Knox and I got into the car.

In the rearview mirror, Jared stood there dazed, engulfed in exhaust fumes.

Knox always drove very fast, but whenever he was driving me, the ride would always be smooth and steady. He turned the music down and kept glancing at the rearview mirror.

"Princess," he said softly. "You're not going to abandon me again this time, are you?"

I didn't answer him. I just turned my head and studied him.

I hadn't seen him in ten years. His hair was still that same half-long, half-short length, sticking up a little in places. Those usually sharp, ruthless-looking eyes were now blinking at me, making him look kind of cute.

I couldn't even reconcile him with the boy who'd once clung to me, crying and begging me not to leave.

Knox had been sent to my family when he was a kid.

When I went bird-nest raiding, he'd bring the ladder. When I cursed someone out, he'd hand me the knife. When I skipped school, he'd take the scolding for me.

We grew up together. And the day I was told I was supposed to marry him, I completely lost it.

Who could accept marrying someone—being lifelong partners—when that person knew every single embarrassing thing about them?

There were just some boundaries that shouldn't be crossed.

Without a second thought, I ran to find him, thinking he'd stand with me like always. Instead, I found out that he was a shameless boundary-crosser.

In the bedroom he'd always forbidden me from entering, I found photos of me covering the walls. And he just stood there, motionless, staring at them, a dark flush spreading across his face.

"Knox Ferris!"

I'd only shouted his name once, but his whole body shuddered, his legs nearly giving out beneath him.

I saw every part of him that day.

I was 19 years old that year—still at the age where I felt awkward and shy. He, on the other hand, was like a seasoned veteran at 19, far more experienced at losing control.

Morning, noon, and night, he went crazy over me, like a dog wagging his tail nonstop.

Finally, I couldn't stand the heat of his devotion anymore. I grabbed my suitcase and fled from Wolmere to Sunridge.

For a full ten years, I knew he'd been watching me from the shadows. Yet the feral dog never once made a sound.

Knox turned the wheel and pulled into the driveway of a house.

I was stunned for a second. I hadn't expected him to live this close to me.

"Princess, all of this is territory I've claimed for you."

He parked the car and leaned his handsome face close to mine, his eyes sparkling. His expression screamed, "As long as my territory's big enough, you'll stay by my side."

I really couldn't stand the slightly dumb expression on his face, and I stepped out of the car. But the corner of my lips curled into a smile against my will.

I walked into the house, with Knox following behind me, talking nonstop about everything he'd done over the past ten years.

Unable to take his endless yapping, I grabbed him by the collar and shoved him down onto the bed. But he flipped us over in an instant, pinning me beneath him instead.

Through the thin fabric, his body heat scorched every inch of my skin. He stayed perfectly still, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

When he finally spoke, even his voice was hoarse. "Princess, please, just give me a chance, okay? Just once? Please, I'm begging you… Don't hate me."

Knox's arrogance clashed violently with his restraint and obedience.

Those slightly upturned eyes held a desperate, suppressed plea, and he forced himself so hard that tears welled up instinctively. Yet, he still propped his body up, unwilling to press his full body weight on me even a little bit.

I raised my hand, slowly tracing from the bridge of his nose down to caress his soft, red lips.

As if granted permission, Knox gently kissed my fingertips, each touch achingly tender.

I studied him closely.

The raw, almost beastly life force in him was once something I'd desperately avoided. But now, I realized that a person like this—someone covered in sharp thorns yet who showed only gentleness and restraint toward me—was truly the sweetest confession of love.

"Knox," I said, lightly patting his shoulder. "Get up."

He visibly shuddered at the sound of my voice. Still, he straightened his arms, lifting his body little by little.

"I'm tired," I said softly.

He stared at me. His shimmering eyes looked as though they'd overflow with tears at any second, but his mouth said the opposite.

"Okay."

He closed the door gently from the outside. Then came a loud bang.

I didn't need to look to know that he was kicking the wall to vent his frustration. I couldn't help but curl my lips into a smile. He really had mastered the art of swallowing his anger rather than letting out even a single word.

Listening to his footsteps fade, I suddenly realized Jared was right. It was people like Knox Ferris—arrogant and overbearing—who really seemed alive.

Once upon a time, I had been like that too. But that version of me no longer existed.

I slowly raised my hands, staring at my pale, slender fingers in a daze. Ten years ago, these hands had been smooth and full, gripping reins and vaulting over walls. Now, they only bore the marks of holding a pen.

I could barely even remember that I'd once been so alive as well.

The past ten years had changed me after all. Just like how my skin had turned pale, the calm composure I'd learned when grappling with life and death had carved itself into my bones.

At the end of the day, I was human, not a machine. I couldn't just delete ten years of memories on command. Luckily, after all my wandering, I'd finally come back to where I started.

I dialed the internal line. "Knox, let's get married."

I could clearly hear the person on the other end trying to suppress his excitement. I hadn't expected him to be this thrilled.

…

The next morning, before I even woke up, my phone started chiming repeatedly.

"Sweetheart, you're finally getting married. I can finally relax now."

"Don't bully Knox, you little menace."

There were more than a dozen messages just from my parents alone, and countless more from my relatives.

Only then did I learn that my family hadn't looked for me in the past ten years because they'd assumed that I'd been with Knox all along.

I glanced at Knox, who was peeking nervously from outside the door. Suddenly, he reminded me of a golden retriever—adorable-looking but actually full of mischief.

He noticed I was looking at him, and as if a secret signal had been exchanged, he charged straight toward me.

"Princess, what do you say we get married on April 7?" he asked, his eyes sparkling.

I raised an eyebrow and gave a slight nod.

He immediately pulled out his phone as if presenting me with a priceless treasure.

On the company's official website, he'd already announced our wedding date, and the comments below were already flooded with a long string of congratulations.

He watched me cautiously. I smiled helplessly.

Before I could say anything, my phone rang.

"Gabrielle, you left something at my place. Come pick it up," Jared said.

Knox's brow instantly tightened. He pressed down on my hand and kissed me hard. The air was so fiercely stolen from my lungs that I even felt dizzy for a second.

In that instant, I realized that a touch of wildness had appeared in those docile-looking eyes of his.

As if he couldn't get enough, the kiss deepened. His arm tightened around my waist, and I couldn't help but let out a soft gasp.

Satisfied, he gave my cheek a quick peck, then leaned close to the phone. In a husky voice, and with each word drawn out into something unmistakably suggestive, he said, "Mr. Sheppard, you'll have to bring it over instead. My princess seems… a little preoccupied right now."