression remained soft. "Food is meant to be eaten."

  Elias's face stayed expressionless. "Being on time is something normal people do as well."

  His tone revealed clear irritation at Serena's tardiness.

  "I'm sorry," Serena replied, not showing the slightest annoyance, as if she completely understood his emotions. "There was a sudden issue at the company I had to handle. Even though I worked as quickly as possible, it still took longer than expected. I made you wait."

  However, Elias wasn't falling for any of it. In the original storyline, he had been deceived by this exact gentle side of Serena until he was thrown away and finally saw her true face. Then came a long stretch of torment involving Giselle as well.

  But he had no intention of waiting for the story to slowly reach that point.

  From the very start, his goal had been clear: rip off Serena's mask as fast as possible and make it clear—if you want to abuse, then abuse. Skip the fake tenderness.

  "By the way, has your fever gone down? How are you feeling right n—"

  Serena's gentle voice was still maintaining her caring persona when Elias cut her off impatiently. "You drag your feet getting here, and then you keep dragging them once you arrive. Are you a man or what?"

  "If you're going to fuck me, then fuck me already. Stop wasting time with all this bullshit."

  The room fell deathly silent for a moment.

  Liora instinctively gnced at Serena's face. The gentle smile had mostly vanished, leaving only a remnant that now looked far more like a cold smirk.

  Serena tossed the apple back to its original spot with pinpoint accuracy. She gave Liora a meaningful look, signaling her to leave, then walked to the edge of the bed. Looking down at Elias from above, she let out a soft ugh. "Angry? Why are you angry? Because I was an hour te? Or because you're so desperate and horny you couldn't wait any longer… to get railed?"

  Liora, who had already stepped out the door, felt her body give a light shudder. A chill shot down her spine.

  To push Serena—who always maintained an elegant, gentle image in front of outsiders—to speak such crude words, one could imagine just how furious she was right now, and how turbulent the waters were beneath that calm surface.

  To avoid getting caught in the crossfire, it was better to leave quickly.

  "Yeah, I can't wait anymore."

  Her footsteps halted. Her body reacted faster than her mind, and she turned her head almost against her will.

  She saw the young man being pinned beneath Serena, his gsses already tossed onto the carpet beside the bed. Those beautiful eyes held no fear or panic at the danger he faced. Instead, his brows curved lightly, carrying the exact same wicked, teasing smile he wore when tormenting Giselle for fun.

  And those smiling eyes slid right over the top of Serena's head, through the narrow gap of the closing door, and pierced straight into Liora's own.

  Bang!

  Liora smmed the door shut. Only then did she realize she had closed it far too hard, but it was already too te.

  She slowly released the doorknob and exhaled at the same time. Lowering her head, she stared somewhat dazedly at her palm, which was covered in a thin yer of cmmy sweat.

  The sensation she had felt just now was exactly like a mb that had wandered into the jungle and suddenly found itself locked in the gaze of a predator.

  But how could a mb ever escape a beast's hunt?

  Believing you had escaped with your life was nothing more than a fleeting fantasy right before falling into the beast's jaws.

  This hunt… from the moment the predator first id eyes on its prey, the outcome had already been...

  Decided.

  [Liora Voss favorability increased. Current: 20%.]

  At the same time, inside the room, another hunt was unfolding in silence.

  Elias watched the door sm shut and quietly withdrew his gaze. The smile in his eyes hadn't yet faded when it rippled violently, as if a thousand-pound boulder had been dropped into a still pool.

  The boy had exceeded her expectations. He was far too rebellious.

  So much so that Serena couldn't help suspecting whether Elias had seen through her facade and realized her gentleness was all an act.

  But clearly that wasn't the case. He was simply this kind of hard bone. Anyone who tried to bite into him—regardless of who they were—had to be prepared to shatter their teeth.

  He was stubborn to this degree.

  Although in Serena's eyes, Elias's behavior was ughably pathetic. He had already sold his body, so what was he still holding onto with his spirit? That insignificant pride? Or the dignity that was already flickering like a dying candle in the wind?

  A whore trying to build himself a chastity memorial arch.

  If it were anyone else, they might not care whether Elias truly submitted or not. But Serena was different. Her nature demanded that anything belonging to her must belong to her completely—body and soul. And right now, that included Elias.

  Moreover, he had angered her.

  Serena could barely remember the st time someone had managed to provoke genuine anger from her with just a few words.

  It must have been during elementary school.

  Even thinking about it now carried a strange sense of novelty, so she naturally had to repay Elias properly.

  She wanted to force sounds out of this boy whose mouth was even harder than his bones.

  She wanted him to clearly understand his pce and his true nature.

  She wanted to crush his ridiculous stubbornness and arrogance.

  From beginning to end, the prey had remained completely silent, denying the hunter even the slightest bit of pleasure or satisfaction.