"Good. You understand the key point."
Rui Griffin's voice was calm.
Then, without any warning—
"Let's get married."
"…What?"
Reina froze completely.
For a second, she genuinely thought she was still half-asleep.
Her fingers pinched her thigh under the blanket.
Pain.
Real.
Her expression slowly tightened.
"…Mister," she said carefully, "this isn't funny."
"I'm not joking."
Rui's tone didn't change at all.
He placed a document on the table beside her.
"Sign it."
Reina hesitated.
Her gaze lowered.
A marriage registration contract.
Her breath paused for a fraction of a second.
"…You're serious?"
"Completely."
Rui leaned back slightly, watching her.
"You will become my wife. Legally."
His voice was calm, but absolute.
"Only one. For life."
That last sentence felt less like a promise—
and more like a sentence being delivered.
Reina slowly picked up the document.
Her fingers were steady, but her eyes were not.
"…We've barely spoken," she said. "And you're proposing marriage?"
Rui's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Second time."
Reina frowned.
"What second time?"
"That night."
The room went still.
Reina's expression sharpened instantly.
"That wasn't a meeting," she said coldly. "That was an accident. Something manipulated—"
"Was it?"
His voice was quiet.
But it cut through her words cleanly.
Reina's jaw tightened.
"…You're really going to use that?"
Rui studied her for a moment.
Then said calmly—
"You left."
Reina paused.
"That's not—"
"You left," he repeated, slower this time. "And didn't look back."
Silence.
Reina exhaled sharply.
"That wasn't a relationship. That wasn't anything."
Rui tilted his head slightly.
"Then what do you think it was?"
Reina looked at him.
"…A setup," she said after a pause. "A trap. Something I never chose."
Rui didn't deny it.
He simply observed her.
That silence was heavier than agreement.
Then he spoke again.
"You're half right."
Reina's eyes narrowed slightly.
Rui continued.
"That night wasn't the beginning."
A pause.
"It was confirmation."
"…Confirmation of what?" she asked quietly.
Rui leaned forward slightly.
Not aggressive.
But in control.
"That you were already inside my reach," he said. "Whether you knew it or not."
Reina's grip tightened on the document.
"That's insane."
"Maybe."
His expression didn't change.
"But you still haven't thrown it away."
Reina looked down at the paper again.
Her hesitation was small—but real.
Rui noticed it.
Of course he did.
He always did.
"You don't have to understand everything now," he said.
His voice lowered slightly.
"But understand this."
Reina looked up.
Rui's gaze was steady.
"If you walk out of this room as Reina Yuki alone…"
A pause.
"You won't survive what comes next."
Silence filled the room.
Reina stood still.
Anger was still there.
Suspicion too.
But underneath it—
something else had formed.
Uncertainty.
Because for the first time since everything collapsed…
this wasn't just revenge or humiliation.
It was a choice between standing alone
or stepping into something she couldn't yet see the bottom of.
Rui leaned back again.
Calm.
Patient.
"Decide when you're ready."
The document stayed between them.
Unsigned.
But no longer meaningless.