Chapter 384

When Ethan Roscente's lips brushed Sophia Lowell's forehead, she caught the metallic tang of blood in the air.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here."

His voice was as gentle as a spring breeze, yet it made her eyes sting. How many times had this man appeared like a guardian angel during her darkest moments, soothing her trembling soul with those same words?

Sophia looked down at her bloodied sleeve. The crimson stain bloomed like a macabre spider lily.

"You bitch! I'll kill you!"

The deranged scream came from the ground. The attacker staggered to his feet, sunlight glinting off the knife in his hand. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Sophia with feral hatred.

Ethan stood motionless as a fortress before her. She could only see the rigid line of his back, unyielding as a castle wall.

As the man lunged, Ethan pivoted with lethal grace. His fingers closed around the assailant's wrist like steel traps. A single fluid motion—the sickening crack of breaking bone echoed through the air.

"Ahhh—!"

Amidst the screams, Ethan picked up the fallen knife. When the blade pressed against the man's throat, Sophia saw the storm of violence in his eyes—a sight more terrifying than any demon from hell.

"Ethan!"

The moment she called his name, he turned. Those usually tender eyes now burned crimson, like moons drenched in blood.

Her trembling fingers closed around his hand. Through their connected skin, she felt the boiling fury beneath his surface.

"He's not worth it," she whispered. "Don't dirty your hands for trash like this."

Blood dripped from the knife onto the man's face like grotesque raindrops. Ethan's arm remained suspended, veins bulging with restrained power.

Finally, the metallic clang of the discarded blade shattered the frozen silence.

Ethan frantically wiped his bloodied hands on his ruined designer suit. As he tore off his tie, Sophia noticed the barely perceptible tremor in his fingers.

"Make another sound and you're dead."

His movements were methodical as he bound the whimpering madman to a tree, but his voice carried Arctic frost. The would-be killer instantly fell silent.

The sunlight still danced across the scene, but Sophia knew—some fractures could never be mended.