"Sir, lunch is ready." As Charles approached, George quickly stepped up, acting like he didn't notice the woman in his young master's arms punching and pinching him.

"Bring it to the room," Charles said flatly, loosening his hold on Ashley, then marched into the room with her in his arms.

"Behave yourself. Don't make me angry." He gently placed her on the bed and reached for her hand, worried the bedsheets might've scratched her palm.

But Ashley dodged.

The second her feet touched the ground again, she tried to dart past him for the door.

Her sudden move snapped that rare softness in him. Without much effort, he reached out and grabbed her back with one hand. "Still trying to run?"

"You might as well just kill me!"

Backed into the room again with the door blocked, Ashley's bright eyes flared with frustration, her cheeks flushed red with fury.

"You-" Charles clenched his jaw, all the patience and gentleness were buried deep inside, with anger ready to explode, when George's nervous voice called from the doorway, "Sir, lunch is here."

Charles took a deep breath, then another, forcing the anger down. "Serve Miss Carter."

"I'd rather starve than eat anything from you!"

"Oh yeah?" Charles didn't seem mad-instead, he smiled coldly. He yanked her back into his arms so that their bodies pressed together. "Well then, I don't mind feeding you by mouth."

"You... you wouldn't!" Ashley stared at him, speechless. Was he joking or seriously out of his mind?

"Bring the food over," Charles ordered without looking back, a cold smirk on his face.

The servant rushed the meal cart over.

He picked up a fork, stabbed a piece of foie gras and put it in his mouth. Seeing her eyes go wide in disbelief clearly amused him; the grin in his eyes deepened. He didn't chew, just held the bite as he slowly leaned in toward her.

Oh my god, he's actually doing it!

"Fine! I'll eat, okay?!" Ashley saw his face getting closer by the second. Panicked, she threw her hands between them and turned her head away.

Satisfied with her surrender, Charles finally stopped and straightened up.

"Keep an eye on her. I don't want to hear about her trying to run again," Charles told the nearby bodyguards, his tone sharp and no-nonsense.

"This is illegal detention! You can go to jail for this!" Ashley stared at him, shocked that he was still going through with keeping her locked up.

"Then let's see who's got the guts to put me in jail," Charles shot back before letting go of her and walking straight out of the room.

"Wait! Don't just leave! Let me go! What's the point of locking me up like this?" Ashley rushed forward, trying to catch up.

"Miss Carter, please stop right there," one of the guards stepped in, blocking her path politely but firmly.

"Your boss really got the wrong person! I swear I'm not who he's looking for!" Ashley raised her right hand as if taking an oath.

"Please don't make things difficult for us, Miss Carter." The guards bowed slightly and shut the door in her face.

Seriously? Is there no one here who's capable of having a normal conversation?

She turned around with a heavy sigh, staring at the now closed door.

"Miss Carter, your meal is ready." George announced, his voice formal and emotionless.

Miss Carter this, Miss Carter that. One of these days, they're gonna drive her insane with all that politeness.

Even though every fiber of her being screamed not to, Ashley reluctantly walked over and picked up the fork. She wasn't about to wait till that jerk decided to feed her himself. Knowing him, he might actually do it.

"Hey... can I borrow your phone for a sec?" She looked up at George, trying her luck.

"Sorry, Miss Carter. That's not something I'm allowed to do." George gave her an apologetic smile.

"I just remembered something urgent. It'll only take a minute, I swear!" She pressed on, unwilling to give up so quickly.

"Then I shall inform the young master. You may tell him directly," George replied, already turning to leave.

"Wait!" Ashley panicked. Bringing that guy back was the last thing she wanted. "Actually, never mind. It's not that urgent anymore. No need to bother him."

"As you wish, Miss Carter. Please enjoy your meal." George resumed his butler stance.

So much for the rescue mission. Ashley lowered her head in frustration, turning her attention back to the food on the table.

The dishes looked and smelled amazing, no doubt... but they tasted like nothing to her.

Huh... the fork?She glanced at the fork in her hand, and a sudden idea popped into her head.

It was already past nine when Charles finally wrapped up work and returned to the villa.

As soon as he got back, he asked about Ashley's situation that afternoon. After George's report, he gave a small nod of approval.

While they talked, Charles had already arrived outside Ashley's room.

He waved George off, and the latter bowed slightly before turning to leave.

Inside, hearing the click of the doorknob turning, Ashley instinctively tensed up by the door, tightening her grip around the utensil in her hand. Her palms were sweating, and her hands kept trembling-this was her first time doing anything like this.

With a muffled "click," the door opened from the outside, and Charles stepped in.

"Don't move!" Ashley jumped out from beside the door, hands trembling as she pointed a dinner fork straight at his stomach.

She had originally aimed for his neck-artery and all-but well, the height gap was... not in her favor.

"Sir!" The guards stationed at the door instantly rushed in, surrounding her.

"Stay back! One more step and your boss might not walk out of here alive!" Ashley yelled, pretending like she might stab him at any moment, though her hand shook visibly.

The guards hesitated, looking ready to tackle her.

"Leave," Charles said coldly, tone sharp.

"But sir..." The guards didn't dare budge, eyes still locked on Ashley's fork.

"Did I stutter? Get out." He didn't even spare them a glance; his full attention was on the woman before him. It should've been just another day, but somehow, the way she tried to kill him... made his chest ache a little.

