Chapter 1The Midnight Intrusion: No Longer Yours

It was my first time staying over at my boyfriend’s place. In the middle of the night, his ex-girlfriend suddenly unlocked the front door and barged right into the bedroom.

I could feel his body go completely rigid.

The room plunged into a dead silence.

"Ethan." Her voice was hoarse, thick with tears.

Yet he acted as if nothing had happened. Pinning my wrists down, he casually leaned in and continued kissing me.

* * *

Bang!

The front door slammed shut exactly as I expected, the sound echoing endlessly in the quiet night.

I heard my own strained voice ask, "How does she know your door code..."

Ethan paused, then continued kissing my jaw, his voice so light it was almost a whisper. "After we broke up... I forgot to change it."

"Is that so?" I instinctively turned my face away, dodging his touch.

He froze for a second, then cupped my face, his thumb brushing against my skin as he offered a careless promise. "It's the truth."

Meeting his pitch-black eyes—which held absolutely no trace of lust—I suddenly couldn't find the words to say anything at all.

In a daze, my mind drifted to Mia, the ex-girlfriend who had just left.

This afternoon, she had deliberately sent me a harassing text message:

“He’s just my leftovers. Do you want to bet? If I just crook my finger, he’ll come running right back to me.”

Ethan had been sitting right next to me when I received it. Seeing the message, his expression remained completely indifferent, as if it had nothing to do with him.

I was the only one silently seething.

It wasn't that I was genuinely afraid of Ethan being stolen away. I wouldn't get jealous over an ex's baseless provocation or question my relationship with him over it.

I just felt a little defensive on his behalf.

And... my heart ached for him.

Later, just as I was about to say something, Ethan suddenly leaned in and kissed me without a word. His voice was husky, muffled, and inexplicably coaxing.

"Babe... don't go home tonight."

Ethan usually had a very cold, aloof personality. We rarely even kissed. This was the first time he had ever called me "babe" with such intimacy, the first time he had made such a physical demand. I didn't refuse.

I just didn't expect Mia to walk in on us.

Her face had turned deathly pale. She even looked a bit pitiful.

But throughout the entire ordeal, Ethan never once glanced at her.

Was he too afraid to look...

Or couldn't he bear to?

A sudden crack of thunder brought my thoughts snapping back to reality.

A bright flash of lightning streaked past the window, illuminating Ethan’s pale, cold face.

"It's raining," I murmured unconsciously.

Ethan abruptly went still. He darted a quick glance out the window, his indifferent eyes flickering with emotions I couldn't read.

I stared at him blankly.

Having been together for a while now, no matter how well he hid it, I could easily see through the look in his eyes.

He was worried.

Worried about Mia, who might be out there getting drenched in the rain.

And he was regretting.

Regretting that he was spending tonight with me.