Chapter 69– Restraints…is just another way of wanting
The corridor was still.
Music swelled distantly from the ballroom, the hum of conversation and laughter reaching only as faint echoes here. The golden lights along the walls burned soft, casting long shadows against the polished marble.
Andre hadn't moved since Yichen appeared. He stood tall, posture deceptively calm, eyes holding the same quiet intensity that had followed Yichen from the hall.
Yichen's steps faltered before he forced them forward, his composure rigid. "You're waiting here instead of returning to the ballroom?"
"Yes." Andre's voice was low, steady. He didn't explain himself. He didn't need to. His presence, immovable in the half-lit space, said enough.
Yichen exhaled slowly through his nose, trying to ignore the way his chest tightened. "For whom?"
Andre's lips curved faintly, though it wasn't a smile. "For you."
The words struck clean, unadorned. No hesitation.
Yichen froze 'what does he mean? He thought to himself'. His hand curled at his side. "You're too bold."
"Am I?" Andre's gaze never left him. His eyes carried something unyielding, almost dangerous, but not loud—possessiveness quiet as a hand at the throat. "I waited because I knew you'd come."
Yichen's pulse spiked 'what!!'. He wanted to look away, to sever the tether between them, but Andre's stare held him still.
"Don't mistake coincidence for intention," Yichen said sharply, forcing his voice into cool precision.
But Andre took a step forward. Then another. The corridor felt smaller with every measured movement.
When he stopped, they were close enough that Yichen could feel the faint warmth of him, the subtle weight of his breath against the air between them.
Andre lowered his head, voice dipping into something quiet and raw.
"Tell me you don't remember."
Yichen's breath caught.
His throat tightened as memories clawed their way up—the brush of skin, the heat of forbidden closeness, the moment he had lost himself to weakness. He closed his eyes, jaw clenched.
"Andre," Yichen murmured, each word pressed through restraint, "that night was a mistake."
Andre's gaze darkened. His hand lifted—not to touch, but to hover near Yichen's arm, fingers taut as though fighting the urge. "A mistake doesn't leave its mark like this."
Yichen stepped back, but Andre mirrored the motion, closing the distance again.
"Don't," Yichen said firmly, though his voice faltered at the edge.
Andre leaned closer, not touching, only near enough that the scent of him, the heat radiating from him, became unavoidable. "You reject me with words, Mr. Zhen. But your eyes don't know how to lie."
The air between them thickened. Yichen's chest rose and fell unevenly, his carefully built restraint cracking under the weight of Andre's nearness.
"Stop this Andre. It isn't right!..," Yichen forced out. "I need to go"
"Then why don't you?" Andre asked calmly. His eyes searched Yichen's face, lingering on the parting of his lips, the tension in his jaw.
Because he couldn't. That was the truth.
But Yichen drew on every shred of discipline he had. His hand shot up—not to push, but to seize Andre's wrist midair before it could dare cross the last inch.
The contact burned. Even through fabric, the heat seared him.
"Don't touch me," Yichen said, voice low and trembling with control.
Andre's lips pressed into a line, but his eyes flickered with something fierce. "I don't need to touch you to own this moment. I already have you Zhen Yichen"
Yichen's breath shook. His hand still gripped Andre's wrist, but instead of pushing him away, he hadn't let go. He realized it too late.
Andre leaned closer still, until their foreheads nearly brushed. "Restraint," he whispered, "is just another way of wanting."
The words ripped through Yichen like lightning.
He released Andre abruptly, stepping back as though scorched. His chest heaved once, twice. His composure was fraying at the edges.
"You don't understand," Yichen said hoarsely. "What you want—what you're trying to pull—will ruin us both. It wrong and clear not thinking straight"
Andre straightened, his expression hardening, but his voice calm, low with something close of danger. "Then I would be ruined but I must ruin you first."
The raw honesty in those words twisted something deep inside Yichen. He turned his face sharply away, unable to withstand it.
"I won't let you," he said, forcing finality into his tone. "Not you."
Silence weighed heavy between them.
Andre stood there, shoulders squared, his gaze following Yichen even as he refused to meet it. Possessiveness radiated from him like fire contained in steel and something more —burning, restrained, dangerous.
Yichen forced himself to step past him, each movement stiff with effort.
But as he walked, Andre's voice followed, quiet but clear enough to lodge deep in his chest.
"You can reject me all you want, Mr. Zhen… but you can't erase me nor can you erase what has happened. And trust me It will happen again."
Yichen's steps faltered, but he didn't turn. He couldn't.
The corridor swallowed him, but the heat of that moment clung like a brand.
The fire hadn't consumed them yet.
But it was waiting.
A.N: I made some corrections to the notes I left earlier. It's A.U (Author's Note), not T.N—obviously, I'm the author, not a translator, lol. I just wanted to clear up any possible confusion. Thank you so much for continuing to enjoy this book; it truly means a lot to me. Love you all! ❤️