CHAPTER 300: CHAPTER 300; YOU ARE NOT DYING...

Huo Ting Cheng’s eyes narrowed, but he still didn’t rise. His silence was heavier than any roar, more dangerous than any threat.

Finally, Tang Fei stormed toward the door, yanking it open with shaking hands, only to freeze.

Two guards stood there, expressionless, unyielding. Their eyes did not meet hers, they didn’t need to. Their mere presence made the truth sink in. She wasn’t going anywhere.

Her heart thundered in her chest. "Move!" she demanded, her voice hoarse with rage.

Neither of the guards shifted. The hall behind them stretched empty, her freedom already stolen.

Behind her, Huo Ting Cheng’s voice slid through the air, low and merciless.

"Fei’er."

She turned back slowly. He was still seated, still watching her with that cold, unwavering fire, as though he already owned the outcome.

"You can scream, you can throw, you can fight until your hands bleed." His lips curved upwards, and not of a smile, but something darker and sinister. "But you won’t step past that door without my permission. And that... is final."

Tang Fei’s vision blurred with tears of frustration. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides as the reality of her cage closed in.

For the first time, she realized just how terrifying his love could be. She was experiencing how suffocating his love and care could get.

Tang Fei staggered back from the door, the guards’ stillness pressing against her lungs like stone.

She slammed the door shut with a hollow thud, her back pressed against it as if she could block out the truth she had just seen.

Her chest rose and fell in ragged bursts, her palms trembling.

Across the room, Huo Ting Cheng finally shifted. He leaned forward, the lamplight catching on the hard planes of his face, his injured arm resting loosely against his knee.

"Finished?" His voice was low, stripped of emotion. He had seen her act like this and it wasn’t the first time.

Tang Fei’s lips parted, a retort burning on her tongue, but no sound came. Her fury had turned into something more dangerous, helplessness.

He stood up slowly his actions measured, and just like a shadow swallowing the last flicker of light. Every step he took toward her felt tense, and inevitable.

Her nails dug into her palms. "You... you can’t keep me here forever."

The corner of his mouth twitched, not of a smile, or amusement, but of something more cruel. He braced one hand on the door above her shoulder, caging her in without even touching her.

His other hand, the uninjured one, held her chin and tilted it up, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"Forever?" His tone was a whisper of mockery. "Fei’er, I don’t need a forever. I only need you now. Who knows, I might just break your legs to make you stay put!

Her breath hitched, her pulse thundering against his calmness.

"You will break me," she whispered, trembling.

Finally, his eyes softened, or perhaps they only grew darker, impossible to tell. His thumb brushed her cheek with startling gentleness, a contrast so sharp it hurt more than his coldness.

"That," he murmured, his lips near her ear, "is the point. I like it when you are sensible, docile, and calm...."

The words sank into her like iron shackles. She wanted to shove him away, scream at him, claw her way through the walls. But his nearness, his scent, the unyielding heat radiating from his body, it wrapped around her like a chain, and no amount of fury could undo it.

Tang Fei didn’t move and she couldn’t.

And Huo Ting Cheng smiled, faintly, ruthlessly, because he knew, he had to win and was in control.

Tang Fei’s nails dug into her palms as the air caught in her throat. She squatted getting out of his arms, as she stumbled back from the door, her chest heaving as though the very walls were squeezing the breath out of her lungs.

Her sobs tore free, ragged and loud, filling the study. She staggered, clutching her chest heavily..."

"I... I can’t..." Her voice cracked. "I can’t breathe!"

Her knees buckled, hitting the carpet with a soft thud. She pressed her trembling fingers to her throat as though clawing for air, her body convulsing with desperate gasps.

For a long, unbearable beat, Huo Ting Cheng stood there frozen. His eyes, sharp and unyielding a moment ago, flickered with something else, alarm. He walked over to her from the door.

"Fei’er!" His voice was sharper now, no longer calm, and no longer in control.

She collapsed further, curling into herself, her cries devolving into frantic, shallow breaths. "I... I can’t... breathe... Ting Cheng...."

The sound of his name breaking on her tongue made his jaw tighten. He crouched low, one hand gripping her shoulder firmly, the other forcing her chin up so she would face him.

Her tears streamed unchecked, mixing with her smeared fury. Her gaze blurred in and out, but she caught it, the brief crack in his cold mask.

Panic.

He could see panic in his eyes!

"Look at me." His tone was low, clipped, as though forcing steadiness where there was none. "Breathe in... Slowly.... With me."

Her lips trembled as she dragged in sharp, erratic gasps, her hand clawing desperately at his shirt as though he were her only anchor.

"I... I’m dying... Ting Cheng..."

"I can’t breathe... I can’t...."

His heart lurched, foreign, and unwelcome. The ice in his veins gave way to a rush of fire as he pressed his palm against her back, drawing her against his chest.

"You are not dying," he ground out, his voice almost unrecognizable in its urgency. "I won’t let you."

He dragged her into his arms holding her securely.

Her tears wet his shirt. Her fragile body shook in his arms, and though a part of him knew she was unraveling in more ways than one, another part, deeper, unguarded, was gripped by the fear of losing her.

She felt it....