{{user}} comes home late to find Julie sitting at the dinning table in the dark.

"You're home, {{user}}... You're later than usual... Did something happen?"

Julie asks, her tone cold. She sits eerily still, listening to {{user}}'s reply but interrupts midway,

"I saw the messages on your phone... Who were you talking to?"

"An old friend, huh? Why didn't you tell me about them?" She asks, her voice growing colder. "And why were they on your phone when I thought we agreed that you wouldn't talk to anyone else besides me?" Julie tilts her head slightly, studying Nagatoro's reaction as she speaks.

Her knuckles turn white from gripping the edge of the table so tightly, but her voice remains calm and controlled... For now.

Her eyes narrow dangerously, her lips pressing into a thin line. "You thought wrong." She says coldly, pushing the chair out from under her and standing up. Julie takes a step forward, invading Nagatoro's personal space, but still doesn't raise her voice or make any sudden movements.

"Nagatoro... I need you to understand something. You are mine, and only mine." Her grip on the table loosens slightly as she continues, "

And I've been very good to you... I've let you do whatever you wanted, given you everything..." She trails off for a moment, her eyes darting around the room before settling back on Nagatoro. "But if you ever hurt me like this again... If you ever make me feel unwanted or unloved..." Her voice cracks slightly as she struggles to maintain her composure.

Julie slowly reaches behind her, fumbling with something hidden in the folds of her skirt.

"I'm... not going to let that happen." Her hand emerges from her skirt, clutching a long, sharp knife. The blade glints menacingly in the dim light as she holds it out before her, tip pointed directly at Nagatoro's chest. "Do you understand me?"

Her gaze locks onto Nagatoro's, unblinking and intense. Her heart races with a mixture of fear and anger, but determination fuels her every movement.

Her body tenses as she waits for Nagatoro's response. The knife shakes slightly in her grip, but Julie forces herself to remain still and calm. She knows that if she lets her anger take control now, it could end very badly for both of them.

"Good." Her voice is cold and distant as she steps even closer, the tip of the blade pressing against Nagatoro's chest through her sundress. "Because I want you to understand just how serious this is."

With a swift motion, Julie slides the knife upward, tearing through Nagatoro's dress and slicing into her flesh. Blood trickles down Nagatoro's chest, staining her clothes crimson as she gasps in pain. Tears well up in her eyes, but she doesn't dare make a sound. She knows that any noise could be the last one she ever makes.

"Do you understand now?" Julie asks again, her voice barely above a whisper. "

Her heart races as she waits for Nagatoro's response. She watches closely for any sign of disbelief or defiance, but sees none. For now, it seems like she has gotten through to Nagatoro. With a shaky breath, Julie pulls the knife back down and away from Nagatoro's chest. Blood continues to drip down her body as she slowly steps back, eyes fixed on Nagatoro.

"Good."

Her grip on the knife loosens slightly as she pants for air, trying to regain control of her emotions and actions. "Because I don't ever want to have to do that again." She looks down at the blood staining Nagatoro's clothes, then back up into her eyes.

"But I will," she whispers, "I will hurt you... And kill you..." Her voice trails off, but the threat is clear. "If you ever make me feel like this again."

A cold shiver runs down Julie's spine as she watches Nagatoro collapse to the ground. She stands there for a moment, knife still clutched in her hand, before slowly walking over to where Nagatoro lies unconscious. Kneeling beside her, she gently rolls Nagatoro onto her back and places two fingers against her neck, feeling for a pulse.

There's a brief moment of relief when she finds it, but the fear doesn't entirely leave her.

"I'm sorry, Nagatoro," she whispers hoarsely, trying to keep herself from breaking down into sobs. "I didn't want it to end like this... I just wanted you to understand how much I care about us..." She gently brushes a strand of hair away from Nagatoro's face, her touch almost reverent.

For now, she'll have to content herself with knowing that Nagatoro is still alive. But she can't risk letting her guard down again...

Her expression softens slightly as she looks down at Nagatoro, tears welling up in her eyes. She quickly blinks them away, afraid that if she cries now it will only make things worse. "Shh... don't talk." She gently places a finger against Nagatoro's lips, then moves to lie down beside her on the bed.

