"Argg…"
An abnormally sharp pain forced me awake. A stabbing sensation throbbed in my head, as if someone had struck me again and again.
"Ugh… I really shouldn't have drunk that much."
I slowly opened my eyes, pushing away the invasive thoughts swirling through my mind. As my head cleared slightly, a shocking sight greeted me instantly.
…Eh?
White sheets slid across my completely bare torso. Beside me, wrapped in the wrinkled fabric, lay a silver-haired woman staring at me with an intense, unsettling gaze.
"Gulp…" I swallowed.
Shit!
What the hell happened last night? I wondered, clinging to the faint memory of having returned home. Had it all been an illusion? No—this wasn't the time.
I quickly tried to sit up, but my body didn't respond. It was completely rigid, as if it no longer belonged to me.
「Assimilation Rate – 13%.」
—Huh…?
There it was again—that irritating mechanical sound whispering in my ear. I had thought it was just a dream, my subconscious trying to wake me up.
Before I could determine the source of the noise, a strange voice modulated from my mouth, completely beyond my control:
"…Why are you still here? I don't remember giving you permission to stay."
The moment the words ended, my body moved on its own, as if it had a will of its own. I sat up and reached out, gripping the girl's wrist firmly. With a sharp tug, I forced her up from the bed.
The sheets slipped away, and for a few seconds her figure was exposed to the cold light of the room.
I lowered my gaze slowly. Her skin was white and delicate like the purest jade, too perfect to seem real. The morning light traced the soft curves of her body, accentuating them even more. Her chest rose and fell with each breath, oblivious to the chaos boiling inside my mind.
Soon, my gaze dropped a little further.
Between the sheets, a faint red stain was barely visible.
…
My body froze. For a few seconds, as if savoring that instant, I even felt a slight—and disturbing—hint of satisfaction.
What the hell is happening? I thought, looking back at the woman beside me.
Her face, her figure… there was no doubt. She was exactly as described.
Platinum hair, light topaz eyes, and a calm expression that radiated purity.
"Su Liang'er."
The eldest daughter of the Su Family.
And the fiancée of the novel's protagonist: "Betrayed Son-in-Law Rises."
「Assimilation Rate – 35%.」
Why is this woman in my bed?
Is this even possible… or is it a lucid dream?
Chaos churned in my mind, yet in stark contrast, my mouth kept moving with eloquence.
"I didn't know you were so desperate that you'd offer yourself to me."
The sound of my own voice made my blood run cold.
Wait…
This conversation…
No.
It can't be.
A memory slammed into my mind. A scene. A dialogue I had read again and again.
Don't tell me that…
"You are mine now."[1]
—You are mine now.
A chill ran down my spine as my mouth spoke the exact same words.
"From this moment on."[2]
—From this moment on…
My breathing grew heavy, almost uncontrollable, though outwardly there wasn't the slightest disturbance.
"You belong to me."[3]
—You belong to me.
Each phrase that left my mouth dragged with it a precise image. An exact moment from the novel. This wasn't a coincidence.
I remembered it clearly. It was a key point in the story—the moment the protagonist loses his fiancée.
If even the slightest doubt had remained before, now there was none.
The voice coming from my throat belonged to Qin Moshen.
The young master of the Qin Family.
A man whose polite smile was nothing but a façade hiding his venom.
「Assimilation Rate – 73%.」
The constant mechanical noise pulled me back to reality. I looked at her again.
Her expression was filled with hatred, as if she wanted to kill me with her gaze alone, yet her body remained rigid, trapped in helplessness. That obvious contradiction stirred something deep within me.
An alien desire—cold and possessive—seeped through my veins.
My hand closed around her wrist once more. With a rough, forceful pull, I dragged her against my chest.
"Unh—" A soft moan escaped her lips.
She struggled, but it was useless. Her blows against my chest were nothing more than the fluttering of a wounded bird. I slid my hand along her back, down to her waist, gripping her there, my fingers digging into her skin.
"You… bastard."
Words filled with hatred escaped a mouth devoid of strength.
Still, I didn't loosen my grip. On the contrary, one of my palms, initially at her waist, began to slowly descend.
I buried my face in the curve of her neck, intoxicating myself with the scent of her skin and the trace of perfume beginning to mix with her warmth.
"No… no…" she whispered softly.
I slid my tongue slowly. Her breathing grew ragged, warm, uncontrollable, until a rough gasp slipped from her lips.
"…Ah."
It was a wet, surrendered sound. I grabbed the back of her neck and kissed her, her heat flooding my mouth. Her back arched—just a centimeter—pressing her abdomen against mine. She was no longer fighting. Trembling, melting, her body yielded, betraying every curse she had hurled at me.
「Assimilation Rate – 81%.」
Thump. Thump.
The sharp knock on the door snapped me out of the haze.
Confusion hit me full force; for an instant, I felt the terrifying sensation that my consciousness was being devoured. I was a spectator trapped in my own flesh: I could see everything happening and even feel every sensation vividly, yet I had no control. I couldn't stop myself.
Liang'er took advantage of my momentary lapse and wrenched herself free with a desperate pull. She staggered back so violently that she collapsed onto the floor, exhausted by the effort. She stayed there, panting, her eyes filled with rage and frustration, while the silence was broken only by the sound of the door.
[1] internal thoughts
[2] pensamientos internos
[3] internal thoughts