"Stop calling yourself Xu Qing," he snarled as his fingers closed on her throat. "You're choking me!" she spat, edges of panic sharpening into sound. Her hands scrabbled at his wrist and missed. "Don't you dare," Huo Jingyi said. His thumb dug under her chin, forcing her mouth open. "Say it again and I'll throw you out myself." "I—" The word she wanted sat heavy behind her teeth. It should have been easy. The name came to her like a flash, a memory that belonged to someone else. She pushed it toward her lips and the pressure at her throat tightened until breath burned. "Don't call yourself her," he hissed. "You aren't her." She coughed. Her vision smeared at the edges. The study lights made the expensive wood panels glow, and the trophies on the shelves blurred into bars. Huo Jingyi's face was a cold mask above hers. "Why are you in my house?" he demanded. "Who gave you permission to play her?" "I—" Her fingers found his wrist, found a crease in his suit and dug in. "I live here." "That's a lie." He crushed the words so her own voice sounded distant. "You know what happens to liars here." She could hear footsteps in the hall. Two housemaids, breath quick, coming up the stairs. One called, "Sir? Do you need—" "Leave us," Huo Jingyi snapped. His grip tightened. "Now." The maid paused. "Sir—" "Leave." They retreated a step, eyes wide, then