He was like a beast who had escaped from hell, ferocious, and terrifying. His claws could easily tear his prey into pieces.

Instead, he was merely playing with his prey; everything was under control.

"Don't toe the line." His voice was low and soft, but every word was like a sharp knife piercing her heart. "You can't afford it," he continued.

It was a warning, but also a threat. But mainly, she heard fear.

What was he scared of?

When Kylie recovered from her shock, he was gone. She sat up and looked at the scattered fruit on the ground. Suddenly, her nose twitched, and she felt sad.

She was not the Kylie she used to be.

She had been a girl with a stubborn temper, who could not be persuaded by reason or cowed by force. She had had her own opinions and principles.

However, since she had met Ethan, all her principles were gone. And, as always, she hated to feel threatened, but she continued to be threatened by him, again and again, without rebellion.

Her chest was filled with an indescribable feeling.

***

In the gym on the second floor, the man ran for an hour on the treadmill.

His black vest was drenched with sweat. And more sweat ran down his cold face.

He didn't know what was wrong with him, and this upset him more.

When it came to Kylie, he felt defenseless and weak. He was just like a hedgehog: the only way to avoid injury to his partner was to pluck out his thorns. But could she really accept him like that?

And even if she could accept it, once a hedgehog lost his thorns, how could he protect his partner when she was in danger?

Boom!

His fist came down on the treadmill's dashboard. The machine made a loud noise and suddenly stopped working.

At the same time, his phone began to ring.

Ethan glanced at the phone, walked off the treadmill, and took his time to wipe away the sweat before answering it.

It was Nate. "Brother, here come some fresh girls. Come have a taste..."

Damn...

Ethan immediately hung up the phone. A few minutes later, the phone rang again, and the voice on the other end spoke: "You should get that hanging-up problem sorted out..."

"Just speak," Ethan responded.

"I've ordered all the things that you wanted me to do," Nate said happily.

"Well done."

Sensing that Ethan was about to hang up again, Nate quickly added: "You sure you won't come with us?"

The man remained silent for a while, then said: "Ok, but somewhere else."

An hour later, Nate was lying on the floor and couldn't move at all.

"Lord Ethan, please, I just can't. How about we let Tong play with you?"

This man must be crazy, Nate thought. He had wanted to change the location of their hangout, but Nate hadn't imagined Ethan would want to go to the boxing hall.

Nate saw three other boxers get beaten up by Ethan, and assumed he must be tired by now. With that in mind, he agreed to spar with Ethan, not knowing that this man could remain so energized.

Seeing this, Tong wouldn't dare approach Ethan in the ring. He handed Ethan a bottle of water. "Lord Ethan, I think that maybe Nate needs a rest."

Nate kicked at Tong. What the hell?! How could he make him out to be weak?

"If you can kick, then you can box. Stand up!" Ethan looked down on him, then poured his water all over Nate.

"What the...?!" Nate jumped up. "Lord Ethan, please don't do that. Now I'm all wet! How can I fight in such a wetsuit?"

Ethan looked at him, dully. He gripped the bottle in his hands. The whole previous episode with Kylie filled his mind.

It was almost impossible to drive the memory away, no matter how much he exercised.

He dropped the bottle on the floor, and turned away in resignation; he was ready to get changed. Seeing that he was done, Nate stood up, with some help from Tong.

"Lord Ethan, I don't want to offend you, but you should use all this endless energy on your wife, not me."

Ethan stopped in his tracks and stared back.

Seeing the look in his eyes, Nate kept his distance, and said: "When a woman doesn't obey what you say, just give her a slap, in bed."

***

Then, my friends went somewhere for fun.

"Now it's my turn to choose what we do!" Nate had a woman on his arm. He smiled and said: "Lord Ethan, you've been controlling yourself for twenty years. That's just not good for your body. How about we have some fun tonight?"

In the dark room, Ethan remained seated on the sofa. The handsome man just glared like a sexy wild animal.

"You think I would ever do what you do?" he said to Nate. His arms were spread out on the sofa, and his tone was chilly.

Jesus, I'm being looked down on again, thought Nate. He simply stared at Ethan, then decided to ignore what he'd said since he was in a good mood.

He signaled to the girl who had just stepped into the room. The girl reacted by walking directly to Ethan. "Sir, I'm here to serve you," she said.

Ethan's eyes turned dark. But the woman lay down near him, and spoke in a tender voice: "Have a drink."

He turned towards her and said: "Get out." He spoke this small phrase with such force.

The woman was scared, and her face turned white. She looked back at Nate for help. But Nate didn't say anything; he simply indicated to the girl to stand aside. She followed his instructions.

Men usually like women who do not belong to their best. Women are like wine; it's not so much the price that matters, but the opportunity for variety. A man wishes to taste every brand. But this man was not like those other men.

With a single look or a single word, he had the power to scare people away.

Nate left the woman who was lying in his arms and made his way to Ethan, asking: "Who has made you so unhappy?" He had wanted to ask that question all night.

But Ethan simply sat there in silence.