Samuel's twisted features were inches from Elise's face.

She met his gaze with icy detachment.

A wave of humiliation churned in her stomach, making her feel sick.

Samuel seemed to relish her discomfort. A cruel smile twisted his lips. "Do you regret how you treated me?" he sneered. "I begged you. I groveled for a chance to work with you, and you showed me no mercy! Do you regret it now?"

"The only thing I regret is ever loving you!" Elise spat, her voice a venomous hiss. Her cold eyes locked with his. "The memory makes my skin crawl. It makes me want to vomit!"

"Elise Scott!"

Samuel's fists clenched, his knuckles turning white. Her words had struck a nerve.

In a swift, brutal motion, his hand shot out and closed around her throat.

Pain exploded in her neck. The pressure intensified, cutting off her air.

If she died by Samuel's hands, her soul would never find peace!

Yet, she refused to beg. Her eyes, burning with furious tears, remained fixed on his face. If this was the end, she would memorize every grotesque detail of his features. If there was an afterlife, she would haunt him until he paid in blood.

Suddenly, Samuel released her.

No matter how much he hated the defiant hatred in her eyes, he didn't have the courage to kill.

He wouldn't throw his own life away for her.

Elise gasped, coughing violently as air flooded back into her lungs. For a terrifying moment, she had truly believed she was going to die, even though logic screamed that Samuel was too much of a coward.

He just wanted to taste the power of revenge. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

"Elise, don't push me to kill you," Samuel threatened, his voice low and dangerous.

Elise ignored him. She wouldn't waste another breath on this man.

Samuel stood up and moved away from her. He pulled a small, innocuous-looking pill from his pocket and held it out for her to see.

Elise's eyes narrowed on the pill. A flicker of raw panic shot through her, betraying her forced calm.

"Scared now?" Samuel mocked.

"What are you planning to do?"

"Do?" He let out a dark, lust-filled laugh. "Elise, we were together for three years, and I never laid a finger on you. Yet, you jumped into William's bed so easily! Don't you think you owe me some payback for trampling all over my pride?"

Rage boiled inside her. "You didn't touch me because Sophia kept you more than satisfied! Did you ever think about me when you were playing the cheating scumbag?!"

"If you hadn't been so cold, could Sophia have seduced me? Our breakup is your fault! You're the one who shut me out! Your stubbornness is what pushed me toward Sophia! But I should thank you. Your icy heart led me to a woman who loves me a thousand times more than you ever could!" Samuel finished, his voice rising to an agitated shout.