Chapter Six: Behind Closed Doors
329 Words
She shouldn’t have gone.
But she did.
The summons had been simple. Direct.
And impossible to refuse.
Li Yue stepped into the private chamber, the door closing behind her with a soft click that echoed louder than it should have.
He was already there.
Of course he was.
“You came,” Xiao Zhen said, not turning.
“I was called.”
“Would you have come if you weren’t?”
She hesitated.
“That depends,” she said carefully.
“On what?”
Now he turned.
Slowly.
“On whether I wanted to.”
Something flickered in his eyes.
Approval.
Amusement.
Danger.
“Honest,” he murmured.
He stepped closer, removing the distance between them with ease. The room felt smaller now—tight, suffocating in a way that had nothing to do with walls.
“You’re involved in something,” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
Li Yue stilled. “And if I am?”
“Then I decide whether it threatens me.”
“And if it does?”
Another step.
Now there was no space left.
“Then I end it.”
Silence fell.
But it didn’t feel empty.
It felt like a line drawn between them.
Li Yue lifted her chin slightly.
“Then you should decide quickly,” she said. “Because I don’t intend to stop.”
His eyes darkened.
Not with anger.
With something worse.
His hand moved—this time to her waist.
Firm. Certain.
Pulling her just slightly closer.
Her breath caught.
“You’re not afraid,” he said quietly.
“No.”
“Why?”
Because she should be.
Because everything about this moment demanded fear.
And yet—
“I don’t think you’ll hurt me,” she said softly.
That was the truth.
And the most dangerous thing she could have said.
His grip tightened just slightly.
“You shouldn’t be so sure,” he murmured.
But he didn’t let go.
And neither did she pull away.
- Writer
