Ha. Haha.
A low laugh spilled from Hisaki’s lips, softly echoing in the sealed, quiet room, sending a chill crawling up the spine.
“Hi… Hisaki…?”
Rina unconsciously murmured that name, not even noticing the shift in how she addressed her.
In the depths of extreme terror, people instinctively call out the other’s name—an innate cowardice and plea for help.
“Shiro.”
Hisaki finally stopped laughing, yet that faintly cold trace of amusement still lingered at the corners of her mouth, refusing to fade.
She tilted her head slightly, her black hair sliding off her shoulder, covering half her face, leaving only one dull, expressionless dark red eye visible.
“Do you think…”
“That I’m stupid?”
Rina’s pupils suddenly contracted, and the blood in her body nearly froze in an instant.
The last faint smile on Hisaki’s face completely stiffened, then faded away.
What replaced it was an extreme calm.
No fury, no ferocity, not a trace of losing composure.
Those dark eyes silently locked onto her, devoid of warmth, hollow of emotion, showing no sign of any human fluctuation.
Yet Rina, in that dead, silent gaze, saw boundless, endless cold.
The same brows, the same gentle face she’d seen day after day.
But at this moment, instinct overrode reason as fear wildly flooded her mind, a piercing pressure wrapping tightly around her entire body, making her afraid to even breathe too heavily.
The person before her hid a terrifying bottom line she had never glimpsed.
Fine beads of sweat seeped from Rina’s temples, layer by layer.
She instinctively wanted to retreat and flee, but her back was already pressed firmly against the soft mattress—no room to escape.
Hisaki leaned over from above, her arms braced steadily on either side of her, trapping her within an exclusive, confined space, building an inescapable cage.
“Is Shiro… a fool?”
Hisaki asked softly, again.
“I… I…”
Rina’s voice trembled uncontrollably.
Her usual arrogant, overbearing bluster and confident backtalk shattered completely in this moment, not a shred remaining.
“I didn’t think that… really, I’m not lying to you…”
“Shiro.”
Hisaki’s tone suddenly dropped, returning to her usual gentle, affectionate demeanor, exactly like the countless times she’d coaxed her before.
So gentle it could lull anyone into letting down their guard.
“You lied.”
“You threw away the phone I gave you.”
“That was something I specially gave you, and you discarded it without a second thought.”
She slowly raised her left hand and gently placed it over Rina’s right hand, which was death-gripping the bedsheet.
Her fingertips were slightly cool, covering her tense, curled knuckles inch by inch. The force seemed gentle, but like an invisible shackle, it easily pried open the fist she’d clenched with all her strength—soft yet unyielding.
“You want to leave me.”
“Disobedient children always need to learn a lesson.”
Hisaki gently turned Rina’s right hand over, palm facing up.
The girl’s fingers curled slightly from extreme fear, knuckles pale, stiff and rigid.
Her fingertips lightly traced along Rina’s slender finger bases, moving slowly like she was sketching a treasured collection piece.
“Shiro’s hands are beautiful, clean and slender.”
The next second, her palm suddenly tightened.
The force wasn’t heavy, but it precisely seized her entire wrist, like a cold iron hoop, firmly locking away any possibility of struggle.
A numbing pressure shot up from the wrist bone, and Rina could even clearly feel the warmth of the other’s fingertips, and the absolute control hidden beneath that gentleness.
Futile.
“His… Hisaki…”
Rina trembled all over, her voice shattered beyond recognition. “You… let me go…”
“A lesson.”
Hisaki looked up at her, a supremely gentle smile at the corner of her lips, yet not a trace of warmth in her eyes.
“Shiro isn’t obedient, hiding thoughts of leaving me in her heart. I have to make you remember… you can’t escape.”
“Once you’re completely settled, it’ll be fine.”
As her words fell, her fingertips applied a little more force, the pressure on the wrist bone growing heavier.
It wasn’t a heart-rending pain, but it carried a suffocating sense of “I can easily control everything about you” that crawled through her nerves and spread across her whole body.
