Tang Mi lifted her head and saw Arthur standing behind her in the mirror.

He was wearing a black, fitted T-shirt and matching pants. His tall figure blocked the light from the floor lamp, casting her entirely in shadow. He stared intently at her reflection, his green eyes like they were covered in frost, yet with a fire smoldering within.

“You asked two questions, and the answer to the second one is the answer to the first.” Tang Mi glanced at his face in the mirror, then turned her head away and continued drying her hair, her movements unhurried, a cold gleam in her eyes. “If I end up in bed with Emir, it’s because of you. If you hadn’t forced me into your plan, I probably wouldn’t have met him in my lifetime. Do you think I should cling to you in gratitude, instead of wanting to stay as far from you as possible?”

“Thank a devil who dragged me into hell?!”

Arthur’s anger amused her. Maybe he did have some genuine feelings for her, but love’s delicate shell is always fragile. When it’s struck by harsh reality, any sweet promises are shattered to dust, leaving only pain. As an agent, Arthur’s primary role was as government property, and only secondarily as a person. Following orders is the duty of a soldier, and even someone as strong as him couldn’t break this iron rule. She wondered if, when he touched her face and said, “Trust me,” he realized that truth.

Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t—but now, it no longer mattered.

Arthur was silent in response to Tang Mi’s question. What she said was true, but it wasn’t the whole truth. How could he explain that it was because she’d hidden the memory card and given his photo to a magazine, nearly exposing his identity, that MI6’s leaders, in their fury, issued an order for her assassination? And how he had painstakingly devised this plan to convince his superiors she was still useful, ultimately having the kill order rescinded to save her life?

And now, she was blaming him for dragging her into hell.

For a brief moment, Arthur wanted to tell Tang Mi the whole truth. But he kept his lips pressed tight, letting the anger blaze hotter in his chest. Her cold gaze was like oil on the fire, spreading the invisible flames through his entire body, until even the nerves in his fingertips burned. Yet his heart felt chilled to the core.

The torment of this ice-and-fire battle made him want to scream; the overwhelming pain needed an outlet.

“I’ll ask you again—would you rather sleep with Emir than trust me?” Arthur’s voice was laced with icy cruelty and rage.

“Perhaps. If that’s the only way I can leave you sooner,” Tang Mi replied, meeting his murderous gaze without fear. She wasn’t afraid of him. A hypocritical, selfish man wasn’t worth fearing.

Arthur paused, then suddenly laughed, as if her words had amused him. His lips curved in a graceful smile as he looked at her intently.

But Tang Mi felt an overwhelming sense of danger approaching, because she could see unrestrained anger and madness on his pale face. It was like molten lava bubbling beneath the surface, ready to erupt, and the friendliness in his eyes was merely a calm before the storm.

Instinctively, she wanted to escape—from him, who seemed mad, and from the stifling room.

Tang Mi discreetly moved a few steps to the side, out of his immediate reach, then suddenly turned and quickly headed toward the door.

However, just as her hand gripped the doorknob, a powerful force pulled her back by the arm. Before she could even cry out in pain, he pressed her firmly against the wall.

“Let…” she began, but before she could finish, Arthur’s lips crashed down on hers, pressing and biting with intensity. His scorching tongue roughly invaded her mouth, muffling her every scream and containing his own fury.

She tried to raise her arm to strike his face, but he quickly restrained her, pulling her arms above her head and holding them tightly with one hand. He lifted a knee, pinning down her attempts to kick, and forcefully parted her tightly closed legs.

Tang Mi turned her head, trying to evade his assault, but his lips trailed down her neck, branding her collarbone and chest. The collar of her nightgown was torn open, and his sharp teeth bit down mercilessly on her tender, sensitive skin, the pain so intense it nearly brought her to tears.

“No!” Tang Mi cried out uncontrollably, though she never imagined such weak and foolish words would escape her lips. But this invasion and violence, laced with intense humiliation, rendered her unable to maintain her usual composure and alertness.

“Too late! Didn’t you say you wanted to seduce Emir? Then you should accept my special training now!”

Arthur revealed a cruel and wanton smile. Her cold gaze deeply stimulated him. She was willing to lie beneath another man, indulging in sweet pleasure, just to escape him. Her tone was so light and unconcerned, while he, he cherished her as the apple of his eye! If gentle waiting wasn’t what she desired, then absolute possession and control were perhaps the best means to bind her.

A bloodthirsty gleam flashed in Arthur’s eyes. With a flick of his arm, he threw her onto the large double bed. Tang Mi fell clumsily onto the soft bedding, the cool silk fabric enveloping her body, swaying like falling into a vast ocean, boundless and aimless. But the strong, burly body behind her pressed down on her like a mountain, crushing her.

The arousal of the man pressed against her lower waist, his brutal weapon ready to dismember and tear her apart. Besides trembling and extreme fear, her body could no longer react in any other way.

Arthur quickly lifted her skirt, his fingers effortlessly tearing through the fragile, thin fabric underwear. The scorching heat pressed against her smooth skin, a silent roar and spasm, the desire to possess her becoming more intense than ever, like a fatal poppy, making him feel a kind of intoxicating surrender.

“Enough! I hate you!” Tang Mi cried out in despair, her voice filled with anguish, tears pouring down, accompanied by anger and humiliation. The pain and heat he inflicted on her, the coldness of her skin in the air, made her feel like an animal skinned alive, with no option but to pant and wait for death. What did he think she was? A mindless tool or a woman he could bully at will? No, even a woman has her own will and dignity, and he was crushing her self-respect bit by bit, grinding it under his feet.

