"Ludovic Hans" - the mere mention of the name made Meryl's heart skip a beat, and she looked up at the sound of the monstrous voice.

It was him - the same man who had made her past a nightmare. Their eyes met, and he smiled at her, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

It felt like he was coming for her, so she started to shift backward, fear making her movements awkward and jerky. He kept coming toward her, his smile never faltering, his eyes never leaving hers.

"I'll kill you..." his voice rang out, echoing in her mind.

"Please, don't hurt me!" she begged, her breathing coming in ragged gasps.

She felt dizzy, and she struggled to fight the feeling, but to no avail. As darkness took over, she heard Tyrson's voice, faint and far away.

"Meryl!"

*

"Tyrson," she said, as she came to, looking up to see him staring at her with a mixture of concern and relief on his face.

Meryl jumped out of bed and threw her arms around him without warning.

His body was warm and comforting, and she felt safe in his embrace.

"Meryl," he called softly, but she wouldn't let him go. "Please, don't leave me," she pleaded, her voice trembling.

"Meryl, please tell me what's wrong," he said, concern evident in his voice. She sobbed, unsure if she could trust him with the truth. What if he broke their contract because of it? That would be so selfish of her, wouldn't it?

"No, I shouldn't tell him," she thought to herself. "Just stay with me. Please." That was all she could manage to say.

He gathered her close, and she leaned into him, breathing in his intoxicating cologne.

"Tyrson?" they heard a voice from the doorway, and they sprang apart. Julia stood there, looking at them suspiciously.

Meryl looked around, realizing that they were not in the hotel anymore. Where were they? How did they get here? So many questions ran through her mind.

"Where are we?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"We're in Ludovic Hans's mansion," Julia said, her tone curt. "Would you like to know more?"

Meryl's eyes widened in shock, and Tyrson noticed her sudden distress. "Are you okay with that, Meryl?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

She tried to remain calm, but her anxiety was getting the best of her. She couldn't stay here. She just couldn't.

She shook her head, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. "Can we go back to the hotel?" she asked, searching his eyes for an answer.

He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, Ludovic spoke up. "Do you have a problem with staying here?" he asked, his voice deep and husky.

"No, of course not, Mr. Hans," Julia said quickly, giving him a nervous smile. "We were getting a little sick of the hotel, actually. This is so much nicer."

Meryl wished the ground would open.

"Well, Miss Meryl," Julia said, "since you weren't there, Mr. Hans agreed to help us, and even offered us the use of his home for the time being."

Meryl's thoughts were racing. Was this a bad dream? Was history about to repeat itself?

"How are you feeling, Miss Channell?" he asked, a devilish smirk on his handsome face.

She stammered, trying to find the words to respond, but all she could do was look at Tyrson, who seemed confused.

"Oh, she's feeling better now," he replied, with a gentlemanly smile. "And if I may ask, what caused you to pass out? Is it something serious? I can call a doctor if you want." Hans said knowingly.

Meryl wanted to shout at him that he was a liar, but she held her tongue. She wouldn't let him win this time.

"It's not serious," Tyrson said, and Hans shrugged. "Well, I just want to make sure," he said, turning his attention back to Meryl. "I'm sorry you had such a rough day.

"It's good to see that you care about your employees," he said, with a smile. "I like that."

Tyrson just smiled back, not knowing what to say.

"I can have the maid bring your food to your room, if you'd like," Ludovic offered. Meryl nodded.

She wondered if he was pretending or if he had truly changed. He seemed so different - richer, for one thing but he was still the man who had ruined her dreams.

"All right, take care," he said, then left the room, not without exchanging a look with her. There was something in his eyes that she couldn't quite place - something familiar, but also strange.

She turned to Tyrson, who was just standing there, looking at her. "Please close the door behind you," she said pointedly. She needed to avoid Hans, and Tyrson needed to stop causing people to become suspicious of their past relationship.

He did as she asked, and then walked out of the room, passing by Julia on his way out.

*****

Meryl jolted awake in the middle of the night, sensing another presence in the room. The door was open, confirming her suspicions. Someone else was definitely in the room with her.

She began to panic, wondering if it could be Hans. Her breath caught in her throat as a silhouette of a man approached her bed. She held her breath, hoping not to draw his attention.

He towered over her, and she closed her eyes, fearing what might come next.

He brushed her hair gently with his fingertips, then took a strand of it and brought it to his nose, inhaling the scent.

Meryl's breath caught in her throat. She was so afraid of being discovered that her breathing was irregular.

She couldn't take it anymore, and a sob escaped her lips. The intruder stopped sniffing her hair and stood still for a moment.

Then, he spoke. "I know you're awake, Meryl," he said in a soft voice, but there was a dangerous edge to it.

"Tyrson," she mumbled, but that only seemed to anger the intruder.

Suddenly, he wrapped his hand around her neck and squeezed, cutting off her air supply. She struggled to free herself, her hands clawing at his arm.

