After secretly coveting Declan Thorne for three years, I finally lost my mind and kidnapped him, dragging him back to my apartment. I locked a silver chain around his ankle and told him he’d never leave me for the rest of his life. The first month, he would rather die than submit, coldly warning me to let him go. The second month, he slowly compromised, silently allowing me to sleep in the same bed as him. The third month, he started pushing his luck, aggressively interrogating me about why I was five minutes late coming home from work, and accusing me of messing around with other men. Looking at the man in front of me, his eyes rimmed red as he casually played with the silver chain, I completely broke down. Who the hell is the real psycho here?! 1 "You're five minutes late again today." Declan sat on the edge of the bed, staring at me coldly. "Riley, your company clocks out at 6:00 PM. Even with rush hour traffic, it only takes twenty minutes to get home. Yet you’ve been exactly five minutes late for three days in a row. Are you out messing around with some other guy?" He let out a dark chuckle, his thin lips curving into a dangerous smirk: "Or maybe I should be expecting a new 'roommate' to move in here soon?" I swallowed hard, staring nervously at the man lazily wrapping the silver chain around his fingers. He slowly leaned forward, his long legs bracketing my body. With one hand, he ripped off his loungewear shirt, exposing a beautifully sculpted, muscular chest. The faint red rimming his eyes carried a chilling, obsessive smile. "Did you forget what I said yesterday? For every minute you're late, we add one more round." He wrapped the silver chain securely around my ankle. "Maybe this chain suits you better than it suits me." I stared at him in sheer terror. I opened my mouth to explain, but he forcefully crashed his lips down on mine, swallowing my words. I could only scream internally in pure, unadulterated panic. Who the f*ck is the real kidnapper here?! He used to be an untouchable, ice-cold CEO! 2 Two months ago, I committed the most felony-level act of my life. I kidnapped my boss, Declan Thorne. I had been crushing on him for three years. He was a senior at my college. After graduation, I hustled, networked, and practically begged my way into a job at his consulting firm. At first, I just wanted to be near him. I didn't expect him to actually like me back. But the more I looked at him, the more I wanted him. So, I decided to confess my feelings. However, on the exact day I planned to do it, I caught him acting incredibly intimate with a beautiful woman. He was even holding a massive bouquet of red roses! My mission failed before it even began. A sudden, irrational surge of jealousy and anger hijacked my brain, birthng a bold, deeply twisted idea! I was going to kidnap him, take him home, and make him mine! So, feigning illness, I guilt-tripped him into driving me home. Using the excuse of "coming up for a quick glass of water," I lured him into my apartment and managed to get him to chug a heavily spiked beer. Honestly, Declan was a notorious lightweight. I’d never seen a guy from the Midwest who couldn't handle his liquor like that. An absolute disgrace to the Midwest. While he was knocked out cold, I practically dragged his dead weight into my bedroom and used a thin silver chain I had just bought online to secure him to the bedpost. Then, I stared at him, realizing my critical flaw. I really wanted to have my wicked way with him, but he was unconscious! It's no fun playing a one-person game. I had to wait for him to wake up. An hour later, Declan’s eyelids fluttered, and he woke up. He looked down at the chain around his ankle and frowned deeply: "Riley, are you illegally holding me hostage?" Meeting those dark, bottomless eyes, the liquid courage I had earlier instantly evaporated into cold sweat. I forced myself to act tough and delivered my warning: "From now on, you're never leaving me for the rest of your life! Don't even think about escaping. This chain is made of titanium alloy. Even an elephant couldn't break it, let alone you!" Declan looked at me with a deeply bizarre expression and threw a curveball: "You like me?" My face exploded in a fiery blush. I stammered defensively: "Y-yes! I've liked you for three years! It's bad enough you don't like me back, but you were actually going to be with another woman?! I will absolutely never allow that! "From now on, you will stay right here." I recited the lines I had memorized from a cheesy psycho-thriller novel. "Your eyes will only look at me, your mind will only think of me, and your body belongs solely to me!" Declan stared at me coldly. "Impossible!" "I suggest you let me go immediately. I will never submit to this!" I threw out a few more hollow threats and then fled the bedroom in an absolute panic. Honestly, the second I walked out, I regretted it. This was illegal imprisonment! It was a felony! Plus, Declan was no pushover. He looked like an untouchable, refined elite, but rumor had it that when he was a teenager, he was caught in an attempted