Whether it was the word “hate” from Tang Mi’s lips or her burning tears, Arthur suddenly felt his heart twitch. It was as if a thin, sharp object had emerged from his ventricle, piercing a small hole in the hard shell, and then radiating cracks spread outward. He stopped his assault, his restraining fingers slowly loosened, and he lifted his head, looking at her face in a suppressed gasp.

Her pale cheeks were almost transparent, tear-streaked, like the cracks in his heart. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, but her pupils were contracting violently. In her almost despairing eyes, he saw his own grotesque face, just as she said, like a devil. Even he began to hate this face. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. He wanted her, he craved her, but not like this. But what should he do? For the first time, he felt lost like a greenhorn in love. For a long time, neither of them spoke, they just stared at each other, panting and sweating profusely.

The air in the room was cold and biting, the floor lamp flickered, casting shadows like a giant cage, and they were the two beasts in the cage, tearing at each other until they were bloody. Tang Mi felt like all her strength had been drained, she lacked even the courage to open her eyes, she could only bury her head in her arms and sob softly. Her slightly hoarse voice echoed in the room, like bloody wings, flapping but unable to break free from the cage he had built for her.

Arthur sighed, lowered his face, and stroked her trembling shoulders, saying, “You can’t do it. You can’t even handle this, how can you seduce Emir? He’s no fool.” Tang Mi didn’t answer, she just forcefully pushed his hand away. She hated his hypocrisy and his brutality. Though she had tried to believe in him, in the end all she got was deception and humiliation.

He held her arm, forcing her to turn her face, then stared into her eyes, and said in a clear and utterly confident voice, “I know you heard my conversation with Yise, but I want to tell you that all your tasks are complete as of today. Two days later, someone will come to pick you up and take you back to your country. You don’t need to face Emir anymore, you’ll never see him again. This is my order to you.”

“What trick are you trying to play this time? Am I not obedient enough now, or not performing in a way that satisfies you? What more do you want me to do?” She sneered, but the tears in her eyes were so hot they almost made her veins constrict. He really thought of her as an ignorant girl, trying to fool her again with the same tactics. He had told her to trust him, but when the MI6 orders were issued, wasn’t he silent? He had also promised to protect her, yet today he still let her go alone to Emir’s palace.

She could even imagine how calm and satisfied he must have looked when Emir left his palm print on her body, watching the scene through the camera.

Like being pierced by the sharpness in her eyes, Arthur furrowed his brows, a flash of pain passing quickly across his face. He didn’t rebut Tang Mi’s words, only silently stood up and handed her a small bag from the coffee table. “Inside, you’ll find a passport, a credit card, and everything to prove your identity, along with makeup tools and a small handgun. Two nights from now, a private plane from Ukraine will briefly stop at an airport in Country Z. You’ll use the identity and documents from the passport to clear customs.”

“A man named Asim will meet you there. He’ll first ask if you like Maltese dogs? You answer ‘ice cream on a chestnut tree,’ and he will take you on the plane and get you out of here.”

“If you encounter any danger along the way, remember to open the hidden clasp on the emerald ring I gave you. There’s a tracker inside, and I can track your location anytime.”

Tang Mi opened the bag’s zipper, and inside were indeed the things he had mentioned. Each item was neatly folded, with labels indicating their names and uses. Some special items even came with short instructions attached, showing they had been carefully prepared in advance, not hastily arranged.

He truly wanted to let her go and had meticulously prepared all her escape routes. Yet, he had been so cruel to her just now!

She took a deep breath, momentarily unsure of how to react.

It felt like someone who had pushed you off a cliff into despair, only to pull you up again in the next moment.

Arthur held her hand and placed it on his chest, staring into her eyes with absolute clarity—there was no threat or falseness, but a more intense and inescapable warmth wrapped around her gaze. “No matter what you’ve heard, I am the commander of this operation. I have the authority to decide every action that benefits the mission. I’ll say it again: Two days from now, you will return to your country and see Majin, not that damned Emir, nor engage in any of his despicable acts.”

“Trust me, for the last time!”

Tang Mi’s hand was pressed against his chest, feeling the steady, powerful heartbeat under his muscles, each throb crashing against her palm—so real, so strong. She didn’t know if his feelings were as honest as his heartbeat, or if this man was clever enough to deceive even his own heart. She withdrew her hand, closed her eyelids, and an indescribable fatigue washed over her, making her not want to open her eyes again, not wanting to discern the truth or falseness in his eyes, or even pay attention to every word he said—she just wanted to surrender to sleep, to forget everything.

Perhaps darkness was the only thing she didn’t have to escape from, and sleep was the only truth she could trust.

She didn’t know how long it had been when, in the darkness, she heard a heavy sigh. Warm fabric draped over her shoulders. Her exhausted body met the softness of the pillow, feeling like a dying fish suddenly returned to the water, an indescribable relief and relaxation flooding her senses, letting her tired blood circulate across every nerve.

As Tang Mi’s consciousness began to fade, Arthur’s restrained voice reached her ears, like an auditory illusion in a dream, close yet obscured by thick clouds, carrying pain that knocked on the door of her will.

“I want to have you, both your body and soul. I want you so badly it’s driving me mad. I won’t deny that I would do anything to make it happen, but I also don’t want you to be in pain.”

“So, I’m sorry for earlier.”

Tang Mi buried her face deeply in the pillow, as if this movement would give her strength, allowing her to reject all external distractions. In an instant, all her senses fell into the thick embrace of sleep, her eyes tightly shut, as if the door in her heart was firmly, forever closed to him.