Gia POV

"Ugh..." a deep grunt escapes my lips as I open my eyes. The bright white surroundings momentarily blind me, and I blink rapidly to adjust to the light.

Wait...

Recognition floods back into my brain, reminding me of what happened before I blacked out. I had found the brown file labeled "SHADY."

Thousands of pictures. Not just ordinary pictures. They were surveillance footage, stalking camera captures, and even explicit and intimate images of me. I only caught a glimpse of a few before I lost consciousness.

The thought sends shivers down my spine.

"As always, your reaction is slow," a voice remarks, and I look up to see him standing there, donning the lion mask. My eyes widen as I realize that I am face-to-face with the man who has been tormenting me all this time. The man who knows my every move, my relationships, and even my engagement to Sorn, someone close to Way.

"Where is Way?" I demand, my voice filled with anger. It sickens me to know that he is connected to someone within Way's circle, someone who has access to such personal information.

"Why does it matter?" he replies, his stance unwavering as he looks at me.

"You heartless bastard! You nearly killed your own boss and his brother! What kind of monster are you?" I unleash my fury, my words fueled by a mixture of fear, anger, and frustration.

"But you enjoy this monster, don't you? The one who makes you scream in pleasure every night, fulfilling your darkest desires. You spread wide willingly, craving for the beast's touch until your mind explodes with ecstasy. You beg for more, never wanting it to stop. Admit it, you love this monster so much that you would cry an ocean for him," he sneers, his words dripping with contempt.

"I realize now that I made a mistake by allowing you to gain control over me! I should have gone to the police the moment you first attacked me!" I burst out in anger, my voice filled with frustration and regret.

"But deep down, you know you would be missing out on an extraordinary experience if you did that. Your inner desires still long for every touch I give you. Something that you've never experienced, even with your so-called fiancé," he approaches me, his hand cupping my cheek as he pulls my face closer to his. We are now only inches apart.

"He may have the title of being your husband, but you will always belong to me, G..."

G?

Only someone close to me would call me that.

Those words reverberate in my ears, and I pray desperately that what I fear won't come true. Please, let this be a nightmare!

"You are mine, ever since the moment I laid my eyes on you. It doesn't matter if you came into my life as a nanny or as Sorn's friend. I want you, and no one can stop me from having you," he removes his mask, revealing his face, and a chilling smirk spreads across his lips. My eyes well up with tears as the horrifying truth is unveiled before me.

"Way..." I whisper, my voice trembling.

He smiles, releases his grip on my cheek, and then slaps me across the face. A sharp sting radiates through my cheek, and I taste the metallic tang of blood in my mouth. He pulls me even closer to him, his lips crashing onto mine in a forceful, possessive kiss.

I feel a wave of disgust and self-disgust wash over me as I recall the recent events with Way. The memory of his lips, his touch, his words, it all leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Why? Why would you do this to me?" I manage to sob in between his forceful kisses. I can't comprehend how someone who claims to love me could treat me this way.

He continues to indulge in his desires, taking pleasure in his control over me. His words, dripping with false sweetness, make my skin crawl. He tucks my hair behind my ear and gazes at me with feigned innocence.

"You don't understand, Gia. I love you more than anyone else ever could. Those other guys from your past were nothing compared to what I offer you," he says, his voice filled with a sickening mixture of arrogance and possessiveness.

But deep down, I know it's all a façade. His love is twisted, suffocating, and destructive. It's not love at all.

"But you rape me! You torture me! I even try to kill myself! You know it! And you claim that as love?!" I can't hold my anger anymore. I can see how his reaction changed. He suddenly began to be teary, caressing my hair delicately.

"If you behave and submit, those things won't happen. You make me lose my mind when you leave me all of a sudden and run to Sorn. All these years it's always him, and him, and you never saw me! Not for once, you notice me! I was there whenever you had trouble! I'm always there whenever you wanna rant or tell your secret! But in the end it is always SORN! SORN! SORN!" he stands up, bursts out of anger, pulls his hair out of frustration.

"All this year, I try to stand out from him. So you can notice me. I'll do anything so you can stay with me. But you are always with him, why? Am I a joke to you?" Way asks me.

"Way... I belong to myself. Not even your brother..."

"Now you belong to him!"

"Way, why are you acting like this? Where is the gentle and sweet person I used to know?" I ask him, my voice fills with confusion and disappointment.

"That sweet persona was never real. I only pretended to be that way so you would stay with me. But in the end, it wasn't worth it. You still left me and chose Sorn. So, I decided to show you the real me. I'm not a sweet person at all, jellybean," my heart shatters into pieces. Learning the truth is a painful experience that can destroy someone.

"So, everything has been a lie?"

He looks at me with a helpless expression.

"I've been living in a web of deception, projecting a false image of myself to hide my dark side and make you stay. It's a harsh truth, but I did it because I wanted you to see only the good in me. I thought that if you learned the ugly truth, you would have reasons to stay. But now, I have my own reasons to make you stay," he explains.

"I don't understand," I reply, my voice fills with confusion.

"I have reasons to make you mine now. And I believe you will take them into consideration, given everything that has happened between us," he says, taking my bound hand and kissing it gently.

"You're only making me more confused," I admit, feeling overwhelmed by conflicting emotions.

"Alright, let me clarify. First, I'm the one who stole your first kiss..."

"I had my first kiss with someone else when I was 18!" I interject.

"Do you remember the Art Camp? It was in Sunscape Mountain. We were stuck in a lodging together on a rainy day," he reveals.

My jaw drops in shock.

"That was before I had my first kiss..."