Chapter 290: 290/Flashback (23)
Chapter 290:Playing with Fire
Flashback 23 years ago
Author POV
The very next day, Violet’s mother arrived in the countryside, urgency and tension evident in her every movement. She took her daughter and the little grandson, gathered their things, and they all returned to the city under the cover of darkness.
There, Violet resumed her normal life with incredible speed, as if nothing had ever happened, attending university in full elegance and high spirits, while her sister Meredith took custody of the infant Steve, beginning to raise him on formula. But Meredith did so out of sheer obligation and coercion, solely to cover up the scandal and protect the family name; for this reason, she could never love him or provide him with a true mother’s warmth. Over time, all the neighbors bought into the crafted ruse, entirely convinced that Meredith was the one who had been pregnant and given birth to the blonde boy.
Despite the absolute success of the plan, Meredith would occasionally turn and look with utter bewilderment and astonishment at the sheer coldness of her sister Violet. The latter would turn her back with total indifference and walk the other way whenever she spotted the young boy crawling in the living room, refusing to look at her son or hear his voice, as if her chest were entirely devoid of a beating human heart.
Meanwhile, Thomas had returned to frantically chasing after Violet, groveling and pleading through every possible means for her to return to him. Even though his wife had committed suicide because of him and his family was completely shattered and torn apart, his madness and obsession for her blinded him to the wreckage. He wanted to possess her at any cost or price.
He cornered her in a quiet hallway one day, telling her in a broken, humiliated tone as he tried to grasp the edge of her palm that he wanted her desperately, and that he had searched for her everywhere to no avail. But Violet aggressively shrugged her hand away, rejecting him completely and slamming the wooden door right in his face without a shred of mercy or a single backward glance.
A full year after that secret birth of Steve in the countryside, life opened a thrilling new Chapter for Violet. Their paths crossed once more when she headed to the very same public park the exact green, serene spot that held their previous memories. She was sitting upon the ancient wooden bench with ease and spontaneity, playing with the locks of her long, silky hair with her delicate fingers, her eyes drifting across the horizon in boredom. Suddenly, the sunlight was blocked out from her, and she found him standing before her in his full, towering height and commanding presence that forced hearts into submission.
Morgan didn’t grant her a single chance to catch her breath or speak a word of welcome. Instead, he advanced directly toward her with wide, confident, and steady steps that rattled the gravel beneath his shoes. Without any preludes or introductory phrases, he bent over her with his powerful frame, completely shadowing her, and caught her small jaw with the iron grip of his strong fingers. Then, he locked his lips over hers, kissing her with all the raw force, violence, and consuming longing he possessed. Violet offered no notable objection, moving not a muscle to resist or pull back; rather, she let out a hot, warm sigh that melted into his deep kiss, returning it with an equal, explosive passion, while her palms rose to grip the fabric of his dark jacket, clutching it tightly like someone holding onto life itself.
He pulled back a fraction of an inch, breathing rapidly as his chest rose and fell heavily. Then, he sat directly beside her on the same wooden bench. Locking his sharp, dark gaze into the depths of her eyes, he spoke in a firm, raspy, and hoarse tone that betrayed the extent of his yearning: "It has been a very long time since we’ve been away... huh?"
She tilted her head to the side with a touch of coquetry, a feigned coldness settling over her features to hide the erratic pounding of her heart. She answered lightly: "Perhaps... a little."
Morgan drew even closer, completely erasing the distance between them until his hot breath brushed against her pale skin. He asked in a tone heavy with raw possessiveness: "Tell me now... don’t you want me in your life after all this time?"
A playful, mysterious, and seductive smile played upon Violet’s lips, and she spoke in a tone dripping with allure and playfulness: "Hmm... a difficult question. Let me think about it thoroughly first."
Morgan clenched his jaw so tightly that his muscles flexed, his words coming out with an obvious lack of patience and sheer annoyance: "You’ve thought more than enough and crossed the lines. I cannot wait or stall for a single second longer."
She looked into his serious eyes with a gaze full of defiance and audacity, saying in a provoking tone: "And what will you do if I don’t agree? Will you force me to come with you against my will?"
Upon hearing her defiant words, he didn’t speak. Instead, his hand moved with a rapid, mechanical reflex. He placed his broad, warm palm over her neck, pressing his fingers with a light, calculated pressure that sent her breath racing sharply in her chest. Then, he tilted her head back slowly, exposing her bare, white neck entirely before him, speaking in a low voice full of dominant control and authority: "If you truly want to test that side... I will do it without hesitation."
In that stormy moment, Violet felt a delicious, hot, and piercing shiver run through the entirety of her body, seeping into her bones. Deep down, she loved Morgan’s dominant, overpowering strength; it captivated her how he treated her with a hidden tenderness and a tangible violence at the same time.
This strange, contradictory mix drove her emotions into madness and impulse she, who had never been crazed by men a single day in her life, utterly indifferent to their presence or flattery. For the first time in her heart, she felt that Morgan was entirely different from everyone she had known and rejected before.
She spoke in a faint, cracked voice, completely submissive to his dominance while her neck remained captive, resting complacently between his strong yet gentle fingers: "I want to see it for myself... I want to know to what extent your manhood can force me."
His dark eyes widened with a sharp, predatory gleam, like a hunter who had found his perfect prey. He said in a decisive tone: "With these words, you are asking for trouble and playing with fire, Violet."
She fired back without blinking, her eyes flashing with an uncharacteristic audacity and absolute courage: "And I... my true obsession in this life is danger."
Morgan released her neck very slowly, his fingers dragging softly over her skin before his hand came to rest inside his jacket pocket. Then, he rose from his seat with a straight, towering posture, looking down at her from above with stiff features that suddenly shifted into a cold numbness. He said in a powerful voice: "Follow me then, without too many words. I want to show you, with your own eyes, the danger that is knocking at your door the danger you love so much."
