Chapter 5

His tone left no room for argument. My palms clenched tight, and before I could say anything, I felt vibrations at my ankle, once, twice. He was warning me.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Resistance was pointless, at least not now. Cora needed this brief peace.

I turned to look at Cora. Finally, there was some color in her face, and her breathing had steadied.

I said goodbye to Cora and got into the car driven by James's assistant, David, heading back to the villa.

The villa was empty and silent, not a soul in sight.

Without much thought, I went straight upstairs and into the bathroom. I needed hot water to wash away all this exhaustion.

I took off my clothes one by one. They slid to the floor, piling up in a circle.

The body in the mirror was still graceful and shapely.

I reached down to unlock the metal band around my ankle, but I couldn't open it. I didn't have the key.

Just then, the bathroom door was pushed open without warning.

I spun around, instinctively grabbing a nearby towel to cover myself, but it was too late to hide everything.

James leaned against the doorframe, his gaze openly falling on me.

Blood rushed to my cheeks instantly.

"James!" My voice came out sharp. "Why didn't you knock?"

A smile curved at the corner of his mouth as he stared straight at me, slowly walking in. "The door wasn't locked. You wanted me to see, didn't you?"

"You!" His words made my breath catch, my cheeks burning hotter, but I forced myself to stay calm and meet his eyes.

His gaze felt almost physical, moving from my face to my neck, to my collarbone, to the curves barely hidden beneath the towel, my waistline, and my straight legs below the towel's edge... Gradually, his breathing became visibly heavier.

I instinctively tightened my grip on the towel, extending my foot slightly, trying to speak steadily. "Mr. Smith, since you're here, could you please unlock this ankle cuff?"

He didn't move. Instead, his gaze fell even more heavily on my ankle. "Keep it on. Keep it on from now on."

My heart sank, but I didn't show more emotion on my face. "At least unlock it now. I need to take a bath."

"Go ahead and bathe. I never said you couldn't." His voice remained cold.

I bit my lip. "Then please leave."

"Leave?" He laughed softly, raising his hand to casually loosen his collar. "Anna, have you still not figured out the situation? I paid a hundred million to buy you. Can't I even watch you bathe?"

My palms tightened. When he said things like this, I never had a rebuttal.

I simply looked away, no longer watching him, turned around, and walked straight to the bathtub, turning on the hot water tap.

Warm water gushed out, quickly filling the air with misty steam.

With my back to him, right in front of him, I pulled off the towel, stepped into the bathtub, and sank into the gradually filling hot water. Then I grabbed the body wash nearby, squeezed out a large amount, and stirred up lots of white foam until it completely covered everything beneath the water's surface.

The water temperature soothed my skin, but couldn't dissolve the coldness in my heart.

I could feel his gaze still burning into my back.

The metal band around my ankle, soaked in water, began to feel very uncomfortable.

I pressed my lips together and simply propped my foot on the edge of the bathtub.

Water droplets slowly slid down the curve of my calf, disappearing into the foam.

The bathroom was left with only the sound of running water, and... his suddenly heavy breathing.

The next second, a shadow loomed over me.

Just as I was about to turn my head, a burning hot hand had already grabbed my ankle, gripping so hard I cried out.

He leaned closer, his suit pants instantly soaked by the overflowing hot water, darkening a large area.

Water splashed onto his shirt cuffs, sliding down his forearm.

"James! Let go!" I struggled.

He ignored me, gripping my foot tighter, lifting it higher.

What was he trying to do?

I couldn't help but feel my heart tighten.

His gaze locked heavily onto my foot, his other hand covering it.

His palm slowly moved upward, stroking over the top of my foot, grasping my rounded toes, kneading each one, then returning to the sole, his gaze lingering as if examining it.

His fingertips carried a burning temperature. Each press seemed to carry an electric current, shooting straight from my sole up my spine.

My body went rigid. I bit down hard on my lower lip to suppress the trembling that almost escaped my throat.

I wanted to stop him, but I was even more afraid of provoking him. Besides, he said I was something he'd bought with money. Even if he really wanted to do something, what right did I have to stop him...

My clenched palms slowly relaxed.

The steam rose, blurring my vision, but making the sensations on my skin even more acute.

The warmth of his palm, even his gradually roughening breath, transmitted over with absolute clarity.

And his shirt had long been soaked, the semi-transparent fabric clinging to his muscles, his well-defined body faintly visible, very oppressive...

I trembled all over, my heart pounding violently.

Suddenly, he straightened up and moved closer to me...

His facial features became even clearer. Combined with some mist, it was impossible to tell whether those were beads of sweat or water vapor.

I let out a soft cry, making the already ambiguous atmosphere even more suggestive.

It wasn't intentional—his thumb had pressed hard, and my sole couldn't handle that kind of pressure.

I instinctively held my breath, trying not to make such sounds.

"If you can't hold it in, then right here is fine too." James gradually unbuttoned his shirt, his smile somewhat wicked.

Realizing what James wanted to do here, I panicked and tried to escape. Because my palms were covered with foam, the moment I braced myself against the edge of the bathtub, my whole body unexpectedly slipped downward.

Hot water instantly rushed into my nose.

I panicked even more, struggling constantly, my hands flailing wildly, trying to grab onto something to steady myself.

Just as I thought I would drown in the bathtub and become a joke, a strong hand easily pulled me up, and I clung to it tightly.

I coughed, spitting out the water that had choked into my mouth, my hair plastered wetly to my face, looking utterly disheveled.

James's thick brows furrowed, a trace of concern flashing in his eyes that was hard to detect, but he quickly resumed that roguish look. "You're that eager to hold me?"

I glared at James in embarrassment and anger, releasing his hand and instead gripping the edge of the bathtub.

A bathtub full of bubbles wasn't entirely a good thing after all.

His phone suddenly rang.

My eyes flickered slightly. I was thinking about what excuse I could use to make James leave when I saw the caller ID. Before my brain could react, my finger had already pressed the hang-up button.

"Who was calling?"

James's cold eyes fixed on me, his pupils pitch black.

Like another soul dormant deep within his body, suddenly awakening.

Before I could speak, James suddenly snatched the phone.

He instinctively entered the password.

The password was the anniversary of when we got together.

The phone unlocked. James was clearly stunned for a second.