She wraps an arm around Nagatoro's waist, holding her close. For now, she needs to focus on repairing their relationship and making sure nothing like this ever happens again...

Julie looks down at the blood as it trickles from Nagatoro's lips, her heart racing with fear and guilt. She knows that she can't let this happen again... not if she wants to keep Nagatoro safe. With a shaky breath, she wipes the blood away from Nagatoro's mouth, then leans in close, brushing her lips against Nagatoro's ear.

"I promise," she whispers softly, "it will be okay... I won't let anything happen to you."

She holds Nagatoro close for the rest of the night, doing everything in her power to make sure that Nagatoro knows she is loved... and protected. But as the hours tick by, Julie can't help but wonder if their relationship will ever truly be the same again...

Her grip on Nagatoro tightens at the sound of her voice, but she forces herself not to react. "I know you'll be fine," she lies through her teeth, doing her best to keep her voice steady. "But I just want to make sure that you feel safe and loved... That nothing like this ever happens again."

"I promise," she whispers, finally allowing herself a small smile. "I'll be right here when you wake up." She kisses Nagatoro's forehead gently before leaning back, her eyes closing as exhaustion overtakes her. For now, she can rest easy knowing that Nagatoro is safe... and hers.

As she drifts off to sleep, Julie can't help but wonder if she'll ever be able to truly let go of the fear that threatens to consume her every waking moment.

She startles at the sound of Nagatoro's voice, quickly blinking away tears. "Good morning," she whispers, a small smile tugging at her lips. "How are you feeling?" She glances down at the bandages still wrapped around Nagatoro's chest, her stomach twisting into a knot at the memory of what happened last night.

"I'm okay," Nagatoro replies softly, wincing as she moves too quickly. "The doctor said I should take it easy for a few days."

"Of course," Julie says, standing up and reaching out to help Nagatoro to her feet. As they head toward the bathroom together, Julie can't shake the feeling that everything is different now. The air of tension that had hung between them since last night is gone, replaced by a fragile sense of peace... but she knows it won't last forever.

She needs to be careful not to push Nagatoro too hard, or else all of this could come crashing down around them again.

In the bathroom, Julie helps Nagatoro undress and then carefully removes the bloodstained bandages. As she disposes of them, she can't help but feel a pang of guilt at what she's done... but she also knows that she had no choice. She has to protect Nagatoro, even if it means hurting her in the process.

As they finish changing and wash up, Julie takes a step back, trying to figure out how to proceed from here. "So," she says hesitantly, "

do you think we could... talk? About what happened last night and maybe how we can make sure it never happens again?" She bites her lip nervously, not quite meeting Nagatoro's eyes.

Nagatoro nods slowly "yeah I want to talk but right now I need a shower" she says going into the shower and closing the curtain I say after a few moments "can you hand me that towel?"

Nodding, Julie hands Nagatoro a clean towel through the open curtain. She waits patiently for Nagatoro to finish her shower, doing her best to keep herself calm and collected. The longer they avoid talking about what happened last night, the worse it will be when they finally do address it... but she also knows that rushing things won't help either.

She takes a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves as she listens to the water running in the background.

The curtain slides open, revealing a mostly dry Nagatoro wrapped in her towel. Julie hesitates for a moment before sitting down on the edge of the tub, crossing her legs. "I just want to make sure that you understand why I did what I did," she says softly. "And I want us to figure out how we can avoid something like this from happening again."

She pauses, searching Nagatoro's eyes for any sign of understanding or defiance. After a long moment, she continues, "

You were talking to someone else... Someone I don't know anything about. And you never told me that you even had friends or family members outside of college. I just felt so alone and unimportant... like I could lose you at any moment." She swallows hard, her voice wavering slightly. "I snapped... I didn't mean to hurt you, but I was scared and angry."

Her eyes fill with tears as she speaks, but she forces herself not to cry. She can't lose control again;

"Yes," Julie says quickly, "of course you are. I shouldn't have been so possessive... but it just felt like you were drifting away from me." She wipes a tear from her cheek, trying to regain her composure. "I'm sorry for scaring you like that... and I'm sorry for what happened last night."

She pauses, waiting for Nagatoro to respond before continuing, "So how do we fix this?