Even after the tender lips were broken and bleeding, the attack continued.

Blood stained their lips and teeth, though it was not certain whose blood it was.

What started as a simple kiss turned into a bloody entanglement.

Finally, Nicole wasn't able to hold back her grief any longer. A salty tear slid down her cheek, scalding Jarrod's thin lips.

It was only then that Jarrod paused. Suppressing the desire surging within him, he finally let her go.

A crisp smack echoed through the bathroom. The moment Jarrod released Nicole, Nicole's palm landed solidly on his cheek.

Nicole felt her palm tingling from the impact. After all, she had delivered the slap with full force.

Blood streaked the corner of Jarrod's mouth, and his eyes darkened.

With a dangerous gaze fixed on Nicole, he touched his lips with his tongue and licked away the blood.

Then, suddenly lowering his head, he let his lips trace the path where Nicole's tears had fallen.

Nicole's eyes glimmered in surprise. She hadn't expected this madman to dare to kiss her again. She raised her hand high, but this time, he grabbed her wrist and blocked her.

On the swollen side of Jarrod's face, his lips curled up into a sinister smirk.

“Every slap you give me will be paid with a kiss. And for every ten slaps..." As Jarrod spoke, he let his hand drift to the hickey on her collarbone and circled it. With a chuckle, he finished, “I'll claim you!"

Nicole's pupils dilated for a moment and then gradually returned to calmness. When a person's emotions accumulated to a certain extent, the body's self-defense mechanism would kick in, shutting down those emotions like pressing a switch.

To Nicole, showing any emotion to Jarrod, even anger, felt like a waste. She closed her eyes. When she next spoke, her tone was vacant, as if her soul had left her. “Jarrod, people die every minute in this world. Why aren't you one of them?"

A hollow chuckle left Jarrod's lips. "Remember this well. You will always be mine. Even if I die, I'll make sure you remember me for a lifetime."

After saying that, Jarrod scooped Nicole up in his arms and carried her back to the bed. Then, he went and fetched a burn ointment.

While applying the ointment on her scalded hand, he coldly remarked, “Do you think I'll let you go because you're doing something stupid like this?"

Now that their relationship had reached an impasse, Jarrod was ready to go to any lengths necessary to keep her in his grasp.

The struggle just now had drained too much of Nicole's strength. She was too exhausted to have this conversation with him now. Staring blankly out the window, she responded in a tone devoid of any emotion, "I'm tired. Can you leave?"