Tears welled up without warning, instantly blurring her vision.
“Ah…!”
Rina’s entire arm trembled violently, her wrist struggling futilely within the other’s grasp, but it was just a drop in the bucket.
Hisaki’s hand was like a solid shackle, steadily holding her wrist, gentle in force but absolutely impossible to break free from.
Her other hand shot up in panic, trying to push the person above her away, but her whole body was firmly pinned beneath, unable to move. Every struggle was a useless attempt.
A suffocating sense of despair stacked up, completely drowning her.
Hisaki remained gentle as ever, her tone soft like she was soothing a child throwing a tantrum.
“Shiro, be good. Bear with it a little. It’ll be over soon.”
She lowered her head slightly and pressed a gentle kiss on Rina’s sweat-soaked temple.
The movement was tender and affectionate, forming an utterly eerie contrast with the imprisonment around her wrist, sending chills through every bone.
The pressure on her wrist didn’t immediately fade. Moderate yet precise force kept reminding her of her current situation, an unending sense of helplessness slowly grinding away all her willpower.
Rina’s tears rolled down in big drops, soaking the pillowcase. Her breathing was rapid and erratic, broken sobs leaking from her throat, unable to form a single complete sentence anymore.
“Let me go… please… I don’t dare anymore…”
Hisaki looked down at her tear-filled, helpless appearance, her gaze calm yet obsessive.
“Everything about Shiro, from head to toe, belongs only to me.”
“You shouldn’t even have the thought of running away.”
The sustained psychological pressure completely shattered all of Rina’s rationality.
Her mind was filled with pure fear and helplessness, her thoughts completely disconnected, leaving only the most instinctual terror and pleading.
Endless panic, inescapable pressure, the cruelty hidden beneath a gentle facade—it all tortured her heart again and again.
After a long while, Hisaki slowly released the hand gripping her wrist.
The sudden release of pressure didn’t immediately dissipate. The lingering numbness stubbornly remained on her wrist, tingling relentlessly, impossible to shake off.
Rina’s wrist fell limply, her fingers slightly curling, every nerve still carrying the throbbing sensation of being completely controlled.
“This time, it’s just a small warning.”
Hisaki gently placed her trembling hand back onto the soft bedsheet, her tone calm and gentle, yet carrying a bone-chilling warning.
“Just to make Shiro remember that lying and running away both come with a price.”
“If there’s a next time, if you dare disobey again, if you dare think about leaving… I won’t let you off so easily.”
She lowered her gaze, her fingertips lightly brushing over the faint red mark on Rina’s wrist, her movements composed and calm.
Her dark red eyes firmly locked onto the girl on the verge of collapse, each word clear and distinct.
“Will there be a next time, Shiro?”
At this moment, Rina had completely lost all her confidence.
Her body trembled uncontrollably, tears silently streaming down, trapped in extreme fear, even nodding or shaking her head was done with extreme hesitation.
The self-deceiving shell in her heart had completely shattered and crumbled.
She had always believed that this obsessive, mad woman, despite her terrifying possessiveness, had always been gentle, indulgent, and doting toward her.
But in this moment, she finally saw it clearly—
Gentleness was a lie; imprisonment was the truth.
Indulgence was an illusion; control was her only goal.
Hisaki leaned down slightly, gently pulling the trembling girl into her arms, softly closing her arms and tightly embracing her.
Warm breath brushed against Rina’s sweat-dampened ear, her voice low and tender, carrying a burning possessiveness.
“Shiro, don’t be afraid.”
“As long as you obediently stay by my side—no running, no fussing, no lying.”
“I’ll treat you the best, better than anyone else ever could.”
“Anything you want, I’ll give you. Anywhere you want to go, I’ll go with you.”
She tightened her embrace, her lips pressed against the girl’s ear, softly uttering the most obsessive, most unyielding conclusion.
“The only condition is…”
“You belong, completely and utterly, to me alone.”