The hot soup soaked through his suit, scalding him, but Justin barely noticed. He leaned forward, grabbing her delicate wrist and pulling it insistently toward himself. "Let me see. Does it still hurt?"

"Let go..!" Bella struggled, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Don't move. You're still injured!" Justin's breathing deepened as his fingers tightened around her slender wrist.

Her tearful eyes glistened as she waved her bandaged hands in front of him. The sight of Bella was pitiful and absurd, yet she carried an inexplicable charm clumsy, endearing, and heartbreakingly fragile.

Memories of their past flooded Justin's mind. His gaze fixed on her, a storm brewing in his once icy eyes.

In the next instant, his mind turned blank.

His thin, dry lips, parched from too much restraint, suddenly pressed against hers.

He could feel her soft, trembling lips quivering under his. Their noses brushed against each other, and their breaths intertwined as he kissed her.

His attempt was clumsy and unrefined, showing his inexperience, like a teenager exploring love for the first time. His teeth grazed her tongue, eliciting a sting, yet she silently accepted it.

Even this awkward kiss ensnared her. She could not help but lean into it willingly. It was as if she drank every bitter medicine in the world just for this single moment of sweetness even if there were shards of glass hidden in the sugar.

enveloped her, melting and consuming

sharp, explosive pain shot through Justin's temple, plunging his vision into a momentary haze. He

with surprise. Her lips, now kissed into a

the sharp pain anchoring him. Only when he was on the brink of severing his own tongue did the torment subside enough for him

suppressed the beast within, imprisoning it deep inside. Only then could he maintain a semblance of humanity before Bella, rather than a creature spiraling between man

with Grant. Don't see him again... Please?" His voice, hoarse and

already broken up? You were the one who ended it. What right do you have to dictate my choices now?" Bella's voice sharpened,

smile tinged with mockery. "What's wrong? Can't bear to see what once belonged to you now

each other once. I just don't want to see

inside pocket of his

said what I needed to. Bella, you don't have

he turned and strode toward

now?" Bella's voice called

paused, closing his eyes briefly

torment me," Bella

Justin left with

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