"Yes, sir." They exchanged a few uncertain glances before stepping out, clearly uneasy.

"You going to kill me now?" Alone with her, Charles angled his head toward Ashley, eyes dark and unreadable, so intense it made her almost drop the fork on the spot.

"I didn't want this... You pushed me into it..." She shook her head as she spoke, voice cracking with emotion. Even though her knees felt weak from fear, she forced herself to appear tough, blurting out, "If you've got any sense, let me go now... or I won't be the one held responsible for what this fork might do."

Charles shut his eyes tight for a moment, then suddenly took a step forward. The move startled Ashley-she gasped, eyes wide. That fork in her hand almost jabbed into his stomach. She screamed and stumbled back, panic written all over her face. "You-you..."

"With that shaky hand, you think you can really kill me?" His voice was calm, almost bored. He stepped closer, crowding her backward until-bam-she hit the wall, hard.

He towered over her, trapping her between his chest and the wall. Looking down at the top of her head, his voice lowered with subtle amusement and something darker. "Want me to show you how it's done?"

"No need!" Ashley shrank in on herself, trying to sound fierce but it came out weak and panicked. "You better let me go right now or you'll see blood! Knife bloody in-no, wait-clean in, bloody out-ugh, whatever!"

She looked like she was going to cry from her own idiotic mix-up. Ugh! She wasn't trying to be a joke, seriously-it was just nerves!

Trying to pull herself together, she forced a straight face. "Look, this knife doesn't care who it stabs. If you get hurt, don't say I didn't warn you!"

"Really?" He let out a low chuckle, all patience gone. In one swift move, Charles grabbed her wrist, easily twisting her arm until the fork slipped from her grasp.

She barely had time to blink. Just like that-boom-he had her. For real? That fast? Couldn't she have at least gotten one hit in?

"I wasn't ready this time," she snapped back, trying to save face. "But if you keep me locked up here, sooner or later, I'll find a way to kill you!"

"You want me dead that badly?" Charles narrowed his eyes, grip tightening just a bit on her wrist.

"I'd kill you right now if I could!"

"Go ahead then. Be my guest," he said flatly. He reached over and grabbed a small fruit knife from the table, swapping it with the fork in her hand. "Take this-easier to get the job done."

Ashley stared, completely baffled. "What is this supposed to mean?"

He didn't say anything. Just took her hand, now holding the knife, and pressed the blade right over his heart.

"Just aim here. One good push-and you're free."

"You... you seriously think I won't do it?" Ashley's hand trembled more as she gripped the knife. What on earth was this guy playing at?

"Go ahead, give it a try." Charles guided her hand, the tip of the blade digging slightly into his chest.

This was a standoff between them-he was betting on his life. If she really did it, he'd admit defeat.

"You're crazy!" Ashley freaked out as his blood quickly seeped through his white shirt. The knife dropped from her hand.

This guy didn't play by the rules at all!

Normally when someone tries to stab you, wouldn't you stop them? Who does something this insane-pushing the knife into themselves?

"Didn't you say you wanted to kill me? Well, here's your chance. Why'd you back off?" Charles clenched her hand in his, not letting her pull away.

Come on, she wasn't actually trying to stab him! Even if you gave her all the guts in the world, she couldn't go through with it!

She just wanted to threaten him so he'd let her go. Worse case, if she failed, surely he'd be too paranoid to keep someone like her-a ticking time bomb-around.

But he didn't react like a normal person at all. Instead, he actually helped her stab him?!

Completely nuts!

"Let go! You're hurting me!" Ashley struggled harder, trying to wrench her hand from his grip.

As she fought him off, Charles's grip just got tighter.

Does it hurt? Guess what, the pain you're feeling doesn't even come close to what you've done to me.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Can't you see you're bleeding? Do you not care if you die?" Ashley's voice wavered, panic rising as more blood soaked through his now scarlet shirt. She reached out, trembling, trying to put pressure over the wound.

"Oh, dying would make things easier for you, wouldn't it?" Charles stared at her clumsy movements and let out a bitter laugh, hollow and broken.

God knows-even if she hated him, she'd never truly wished him dead!

Watching her flustered and helpless, Charles felt something burst inside. He finally let go of her hand, snatched the blood-stained fruit knife, and stormed out of the room.

"Sir, what happened?" George hurried over when he saw him covered in blood.

"Call Kevin," Charles said, gritting his teeth through the pain.

"Yes, right away!" George didn't dare waste a second. He grabbed his phone and dialed Kevin's number.

Kevin White was the Blackwood family's private doctor. He was just in his early thirties, but already had a solid reputation in the field.

Fifteen minutes later, he arrived.

"Luckily the wound's not too deep. I've treated it, and it should heal up in a while. Just make sure it stays dry over the next few days." Kevin wrapped up the wound neatly.

Charles sat there shirtless, a white bandage wrapped diagonally from his shoulder to his waist.

His mind was still with Ashley. She really wanted to get away from here, huh? Probably for that other guy. The thought ignited a jealous rage he couldn't shake.

"Everything okay, sir?" After Kevin left, George helped him pull on his robe, his voice full of concern.

"You think some tiny cut like this would take me down?" Charles fired back with an icy glance.

"No, sir, that's not what I meant." George hesitated, then decided to speak on Ashley's behalf. "I don't think Miss Carter really wanted to hurt you. The stab wasn't that deep."

"I stabbed myself," Charles replied coldly.