The silence was suffocating after Leon left the room.
Yun Lan stood frozen, her heart racing—not from his kiss, not from the fire he stirred in her blood—but from the realization that she was a prisoner in a golden cage.
She walked toward the window.
Below, in the dim garden light, several men dressed in black paced the grounds. Their expressions were emotionless, their hands resting near the concealed bulges under their jackets.
Bodyguards. No way out the front.
But maybe… the top?
Yun Lan's eyes darted toward the high ceiling. She glanced at the wardrobe, her eyes calculating every angle.
It wasn't the first time she had thought of escape—but this time, she was done waiting for a miracle. She would make her own.
She found a thick curtain cord tucked behind the drapes. It was long enough. Tight. Strong.
She tied it with trembling but steady hands, anchored it to the balcony rail, and tested the knot.
Then, barefoot and quiet, she climbed out onto the ledge.
The night air was sharp, but she didn't hesitate.
With one swift movement, she hoisted herself up onto the roof, crawling like a cat in the shadows. From above, the estate stretched like a kingdom—gilded and guarded.
She crawled until she reached the far side—over the outer wall and facing a dimly lit back road. There, just on the edge of the path, she saw a horse loosely tied beside a small cart. A delivery man, perhaps, or a nearby villager. Whoever he was, he wasn't there now.
Without wasting a second, she looped the rope around the chimney, lowered herself off the edge, and dropped to the ground with a thud.
Pain shot through her ankles, but she didn't stop.
Run, Yun Lan. Run now.
She untied the horse, whispered gently to calm it, and with one smooth, practiced motion, swung herself into the saddle.
Her legs gripped tightly as she pulled the reins, her body remembering every lesson from her childhood on her grandparents' ranch.
She rode hard.
Wind whipped through her hair as she galloped toward the forest, hooves thundering on dirt and stone. The night was heavy, but the moonlight illuminated just enough for her to navigate.
She didn't look back.
She didn't hear the shouting behind her.
She didn't see the fury that flared in Leon's eyes when he stepped out of the mansion just in time to see her drop into the road—and take the horse.
"Where is she going?" one of his men yelled.
Leon's jaw clenched.
He didn't answer.
Instead, he jumped onto the nearest available horse without a word tearing off down the same path she had taken.. His eyes were locked on the distant figure of Yun Lan disappearing into the shadows of the trees, her long hair flowing like a ribbon behind her in the moonlight. He kicked his heels against the horse's side, and it surged forward with power, hooves pounding against the dirt path.
The Forest
Branches whipped past her face. The cold bit at her skin, but Yun Lan didn't care. She had to get away.
The forest was thick with shadows, lit only by thin slices of moonlight that pierced through the canopy. Birds scattered. Insects buzzed. Her heart pounded in rhythm with the horse's gallop.
It was almost five in the morning. The world was still dark. But hope flickered in her chest.
Just keep going. Don't stop.
And then—
A sound.
Hoofbeats.
No.
She turned slightly, eyes wide.
Behind her, a dark figure on horseback was gaining fast.
Leon.
Yun Lan gritted her teeth and pushed the horse faster, weaving through the trees. She clung low to the animal's back, legs firm, hair whipping behind her like a banner of defiance.
But he was trained. And furious.
And faster.
Suddenly—too suddenly—he was there.
His horse pulled up beside hers, and before she could react, a strong arm reached out and yanked her off her mount.
She screamed as her body collided with his, then hit the cold ground hard.
Leaves and dirt scattered. Her elbow scraped against a root. Pain shot through her side.
She rolled to her knees, panting, heart hammering in terror and rage.
Leon dismounted with terrifying grace, walking toward her like a beast in the moonlight—black shirt unbuttoned at the top, hair windblown, eyes wild with fury.
"You ran," he growled.
"You caged me!" she shouted back.
"You stole from me."
"You stole my freedom."
He grabbed her arm, hauling her up to her feet. She tried to twist away, hitting his chest, clawing at him, but he caught her wrists with ease, pinning them above her head and slamming her against a tree.
"You could have been killed," he hissed.
"You don't get to care!"
"I do care!" he snapped, voice rising. "You think I would let anything happen to you? After what you've done to me? After what I've become for you?"
She stared at him, breathless.
The heat between them was unbearable. Not just anger. Not just fear.
Something darker. Something desperate.
"You think you can ride away on a horse like some fairytale princess?" he rasped. "I told you. You're mine, Yun Lan. And I will hunt you to the ends of the earth if I have to."
Her lips trembled. "You're insane."
"I'm in love."
She froze.
He saw it. The shock in her eyes. The disbelief.
"Ever since the night you saved me," he said, softer now, face inches from hers, "I haven't been able to forget you. The blood on my body… the way your hands shook as you helped me… and the way you looked at me. No fear. No judgment. Just… light."
Yun Lan felt her resolve weakening.
No one had ever spoken to her like this—with fire and vulnerability tangled into one.
Leon pressed his forehead against hers. "I built a world of darkness. And then you stepped into it. I don't know how to let you go."
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them back.
"You can't force someone to love you."
"I won't force your heart," he murmured, brushing her lips with his. "But your body… I know it wants me."
Before she could reply, his mouth claimed hers again—desperate, bruising.