"It hurts... it freaking hurts!"
Amelia Griffin was yanked out of endless darkness by a searing pain that felt like her whole body had been crushed.
It wasn't the cold sting of a bullet tearing through her heart—it was like her bones were being ground to dust, her nerves set ablaze.
She gasped, eyes snapping open, only to meet a pair of eyes that were furious—and just as broken.
Dominic.
His hand was locked around her throat, knuckles taut and white, veins bulging across the back of his hand.
That flawless face was twisted in fury, a storm about to break loose. He practically growled through gritted teeth, every word laced with rage. "Amelia! You like Vincent that much? Liked him so much you dared to scream his name—in my freaking bed?!"
Vincent. His name. This bed?
Amelia's pupils shrank as confusion filled her gaze. She scanned the room in disbelief.
Luxurious crystal chandelier. Dark wallpaper with intricate patterns. The cool, woody cologne that only ever clung to Dominic...
This was his villa's bedroom.
She was back? Back in that nightmare from five years ago?
Memories came crashing back like a breached dam—bloody, raw, merciless.
In her past life, tricked by Grace Bennett, she drank something spiked and was thrown onto Vincent Allen's bed.
Dominic had burst in like a demon from hell, watched that disgusting scene with his own eyes, and destroyed Vincent on the spot.
Then he dragged her here like a shattered doll—and forced himself on her.
That night was the turning point. She started hating Dominic to the bone, fell for the lies of Vincent and Grace, and kept leaking Dominic's company secrets to them.
She almost sank Edwards Group with her own hands—every mistake a step closer to ruin.
And yet, at the very end, it was Dominic who took the bullet meant for her.
He collapsed in her arms, blood soaking her clothes, whispering with his last breath, "Amelia… don't be scared. From now on, no one can hurt you again…"
Only then did she realize what a stupid, blind fool she'd been.
She took the man who loved her more than his own life and betrayed him again and again.
Now, that regret gripped her harder than any pain, making her whole body tremble uncontrollably.
Dominic felt the shake and froze for a second, his eyes darkening. But instead of softening, the sorrow twisted into something colder.
He released her neck, only to grip her jaw with brute force, fingers digging in like he wanted to crush bone.
"Trembling? What—think I stole something from you?" His voice was like ice, dangerous and sharp. "Amelia, listen to me. Since the day you married me, you're mine. Dead or alive. You dare think about Vincent again, dare run away again—I'll do more than cripple him. I'll break your legs myself, chain you to this bed until you rot!"
If it were the past, hearing that would've scared her to death. Made her hate him even more.Right now, looking at his frost-cold yet unmistakably handsome face, Amelia couldn't hold it in anymore. The wave of guilt and sorrow rushed through her like a flood, as flashes of him dying in her arms in the last life started haunting her all over again. Her eyes welled up, and tears began to fall without warning.
Dominic noticed the tears sliding down her face. It hit him hard—like something clenched his heart in a death grip, making it hard to breathe.
Almost instinctively, he let go of her a little, but his voice only got harsher: "What are you crying for? Vincent, huh? If that's it, then one more tear and I'll make sure he vanishes from Portshore by tomorrow."
No. Not for him…
Amelia shook her head frantically, but the tears only came faster.
She opened her mouth to explain, but her throat was too raw from the choking and crying—no words would come out.
Then, under his angry and stormy glare, she did something totally unexpected.
She reached out, looped her arms around his neck and yanked him down. Her trembling, cold lips pressed against his tight, fuming ones before he could react.
Dominic went stiff. His whole world blanked out on the spot. All his anger, all his threats—they just froze.
It was a quick kiss. A touch and it was gone.
Amelia lifted her tear-streaked face and stared into his stunned eyes. With every last bit of strength she had, she said, "Dominic, I'm done running. I don't want Vincent. I want you."
Silence crashed down on the room. The only sound left was their heavy, chaotic breathing.
His pupils shrank sharply, disbelief swirling in their depths.
He stared down at her tear-covered face, searching desperately in her eyes for even a trace of lying, some sign she was faking this.
"Amelia, do you even know what you're saying? Do you realize what happens if you lie to me?"
His grip on her chin tightened slightly—not out of punishment, but more like he's trying to make sure she's real. That the woman who just kissed him and said she wanted him wasn't some dream his brain cooked up.
Her heart pounded wildly from the memories of her past life, and more so from the crazed look in his eyes.
But this time, she didn't flinch, didn't pull back.
She knew now—this man who looked so harsh on the outside, had burned her name deep into his soul.
Tears blurred her vision again, but she still managed a shaky smile.
"I know. I know I was a total idiot before…"
Her voice cracked as she whispered, tightening her arms around his neck, pressing herself into his chest like she wanted to melt into him.
"Dominic, I don't want anyone else—just you. I love you…"
That shattered what little restraint Dominic had left.
His doubt disappeared, replaced by a burning fire.
He didn't let her say another word. He leaned down hard, fiercely taking her lips with his.
It wasn't gentle, not like before.
It was wild, hungry, and consuming.
His tongue forced its way past her lips, ravaging her mouth with an unstoppable energy, swallowing every tiny noise she made, tasting every part of her sweetness.
"Mm…" Amelia struggled to catch her breath. It was like he'd sucked all the air out of her lungs.She instinctively tried to step back, but his strong hand clamped down on the back of her head, leaving her no way out.
