The mansion was silent when they returned.

Too silent.

The kind of silence that made breathing feel loud.

Rain still poured outside the giant glass windows while servants quietly disappeared from the hallways the moment Karl Casanova entered carrying Kavira in his arms.

No one dared speak.

No one dared look at him for too long.

Because Karl looked terrifying tonight.

Not furious.

Not violent.

Worse.

Possessive.

The moment they entered their bedroom, Karl locked the door behind him.

Click.

That sound alone made Kavira look up at him.

His jaw tight.

Eyes unreadable.

Still wearing blood-stained clothes from the rescue.

“Karl—”

“Why?”

His voice cut through the room sharply.

Kavira blinked.

“What?”

Karl turned toward her slowly.

“Why did you go to India without telling me?”

The atmosphere instantly changed.

Heavy.

Dangerous.

Kavira stepped back slightly.

“I already explained—”

“No.”

His voice deepened.

“You explained why you went.”

“But not why you thought disappearing alone was acceptable.”

Kavira frowned immediately.

“I’m not a prisoner.”

Karl laughed softly.

Coldly.

“No?”

“You got kidnapped within hours.”

“KARL.”

“What?” he snapped suddenly.

“You want me to praise your stupidity?”

Kavira’s chest tightened.

The fear from the plane.

The heart attack.

The stress.

Everything already had her emotionally exhausted.

And now him.

Again.

Controlling.

Demanding.

Like always.

“You think protecting me means controlling me,” she whispered bitterly.

Karl’s eyes darkened instantly.

“And you think freedom means running into danger every five business days.”

Kavira scoffed angrily.

“You know what your problem is?”

Karl stepped closer.

“No. Tell me.”

“You suffocate people.”

Silence.

Dangerous silence.

Kavira’s breathing became uneven slightly but she continued anyway.

“You don’t know how to love someone normally.”

“You hold too tightly.”

“You control too much.”

“You decide everything.”

Karl stared at her without blinking.

Then quietly asked:

“And yet you still came back.”

That sentence hit her harder than expected.

Kavira looked away immediately.

Karl stepped closer again.

“Why?”

She stayed silent.

“Kavira.”

“Because I wanted to.”

Karl grabbed her chin suddenly.

Firmly.

“Wrong answer.”

Her heartbeat quickened instantly.

“Karl leave me.”

“You came back because this is where you belong.”

Kavira pushed his hand away angrily.

“I belong to myself.”

That sentence snapped something inside him.

Completely.

In one second Karl grabbed her wrist and pulled her against the wall hard enough to make her gasp.

“KARL!”

His hand pressed beside her head.

Eyes burning into hers.

“You wanna know what destroys me?” he whispered darkly.

“It’s not enemies.”

“It’s not Friedrich.”

“It’s not blood.”

His grip tightened slightly.

“It’s the thought of losing you.”

Kavira’s breath hitched.

“But instead of understanding that…” his jaw clenched,

“…you keep running.”

“I’m trying to breathe!”

“And I’m trying to keep you alive!”

They both stayed breathing heavily.

Eyes locked.

Neither willing to step back.

Then suddenly Kavira whispered:

“You scare me sometimes.”

That hurt him.

Actually hurt him.

His expression shifted for half a second.

But only for half a second.

Because then anger returned again.

“You think I don’t scare myself?” he said quietly.

Kavira froze slightly.

Karl moved closer.

Too close now.

“I know exactly what kind of man I am.”

His hand slowly wrapped around her throat—not choking.

Just holding.

Possessively.

Dangerously.

“And still…” his voice lowered,

“…you keep looking at me like I could become soft for you.”

Kavira’s lips trembled slightly.

Because the truth was—

he already had.

And that terrified both of them.

“Karl…”

“Say you won’t leave again.”

She looked at him stubbornly.

“No.”

His eyes darkened completely.

“Kavira.”

“You don’t own me.”

Karl suddenly pulled her away from the wall and threw her onto the bed hard enough to make her gasp.

The mattress dipped beneath her instantly.

“KARL!”

He climbed onto the bed immediately after.

Towering above her.

One hand trapping her wrists above her head.

The other gripping her jaw tightly.

“You keep testing me.”

Kavira’s breathing became shaky.

“Then maybe stop acting like a monster.”

Karl stared at her for a long moment.

Then suddenly laughed quietly.

A broken sound.

“You still don’t understand.”

He leaned closer slowly.

“I became a monster,” he whispered against her lips,

“…because monsters survive.”

Kavira’s eyes softened slightly despite herself.

And Karl hated that softness.

Because it made him weak.

“You should hate me,” he murmured.

“Maybe I do.”

“Liar.”

Then he kissed her.

Not gently.

Not softly.

It was anger.

Fear.

Possession.

Weeks of emotional destruction crashing together at once.

Kavira pushed against his chest instantly.

“Karl stop—”

But the moment she said his name like that—

desperate.

Breathless.

Broken—

he kissed her harder.

Like he was trying to prove something.

Like he was trying to erase every second she spent away from him.

Kavira hated how her heart betrayed her immediately.

Because despite the anger—

despite the control—

despite the darkness—

she melted.

And Karl noticed.

Of course he did.

His forehead rested against hers as both struggled to breathe.

“You’re cruel,” she whispered shakily.

Karl closed his eyes briefly.

“You make me cruel.”

Silence filled the room again.

Heavy breathing.

Thunder outside.

Rain against glass.

Then suddenly—

Kavira touched his face carefully.

And that tiny soft gesture destroyed whatever control Karl had left.

He buried his face into her neck instantly.

Holding her tightly.

Too tightly.

Like if he loosened his grip—

she would disappear again.

And quietly—

so quietly she almost didn’t hear it—

Karl whispered:

“Don’t make me survive without you again.”