Chapter 0

“So this is where you were hiding.”

Was I dreaming?

I rubbed my eyes and looked again at the person in front of me. It really was Ian, just as I remembered. But why? How?

Ian strode toward me. Instinctively, I backed away, and he frowned, his brows knitting together.

“Running away again?”

“I’m not.”

I tried to act nonchalant, inching toward the exit, but suddenly something wrapped around my ankle, stopping me in my tracks.

“What–what is this?”

“You were pretending not to, but you were trying to run away again.”

“No, the magic you paid a fortune to learn…”

Why are you using it to put shackles on my ankle?

“I missed you.”

While I was still flustered, Ian stepped even closer. Before I knew it, he was right in front of me, leaning down so his face was just inches from mine. This was almost…

“Ellie, what are you thinking?”

“Your angle right now is kind of…”

Isn’t this a kissing angle?

The old Ian would never have made me think that. But now, after so long apart, even the look in his eyes was completely different. Strange thoughts kept popping into my head. I tried to laugh it off and pull my head back.

“Mm!”

Ian tilted his head and pressed his lips to mine. He brushed them softly, as if waiting for me to open up, then sucked gently on my lower lip as if sucking on candy. I was so startled by his gentle kiss that I just clamped my mouth shut like a clam, not knowing what to do.

Maybe he didn’t like that I wasn’t reacting the way he wanted.

“Mmph.”

He bit my lips. I flinched, and my mouth opened before I could stop myself. Ian’s tongue slipped inside, exploring every corner, swirling around, filling my ears with wet, sticky sounds. Everything felt like a dream.

The kiss deepened, and when I couldn’t breathe anymore, I slapped Ian’s shoulder with my palm. Finally, he pulled away. A thin, glistening string stretched between our lips, and Ian’s eyes, hazy and relaxed, came into view.

“What?”

“I can’t breathe. Move back.”

“Okay.”

Ian agreed easily to my request, and I was just about to feel relieved–

“Huh?”

Unfortunately, Ian interpreted my words however he wanted. Instead of moving himself back, he pushed me backward. I squeezed my eyes shut, worried my head might crack open, but thankfully, there was no pain. Instead of a hard floor, my back landed on a soft bed–and the real problem was Ian climbing on top of me.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“I did exactly what you asked–moved back.”

“No, I meant–mmph!”

Before I could finish, Ian pressed his lips to mine again. At the same time, he slid his leg between my thighs, rubbing against me in a way that made our position feel dangerously risky.

I used all my strength to push Ian away and scrambled to put as much distance between us as possible. But–

“Why do you keep trying to run away?”

Ian grabbed my ankle and yanked me back toward him, then bared his teeth and bit down hard on my neck.

“Ah!”

Something felt strange. The sensation of someone else’s lips on my neck and collarbone. The way places that had never been touched by another person were being softly rubbed.

“I-Ian…!”

“I missed you so much I thought I’d die, Ellie. I don’t need anyone but you. You’re the only one I need.”

A peculiar light flickered in Ian’s eyes, which had been relaxed and dreamy just moments before. The look he gave me was so intense, it felt like he might devour me whole. I turned my head away in fear.

“Look at me.”

But his large hand grabbed my chin and turned my face back with almost no effort. Ian gazed down at me, running his tongue over his lower lip, radiating the calm confidence of a predator who’d finally caught their prey.

Ian lowered his head again and slowly licked the spot on my neck where he’d just bitten me. His hot tongue traced a line down my neck, over my collarbone, and along the dip between my breasts. The sensation was both ticklish and chilling, making me shiver.

And then, I felt something hard pressing insistently against my lower belly.

“Huh?”

Startled by the firm pressure against my lower belly, I sucked in a breath and tried to push Ian away.

“You… Are you really Ian?”

“Was there ever another Ian besides me?”

Ian answered smoothly, his mouth relentlessly marking my skin. Red marks bloomed across my pale skin like petals stained with flower dye.

“Hngh, the Ian I know would never do this…”

“Well, the Ellie I know never did things like this either. Like sneaking off on a trip while I was gone.”

“Eek!”

Riiip– The sound of fabric tearing filled the air, and suddenly the area around my chest felt bare. Was my dress really made of such flimsy material? Flustered, I wrapped my arms around my chest to cover myself. It was only natural–after all, even though we’d slept in the same room for seven years as husband and wife, we’d never actually seen each other’s most private parts.

“W-wait.”

Ian grabbed both my wrists with one hand and easily pinned them above my head. His other hand was still gripping my breast.

Every time his thumb brushed over my nipple, I felt like I might make a strange sound. I twisted my wrists, trying to break free, but it was useless.

“You won’t have to suffer out there anymore. The person who tempted you to run away–I killed… No, they’re dead.”

Ian spoke as he slowly ground that hot, hard thing against my lower belly.

Did I hear that right? Did he really say that in the middle of all this? I couldn’t believe my ears. I’d managed to escape Ian with the help of others, but not only had he found out who helped me, he had killed them?

Maybe he’d mistaken someone else for my accomplice? There’s no way that person could be dead.

“Who… Who did you kill…?”

“Who else? Edel Marchetti.”

You lunatic. You can’t just kill off the heroine.

“Hngh… Ah!”

Ian’s lips closed around my breast, his tongue swirling over my nipple. The unfamiliar sensation made me twist my body, and then he bit down on my nipple.

“Ah! Don’t… Don’t do that, it’s… ngh, weird.”

“You’ll get used to it if we do it every day.”

Ian squeezed my other breast so hard it felt like he might burst it. Breathless moans kept slipping out of my mouth, no matter how much I tried to hold them back. With a strange, lewd feeling, I could feel something wet between my legs.

“You used to worry about my heir, didn’t you, Ellie?”

“Mm…!”

“You don’t have to worry about that anymore. Soon, you’ll have our child growing inside you.”

Clack–

Ian unbuckled his belt, and his pants slid down, letting that massive thing spring forward.

“I’ll make sure you never even think about running away again.”

Ian flashed a fresh, bright smile as he lifted my skirt and slid his hand between my thighs.

“You’ll be with me forever, Ellie. Promise me.”

Ah… How on earth am I supposed to escape from here?

All of this–it’s all because of that damn game!