kidnapping in Europe and managed to fight off two armed men to escape. He was a black belt in Taekwondo and practiced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I had accidentally walked in on him changing in his office once. That beautifully shredded physique was definitely not just for show. And that stupid chain wasn't titanium alloy. It was a cheap dog leash I bought off Amazon, barely as thick as my pinky. If he pulled hard enough, it would snap instantly. When that happened, he was definitely going to murder me! But God, I wanted him so badly! I gritted my teeth. If I was going down, I was going down in flames. I was fully committing to this psycho role! 3 For the first month, Declan did exactly what he said he would: he resisted to the death. Every time I entered the bedroom, he glared at me with eyes cold enough to freeze hell over. Every time I reached out to touch him, his terrifying stare scared my hand right back. A few times, I tried sneaking into the room late at night. But the moment I laid a hand on him, his eyes snapped open. In the moonlight, he looked like a predator silently waiting to ambush its prey. It scared the life out of me. I didn't dare try it again. But strangely, he didn't leave. He actually seemed to believe my ridiculous lie. That tiny, fragile chain was acting like a magical tether, keeping him perfectly confined to the spot. Fortunately, the chain was long enough for him to access the attached master bathroom, so it didn't affect his basic needs. I figured if the hard way didn't work, I'd try the soft way. Every day, I sat in his room and rambled on about my three-year secret crush. But he never engaged. Every time I told him how much I liked him, he would turn his head away, looking so disgusted he couldn't even bear the sight of me. By the end of the month, I was finally losing hope. I decided to give up. You can't force someone to love you. I figured I would just drive him home and then go turn myself in to the police. Deep down, I always knew someone like Declan would never fall for me. He was always the brightest star in the room, and I was just the dull, invisible background character. Falling for Declan Thorne was the easiest thing in the world. Back in college, I joined the performing arts club. We were supposed to perform at the winter gala. I had prepared a piano and violin duet with a guy from the club. But the day before the show, his girlfriend got insanely jealous and threatened to dump him if he shared a stage with me. Left without a partner at the last minute, I was a panicked, crying mess backstage. That was when Declan, who was just walking by, picked up the violin and said: "Play. I'll accompany you." The performance was a massive success. The moment the final note dropped, the auditorium erupted in thunderous applause. It was only later I found out Declan wasn't even in our club. He was the Student Body President. He was literally just passing by, saw me crying pitifully, and decided to help me out. When I went to thank him later, he just gave a polite nod and walked away. To him, it was probably an insignificant blip in his life. But for me, from that day on, he was the only person I ever saw. When he graduated and started his consulting firm, I followed him right into it. But his attitude toward me had always been strictly professional and distant. Even now, when I had literally kidnapped him, he still refused to submit. I sighed heavily. I decided to sneak in tonight, touch his abs one last time to get my money's worth, and then set him free. 4 I didn't expect Declan to be awake this time. The moment my hand touched his chest, he grabbed my wrist with a crushing grip! Just as my soul was about to leave my body in terror, Declan opened his eyes. In the midnight silence, the only sounds were my hammering heartbeat and his hoarse voice. "Riley, are you sick in the head?" I don't know if it was an illusion, but I thought I saw a flicker of helpless frustration in his eyes. I was too terrified to stutter out a single word. He sat up, rubbing his temples: "...Do you really want to sleep with me that badly?" I nodded frantically. Duh. Why else would I kidnap you?! Declan stared at me for a long, heavy moment. Finally, looking like a kidnapped prince who had tragically resigned himself to his fate, he sighed deeply: "Fine. From tonight on, you can move your stuff in here. "But let me be clear. We are only sleeping. Nothing else." Happiness hit me like a freight train. I nodded so hard I almost gave myself whiplash. Only sleeping? Deal! We're already in the same bed, how far away could 'everything else' really be?! Declan glanced at me, a hint of disdain in his eyes: "Go get your pillow." From that night on, I finally got exactly what I wanted. I crawled into Declan's bed, happily falling asleep every night with my hand resting on his chest. It felt like my dreams were painted pink. The only downside was that every morning when Declan woke up, he was bundled up tightly in the blankets, his face dark and brooding. I assumed his body had compromised, but his mind still felt