"Stop!" she gasped, but he only tightened his grip, making it even harder to breathe. Her vision began to fade, and she knew she had to do something, or she might not make it out of this alive.

""Please, let go!" she managed to choke out, her voice weak and raspy. Her legs flailed beneath the covers, trying to free herself from his grip.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she struggled to breathe. "I like seeing you like this," he whispered, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "You're mine, do you understand?"

"Tyrson..." she sobbed, her voice barely audible. She wasn't sure if he would hear her, but she had to try.

*****

"Meryl! Meryl, wake up!" She heard a familiar voice, and she shot up in bed, drenched in sweat.

She looked around, her heart pounding in her chest. It had all seemed so real. She was disoriented, trying to process what had just happened.

Then she saw Tyrson, and she let out a breath of relief. "I'm fine," she said, but she didn't quite believe it herself. It was just another bad dream.

Tyrson handed her a glass of water, and she took it gratefully, gulping it down. When she finished, she handed the glass back to him, and he placed it on the nightstand.

"I'm fine, you should go," she started to say, but he cut her off.

"I'm not leaving," he said firmly. "You've been acting strange lately, and I'm not okay with that."

"I'm fine, I just want to be alone," she replied, trying to be firm. But he didn't let go of her hand.

"I'm not going to let you brush me off this time," he said. "You've been acting strange lately, and I'm not okay with that."

She looked down, not wanting to meet his gaze. "I'm fine, I just want to be alone," she said, but it came out flat and unconvincing.

"I'm not going to let you hide from me," he said gently, his grip on her hand firm but not forceful. "You can talk to me about anything, Meryl. I'm here for you."

She tried to blink the tears away, but they spilled over anyway. Tyrson's request was tempting, but she couldn't risk it.

If she told him about her past with Hans, it would change everything. He was so sensitive, she knew it would only hurt him to find out that she'd kept something like this from him, even when they were together.

The thought of losing him was unbearable, but so was the thought of lying to him, of keeping this from him. She felt trapped.

Though he was her ex, and Hans was too, a part of her still cared about what he thought of her. Even if she didn't want to admit it.

"It's none of your business," she snapped. "Just leave me alone."

"Really?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes," she said firmly. "The door's over there. You can leave."

She stood up, avoiding his gaze, and gestured toward the door. She could feel his eyes on her, but she didn't look back.

Suddenly, he pulled her back, and her chest collided with his. His lips crashed against hers, and her eyes widened in shock.

He pulled away after a moment, and they both turned to look at the door, where Julia was standing, tears in her eyes. Meryl quickly freed herself from his grasp, and Julia ran off.

Meryl turned to glare at him. "You just don't know when to stop, do you?" she said, her voice shaking with anger.

"I mean it!" she yelled, tears streaming down her face. "Stay the hell away from me!" And with that, she ran out of the room.

The next morning, she woke up in the same bedroom, a breakfast tray on the nightstand. She had been told to rest, and that she could start working on the design the next day.

She knew she should be grateful for the chance to recover, but she couldn't help but feel restless. She wanted to get started on the work, to prove herself.

So, she picked up her phone, meaning to call Cassie, but the call wouldn't go through. She had been trying to reach her since the day before, but Cassie hadn't answered any of her calls.

She tried to push the thought out of her mind. Cassie was probably just busy. She took a sip of the orange juice that had been brought to her room, and started to review the files from the document.

"Hey, cherrie," she heard a familiar voice behind her. She turned, startled, to see Hans standing there. She staggered backward, dropping the glass of juice in her hand. It shattered on the floor.

She was terrified. She wanted to scream, but he covered her mouth before she could even make a sound, and pushed her against the wall.

She tried to fight him off, but he was much stronger than her. He pinned her arms to her sides, and she could feel his breath on her face. She wanted to cry, to beg him to let her go. But she couldn't speak.

"I missed you, Meryl," he said, desperation in his voice. Then, before she could react, he pressed his lips against hers.

She tried to fight him off, but he took her hands and pinned them above her head. He bit and nibbled on her lips, and she could feel tears streaming down her face.

She kept struggling, but it was no use. He grabbed her waist and squeezed hard, making her wince in pain. She felt powerless, helpless. She had no idea what to do.

She was powerless, just like the last time. But this time, he noticed that she wouldn't give up. So he let go of her hands and grabbed a fistful of her hair, biting her lips even harder.

Meryl knew she had to do something, so she kneed him in the groin as hard as she could. He let go of her, groaning in pain.

She scrambled for the door, screaming, "Help me!" as she went for the handle. But it was locked, and before she could do anything else, he caught her, and slammed her head against the wall.

She hit the floor hard, pain radiating from the back of her head. Desperate, she crawled away from him, trying to put some distance between them.

"Help!" she cried, her voice echoing through the room.

Tbc