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The second the words left her mouth, whatever restraint Lorenzo had been clinging to snapped.

She turned to storm off but his hand caught her wrist and yanked her back.

She fell onto the bed, breath catching, but before she could move, he was there. Towering over her. Climbing after her.

His mouth crashed down onto hers, rough, frantic, bruising.

Lorenzo kissed her like he was punishing her. Like he hated her for pulling away. Like he hated himself for needing her this much. His hand gripped her jaw, tilting her face as his tongue forced its way past her lips, claiming her mouth with raw desperation. His other hand clutched her waist, dragging her closer, pinning her in place.

Krystal gasped against him, struggling but his mouth moved with such fire, such madness, it made her head spin. His teeth grazed her lower lip, biting down just enough to make her whimper before he devoured her again.

She pushed at his chest with both hands. “Don’t—” she choked out between ragged breaths. “Don’t do that, Lorenzo. Please.”

He pulled back only an inch, breathing hard. His eyes were wild, dark with something between pain and obsession.

But then he gripped her face with both hands and kissed her again, slamming his mouth back onto hers before she could stop him.

This time slower but no less intense.

His tongue slid against hers, coaxing, demanding, tasting every part of her mouth like he needed to memorize it. His lips moved over hers in maddening rhythm. Sucking, nipping, claiming, as if the kiss was the only thing keeping him alive.

She gasped into him.

Her hands rose to push him again but instead, her fingers curled into his shirt.

Lorenzo groaned into her mouth.

She shoved him back a second time, eyes glistening, voice shaking as she stared straight at him.

“Look at me,” she said, every word trembling. “Who am I? I’m not Esther. I’m Krystal.”

His gaze locked with hers. And in that instant, something shifted.

‘I already ruined Esther’s life. I can’t ruin Krystal too by involving her in this mess.’

He pushed himself off her and backed away like the air had burned him, then stormed out of the bedroom without another word.

Krystal slowly sat up, clutching her chest. Everything inside her ached, but the worst pain wasn’t physical—it was the hollow, dragging weight in her heart. She stared at the door, the silence swallowing her whole.

‘How much control does he have on himself when it comes to Esther?’ she thought bitterly. ‘I really should give up now. I was never the one he loved.’

She took a shuddering breath, and dragged herself out of bed. Then she stepped out of the room.

The apartment was silent. Lorenzo was gone.

Then suddenly, a sharp pain knifed through her lower stomach. She staggered, nearly collapsing from the blinding ache.

She reached for the table, grabbing her phone with trembling hands. Her vision blurred as she dialed.

“Darren,” she whispered, barely audible. “Come back to the apartment. Right now.”

There was the sound of a glass dropping on a glass table on the other end, then Darren’s panicked voice. “Be there in five. What’s wrong?!”

She didn’t answer. She hung up, then stumbled out of the apartment, into the elevator, and down to the ground floor.

By the time she stepped outside, Darren had already pulled up, rushing toward her the moment he saw her sway on her feet.

“Hospital,” she croaked, clinging to his arm. “My stomach—hurts so bad.”