deeply humiliated. ... This bizarre domestic life continued for another month, but Declan started acting strange. At first, he had been cold and indifferent, ignoring everything I did. Now, he was monitoring what time I got off work. I still had no idea how the company was functioning perfectly normally without him. It was as if no one even realized the CEO was missing. In fact, the firm was expanding. We had recently hired a new batch of interns because we were short-staffed. The intern assigned to my team was a guy named Kieran Walsh. He was a 6'1" college senior with a sharp jawline, a tiny mole on his nose, and incredibly long eyelashes that cast shadows when he looked down. He was a sweet talker, constantly calling me "Sister," and he worked surprisingly hard. After hours, he would always pull up a chair next to my desk to ask me industry questions. I admit, I appreciate a handsome face. Even though my heart belonged entirely to Declan, what normal person could be cold to a guy like that? Because of him, I came home half an hour late for the first time. When I walked through the door, Declan's face was darker than the night sky outside. When I brought him dinner, he grabbed my wrist, yanked me forcefully onto his lap, and buried his face in the crook of my neck. I thought he had finally opened up to me and was thrilled, but then he suddenly asked: "Why do you smell like men's cologne?" I froze, suddenly remembering the faint, fresh scent Kieran wore. It was probably because he leaned in too close when I was teaching him how to use the massive office printer today. Did Declan have the nose of a bloodhound?! How could he smell that?! Seeing my silence, Declan let out a cold, sharp laugh. "You say you like me every single day, but you're already bored of me in less than three months? Did you find some fresh meat outside? "I guess people really don't cherish things once they finally get them. Riley, I see exactly who you are." Wait, why did he sound like a bitter, neglected housewife?! I quickly tried to explain: "No, no, it's nothing like that! We just got a new intern who's super eager to learn, so I was showing him how the printer works." "He doesn't even know how to use a printer? Are Pinnacle Tech's hiring standards this garbage now? Are we letting literal idiots into the building?" Declan's expression darkened even further. He reached under his pillow and pulled out a sleek smartphone: "What's his name? I'll have HR fire him tomorrow." My eyes widened in horror: "Hold on! Where did you get a phone?! Didn't I confiscate it?!" If he had a phone this whole time, why didn't he call the cops?! Declan froze. For half a second, his expression went completely blank. Then, he casually tossed the phone aside, pinned me forcefully onto the mattress, and started unbuttoning his own shirt. The warm lamplight cascaded over the subtle, honey-toned muscles of his back. My brain completely short-circuited. Intoxicated by the view, I immediately forgot all about the phone. Declan hovered over me, the corners of his mouth lifting into a smile that sent a shiver down my spine. He grabbed my hands, pinned them above my head, and used the silver chain—which he had somehow effortlessly unclipped from his own ankle—to tie my wrists to the bedpost. He stared down at me, his voice dangerously low: "You were half an hour late coming home today. I have to punish you." 5 After that night, Declan and I fell into this deeply ambiguous, messy relationship. He never explicitly defined what we were, so I never dared to ask. I was too afraid that the answer I got wouldn't be the one I wanted. I was so used to chasing after him, and loving someone too much strips you of your courage. ... I suppose being lucky in love meant I had to suffer at work. The next evening, I was packing up to leave when my team lead, Gary Snyder, casually leaned against my desk. I frowned slightly. Ever since Gary found out that my family had bought me a house in the city, fully paid off in cash, he had been targeting me. He came from a rural background, and buying a house in this city on a standard salary was nearly impossible, so he started aggressively hitting on me. Because he was technically my superior, I always tried to reject him politely. But he was like a leech I couldn't shake off. "Riley, a new steakhouse just opened downtown. This is the perfect chance to bond with upper management. How about I treat you to dinner tonight?" I was incredibly annoyed, and I couldn't hide the irritation on my face: "Sorry, I have plans tonight." "What plans? Do you have a boyfriend?" I paused for a moment, then nodded: "Yes." But Gary refused to back off. "Who are you trying to fool? I've never seen this mysterious boyfriend of yours. Are you just nervous about eating with your boss? Don't worry, I'm actually very easygoing." "Excuse me, I really have to go." I couldn't take it anymore and simply sidestepped him. Seeing me ignore him, Gary's face instantly dropped. "Riley, what makes you think you can be so arrogant? So what if you bought a house? I could buy a house whenever I