She and her ex-husband had only held a wedding ceremony—no official registration. This one, with Blaze, was her first official Marriage Certificate. Too bad there was no photo inside, just names.
"Actually…" Her throat tightened. There were things she wanted to explain to Blaze, but in the end, she swallowed them back.
At this point, what was the use of words?
Blaze probably didn't care. There was no going back for them anymore.
Lost in thought, the car rolled into an unfamiliar residential compound and came to a steady stop in front of a villa.
"Get out. From now on, you'll live here."
Cecilia froze, startled and hesitant. Not for any other reason—she had been here many times before.
Three years ago, this was supposed to be their marital home. She had personally designed the villa's layout and decorations. Could it be that Blaze had been living here all this time?
"Why are you standing there like a fool? Don't recognize the place?" His eyes mocked her mercilessly.
Cecilia's fingers trembled as she drew in a deep breath and stepped forward. Beyond the door, the interior was perfectly familiar—every detail matched her original designs.
"I remember this place… I didn't expect you…" Her voice quavered slightly, eyes downcast, words failing her.
Three years ago, she thought she'd never step foot in this villa again, never share a life with this man. And yet, after all the twists and turns, everything had returned to how it was before.
If she had chosen to stay three years ago… would it have been different?
"Remember this. You stay in the guest room on the second floor. Do not step onto the third floor."
Blaze's gaze was dark and cold, his eyes fixed on her slender figure, wanting to see how she would react.
The third floor—their bedroom, according to the design plan—was clear in Cecilia's memory. Blaze's command was a reminder: she had no right to enter his life.
"I understand." Cecilia's calm tone was unexpected. She knew the deepest grief was a deadened heart, and all the past with him had nothing to do with the present.
Her composure, however, only stirred Blaze's anger. Three years ago, she had chosen another man, and even now, she refused to return to him?
Did she still have a place for him in her heart at all?
Suddenly,
Cecilia wandered through the villa alone, treated like she was invisible by the staff. They didn't even greet her when they passed.
Every corner of the place was saturated with memories. Even the carpet patterns and the style of the curtains were exactly as she had designed them, laid out according to her tastes in every detail.
Walking through the villa only made the memories of the past more painful. By the time evening came, she had no appetite and went straight to her room.
Cold moonlight spilled across the bed, illuminating her small, delicate face and making it look even paler. The room's heater was on, yet she still felt chilled, curling up in a corner of the bed and clutching the blanket tightly to herself.
It seemed she was having a troubling dream; her long, delicate brows knitted together, and the sight of her vulnerability and helplessness pulled at one's heart.
Blaze sat quietly at the edge of the bed, slowly reaching out to smooth the crease between her brows.
Unexpectedly, Cecilia's eyes snapped open, and their gazes collided—catching both of them completely off guard.
"You—!"
Startled from her nightmare, Cecilia's chest heaved violently. She recoiled from Blaze's touch as if he were a venomous snake, clutching the blanket and shrinking into the bed. Fear radiated from her every movement.
Blaze's lips curved slightly, but a flicker of displeasure crossed his gaze. This shouldn't be his place tonight—if it were Vincent, would she be this afraid?
"Why are you here?"
The words had barely left his mouth before he closed the distance in long, deliberate strides. One hand pinned Cecilia to the bed while the other gripped her chin. Their faces were so close it was almost suffocating; the tension between them instantly became charged, dangerously intimate.
"And why shouldn't I be here?"
Cecilia's eyes caught that glint of dominance in his gaze. A shiver of foreboding ran down her spine, and she struggled with all her strength. "Let me go! What are you doing?!"
"Afraid?" Blaze's fingers dug into her arms, keeping her pinned. As the room darkened, his lips curved into a cruel, teasing smile. "Did your ex react like this too?"
Cecilia clutched the sheets so tightly her knuckles whitened. Blaze's face, now inches from hers, radiated a mixture of rage and desire, his hot breath brushing her skin and sending tremors through her body.
"Why so silent?" His voice, tight with restrained anger, vibrated through the thin fabric of his shirt pressed against her. The heat of his body made it nearly impossible to think.
"Stay… alert…"
The darkness felt dangerous. Cecilia's hand snaked under the blanket, searching for her phone. But Blaze was faster. With a swift, long reach, he snatched it and sent it clattering to the floor.
Cecilia's eyes widened. Panic surged, and instinctively, she tried to resist. But Blaze suddenly lifted her arms, forcing her body into a vulnerable arch. He regarded her like a predator sizing up prey, his gaze cold and unreadable.
"Did Vincent touch you like this?"
Cecilia gritted her teeth. "It's none of your business!"
The depths of Blaze's eyes darkened almost unnaturally. His rough, calloused hand slipped beneath her shirt, tracing the curve of her waist and moving upward.
Cecilia bit her lip, refusing to speak. Every nerve in her body screamed resistance, yet her body betrayed her, trembling under his touch.
"Did he do it like this… or like this?"
His hand pinched her waist with deliberate weight, his voice low and magnetic, laced with a dangerous allure. "Or maybe… like this?"
Shivering under his torment, Cecilia's hoarse voice carried both protest and reluctant yearning. "Let me go!"
The thought that she might have responded differently to him than to Vincent ignited an uncontrollable fire in Blaze. His reasoning was gone, replaced by pure, possessive rage.
Their bodies pressed close, breaths mingling. Blaze's hand lingered in a place that made Cecilia's heart race and body quiver. He reveled in the sight of her flushed, dazed eyes, each kiss pressing down like a claim on her.
"Let go… no… I—"
Cecilia struggled frantically, panic rising, but Blaze's brief flicker of awareness brought Vincent to mind—her ex-husband.
Another man had ever been this intimate with her? Had he done this?
Jealousy flared like wildfire in Blaze's eyes. The thought that any other man had once occupied his place drove his anger to a fever pitch.
Cecilia belonged to him—completely, utterly.