Chapter 5: The End of the Night and Shattered

The door to the room swung open and slammed shut, the electronic lock clicking coldly, isolating the inside world in an absolutely soundproof space.

Carmen staggered toward the bed, his breath ragged, his chest heaving beneath his disheveled uniform. The aphrodisiac in his blood felt like thousands of red-hot needles piercing his nerves, burning away the last vestiges of reason in the General.

Rei woke with a start, before he could fully regain his composure, a large dark figure had fallen upon him. Carmen's hands, as strong as pliers, gripped his wrists tightly, pinning them to the mattress.

"Carmen! You're insane... let go!" Rei cried out in panic, his face pale in the dim light.

"Silence..." Carmen growled softly, his voice hoarse beyond recognition. His eyes were bloodshot, staring intensely at his best friend's trembling lips.

He was no longer gentle. The possessiveness accumulated over the past eight months, coupled with the effects of the drug, had transformed him into a wounded beast. Carmen brutally tore off Rei's delicate silk dress, regardless of her struggles and choked curses. The strength of a battle-hardened soldier rendered Rei's resistance futile.

In the suffocating space, only the sound of tearing fabric and the creaking of old shackles seemed to haunt her mind. Rei, who had struggled fiercely, gradually became helpless. When the excruciating pain overwhelmed her, she bit her lip until it bled, her eyes closed, tears streaming down onto the pillow. She began to give up, her bitter acceptance evident in the way she stopped resisting, allowing Carmen to unleash all her lust and insane passion upon her body.

That night, the perfectly soundproofed room swallowed the mournful moans and the shattering of a ten-year friendship.

The Next Morning: Late Regret

The weak morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, illuminating the ruins in the room. Carmen woke up, his head throbbing. Looking down at the person beside him, his heart felt like it was being squeezed.

Rei lay there, pale and exhausted. Haunting bruises were clearly visible on her fair skin, her eyes swollen and staring blankly at the ceiling with a terrifying emptiness.

"Rei... you..." – Carmen trembled, reaching out to touch her.

"Get out." – A single word escaped from lips colder than an ice cellar.

Rei tried to sit up, but the pain in her lower back made her groan and collapse. The severe injury from the previous night had left her legs completely numb, temporarily paralyzed. Carmen panicked, losing all composure of a General; he hastily lifted her up, ignoring the disgust in her eyes.

Throughout that day, the villa was shrouded in a suffocating atmosphere. Carmen canceled all meetings, personally went into the kitchen to cook porridge, and personally brought warm water to wipe Rei's body.

"Eat a little, Rei. I'm sorry... it's because of the medicine..." He knelt beside the bed, spooning porridge close to Rei's mouth, his voice pleading and humble.

Rei turned away, her anger now a solid stone wall. She no longer cursed, but the silence was a thousand times more terrifying. Every time Carmen touched her, she trembled with revulsion.

The powerful General, the one who had held the fate of the country in yesterday's meeting, was now awkwardly caring for a teenager, trying to clean up the shards of glass he himself had shattered.

"Some wounds can be healed with medicine, but some betrayals will leave even shackled feet unable to move."

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