want. That garbage property you bought is out in the suburbs! I wouldn't even look twice at it. If I buy, I'm buying downtown!" I ignored him and kept walking. But just as I reached the elevator, he grabbed my arm violently. He looked me up and down, his eyes filled with malicious, sleazy intent. "I still don't even know where you got the money for that house. A girl like you, dropping a million in cash? "Did some sugar daddy buy it for you? Is that why you're always rushing home right at 6:00 PM? To get on your knees for some old man?" I was furious and panicked. But he was a grown man, and I couldn't physically fight him off. Just as I was about to curse him out, an arm shot out from behind me and violently shoved him backward! Kieran stepped forward, his face expressionless. He grabbed Gary's wrist and demanded: "Apologize." Gary was stunned at first, but then his face flushed dark red: "You're just a f*cking intern! What does this have to do with you? I'll have HR fire your ass!" "Apologize." Kieran tightened his grip. Gary winced, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. After struggling for a few seconds, he finally muttered: "Sorry!" "Didn't hear you. Louder." "I'm sorry!" Kieran released him and sneered: "Seeing how confidently you run your mouth, I thought you were actually someone important. "If you're so jealous of a woman buying a house, why don't you go sell yourself to a sugar daddy? "Oh, wait." He looked Gary up and down, letting out a mocking scoff. "Looking at you, you'd probably have to pay them just to look at you." Gary's lips trembled with rage. But standing at 5'6", he looked like a terrified quail next to the 6'1" Kieran. He didn't dare swear, and he definitely couldn't win a fight. With an ashen face, he finally turned and fled. I looked at Kieran: "Thank you so much." The aggression and coldness in Kieran's face vanished instantly, reverting back to the bright-eyed, cheerful intern. "Don't worry about it. Trash like him only bullies people they think are weak. If he bothers you again, tell me. "Let me drive you home. We don't want him ambushing you in the parking lot." I thought about it and nodded. "My car's a bit old, so don't mind the mess." Kieran drove a very battered, old Honda Civic. I buckled my seatbelt and couldn't help but say: "Seriously, thank you for today. But Gary is incredibly petty. I'm worried he's going to target you at work now." A rebellious, arrogant smirk tugged at the corner of Kieran's mouth: "Do you think I care about him targeting me?" He steered the car with one hand. The watch on his wrist easily cost enough to buy ten of the Hondas we were sitting in. Honestly, the whole office had been whispering that he was some billionaire's son slumming it for the summer. Poverty can be faked, but the effortless, relaxed aura of old money he carried was impossible to hide. Well, that was good. If he came from a powerful family, Gary couldn't touch him. I breathed a sigh of relief. "But going home this early... are you really rushing back to see your boyfriend?" Kieran glanced at me. "...Actually, he's not technically my boyfriend." I had no idea how to describe my relationship with Declan. I couldn't exactly say he was the man I illegally kidnapped and was now having a torrid affair with, could I? I just vaguely brushed it off: "He's just a friend." Kieran smiled. "Good. "I thought I didn't have a chance anymore." I wasn't completely blind. I could sense Kieran's interest in me. When he first joined as a management trainee, the veteran employees were afraid he would eventually steal their management spots, so they refused to train him and pawned him off on me. I had genuinely put a lot of effort into teaching him the ropes. Slowly, he became super clingy, finding a million excuses to come to my desk every day. Even my coworkers noticed and asked if he was pursuing me. But the only person I liked was Declan. No matter how handsome the younger guy was, I only appreciated him aesthetically. I waved my hand dismissively: "Pinnacle Tech strictly forbids office romances. Plus, we're three years apart. Save your charm for the younger girls, don't waste it on me." Kieran just smiled and didn't say a word. When we parked outside my building, before I could unbuckle my seatbelt, he leaned over. The familiar, faint scent of his fresh cologne drifted to my nose, mixed with a hint of spicy, rich tobacco. "Sister, your seatbelt is jammed." Kieran's knuckles were a bit calloused, probably from playing sports, not smooth and elegant like Declan's fingers. But as his hands fumbled near the buckle, it created an incredibly charged, unspoken tension in the car. He was too close. I didn't dare move a muscle. A few seconds later, he unbuckled the belt. "Aren't you going to invite me up for a cup of tea, Sister?" His eyes carried an undisguised, intense anticipation. Maybe the heat in the car was just too much, but the flush on my face wouldn't fade. I practically scrambled to open the door: "Not a good time today! Maybe next time. Thank you!" And I fled into the apartment building like I was running for my life. I had perfectly calculated my commute time today. But because of this little detour, I ended up being exactly five minutes late. I looked at Declan, who was currently staring down at me with an imperious glare. One minute equals one round. Good lord, with this man's stamina, we wouldn't sleep until dawn! My brain went into overdrive. I shoved him firmly in the chest and yelled: "Stop yelling at me! Do you have any idea that I got sexually harassed at work today?! "How do you even hire these people?! The company is full of absolute human garbage!" Declan's movements stopped instantly. His brows knitted into a deep, furious frown. "Who harassed you?" I looked away. "Gary Snyder from Marketing. When I rejected him, he accused me of buying my house with sugar daddy money. He said the only reason I rush home at 6:00 PM is to get on my knees for some old man." Declan rolled out of bed and grabbed his phone. A few seconds later, the call connected. His voice sent a literal shiver down my spine. "Is there someone named Gary Snyder in Marketing? "Yeah. Have him pack his desk and get out tomorrow morning. Contact all of our partnered firms. Any company that hires him will immediately lose our contracts." He hung up the phone and turned around: "Why didn't you tell me this kind of thing earlier?" I muttered, "What exactly are we to each other? What good would it do to tell you?" Declan fell silent. His expression turned slightly grim. I suddenly remembered what Kieran had asked me in the car today. I lowered my eyes. "Declan, what exactly are we? What is your endgame here?" He willingly played this kidnapping game with me. He had been intimately involved with me countless times. But he never once clarified what we actually were. Maybe it was because I was already in a bad mood, but my mind was an absolute mess. Maybe Declan was just bored and using me for entertainment. If he truly cared about me, he wouldn't leave things so vague and undefined. Was I the one lacking courage because I loved him too much, or was there another reason? The reason being... he just didn't like me. A bitter taste flooded my mouth. I picked up the silver chain he had long since unclipped and tossed it onto the bed. "You don't have to give me an answer right now. But if this feeling is mutual, I hope to see you here tomorrow when I get home from work. "If you don't feel the same way... then just leave tomorrow." With that, I turned and walked out the door, feeling incredibly pathetic. I didn't want to have this conversation face-to-face. Just looking at him made my courage evaporate. I couldn't bear to think about the fact that a man like Declan would never be short of women chasing him, many of them vastly more qualified than me. Why would he choose me? I couldn't handle him rejecting me to my face. We didn't speak another word to each other that night. The apartment was dead silent. Only the faint, metallic clinking of the silver chain could be heard from the bedroom occasionally. I didn't sleep a wink. 6 The entire next day, my mind was completely checked out at work. As luck would have it, it was an incredibly busy day. My manager had us calling clients non-stop. My brain felt like mush, and it wasn't until 6:00 PM that I finally breathed a sigh of relief. Dragging my exhausted body to my apartment door, I took a deep breath and unlocked it. I had wanted to stall and stay at the office longer, but every minute of delay was agonizingly stressful. Ultimately, I decided to just go home and face the music. Ripping off the band-aid was better than dragging out the pain. Besides, there was a small chance Declan actually did like me... During those countless nights of intimacy, he would whisper my name in my ear. At the very least, in those moments when we were locked together, peaking at the same time, I genuinely felt like he loved me. I squeezed my eyes shut and walked inside. The living room was dead silent. You could hear a pin drop. The blood in my veins turned to ice. I took three massive strides and rushed into the bedroom. The bedroom was completely empty. Only a dull, silver chain lay resting on the mattress. The blankets were perfectly folded. The bedsheets were so smooth it looked like no one had ever slept there. The golden evening light filtered through the window, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air. I stood alone in the fragmented light and slowly pressed a hand over my heart. Strange. There was no physical wound, so why did it hurt this much? It felt like that stupid, sentimental organ had shattered itself from the inside, leaving nothing but cold, jagged pieces behind. Whatever, I told myself, my own voice echoing in my chaotic brain. I got to sleep with him for months. Technically, I'm the one who came out ahead. What more could I ask for? From the very beginning, we were never people who belonged in the same world. I reached out and picked up the silver chain. It had long since lost any trace of warmth. Holding it felt like gripping a block of ice.
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