Chapter 17LOVE OR OBSESSION?RYAN,I wanted to stop.I wanted to do the right thing—to turn away, to focus, to face Emily. But I couldn’t.The obsession had already taken root, wrapping itself around my thoughts like ivy, suffocating every rational decision I tried to make. It wasn’t just curiosity anymore. It was something darker, something that pulled me toward Elena in ways I couldn’t explain.Something that was becoming impossible to ignore.Eddy and I strolled down the hallway after lectures, the usual chatter of students filling the air. Laughter, hurried footsteps, the occasional slam of a locker—it all blurred together into meaningless noise. My mind was elsewhere, trapped in a maze of questions that led back to only one answer: Elena.She had been missing from school for days now, and no one seemed to be talking about it. Professors came and went all the time, but something about her absence didn’t sit right with me. It felt... off. Like a piece of the puzzle had been ripped
Chapter 0018MIND GAMES...ELENA,Becoming Emily’s tutor was not an easy task.I had known from the moment I accepted the position that it wouldn’t be a smooth ride. But I had underestimated just how deep the hostility between us ran.It wasn’t just resentment—it was something more. Something deliberate.Emily had been watching me, studying me, and though I couldn’t prove it, I knew she was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.And yet, I couldn’t understand why.I wasn’t with Ryan. I never had been. It was Ryan who had been obsessed with me, not the other way around. If anything, I had spent the majority of my time pushing him away.So why did Emily seem so fixated on me?The first day of our lessons arrived too soon, and despite my unease, I forced myself to move with confidence. Whatever game Emily was playing, I refused to let her see my doubts.As I stepped into the study hall, a strange hush settled over the room. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, casting long shad
CHAPTER 0019 THE UNVEILING RYAN, Curiosity ate at me—relentless and unshakable. It lingered in my thoughts like a constant hum, refusing to fade. At first, it was just a quiet warning, a voice in the back of my mind telling me to stay away. But the more I ignored it, the stronger it became, growing into an obsession I couldn’t escape. I knew I should have stopped thinking about her. I knew I should have walked away. But no matter how much I tried, it was impossible. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her. Every time I tried to focus on something else, her name echoed in my mind, drawing me back into something I had no business being part of. Now, as I gripped the steering wheel, the city outside blurred into streaks of neon lights and shifting shadows. New York stretched endlessly before me—a rush of honking taxis and hurried pedestrians—but none of it mattered. I wasn’t part of that world. My mind was locked on one thing. One person. Elena. I had no reason to go near her
Chapter 0020WEB OF CONTROLEVAN,I knew something was off the moment Mr. Damian requested Elena. There was an edge to his voice, a subtle condescension that grated on my nerves. He made it seem like a favor, as if he were offering her some grand opportunity. But I knew better. This wasn’t about Elena’s skills. It was about proving a point—to me.Mr. Damian had always been difficult, impossible to impress, but I never expected him to seek out Elena personally. The moment I realized why, irritation turned into something darker. He wanted her to tutor his daughter. That was it. Not because he respected her, not because he thought she was better suited for anything beyond this—but because she was convenient.And yet, as much as I resented it, I saw the advantage. If she worked for them, she would be in their home, close enough to hear things I couldn’t. She would have access to conversations, information—leverage. This could be useful. No, it would be useful.The first day of her lessons
Chapter 0021BOUND BY LOVE OR OBSESSION...RYAN,I stood outside her house again. I told myself I wasn’t stalking her, that I wasn’t obsessed, that I wasn’t violating every unspoken rule by standing here in the dark, watching. But deep down, I knew the truth. I had followed her here—just like I had trailed her to work, to the café she always stopped at, to the bookstore she visited on weekends. I had memorized the rhythm of her life, traced the patterns of her existence like an addict chasing a high.I couldn't stay away, no matter how hard I tried. Not after discovering the truth—she was connected to my family, and I needed to know how. Elena was married to my uncle. That knowledge alone had carved something hollow inside me, leaving a raw, gaping wound festering with unanswered questions. What happened to Jonathan? Who was the man she married? Why did she stay? None of it made sense. The Elena I knew—brilliant, strong-willed, passionate—would never allow herself to be trapped. So wh
Chapter 0022TWISTED DEVOTION.RYAN,I barely remembered getting back to my car.One moment, I was inside that house, drowning in the suffocating tension between us, searching—begging—for something in her eyes. A flicker of the past, a crack in her armor, any sign that she wasn’t as indifferent as she pretended to be. That she wasn’t lying to me. That the connection we had wasn’t just an illusion I’d built in my mind.And then, in the next breath, I was outside.The night air hit me like a slap—cold, sharp, cutting through the heat burning beneath my skin. I barely noticed.My fingers curled around the steering wheel, squeezing so tightly that my knuckles ached, the pressure sending sharp jolts of pain up my forearms. My pulse pounded at the base of my skull, a brutal, unrelenting beat that refused to settle. Each breath came too fast, too sharp, pulling in the scent of damp pavement, gasoline, and the faintest trace of her lingering on my skin.I was drowning in it.The scent of her.
Chapter 0023BETRAYAL IN THE DARK.EVAN,I couldn’t shake the shock from my mind. Who the hell was that guy, and why had he rushed to save her? The question burned through me, feeding the fire already raging inside. My fists clenched at my sides, my pulse hammering as I glared at Elena. My breath came in sharp, heated bursts.She brought him here.That realization hit harder than anything. This wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t a coincidence. She had brought him—to my house, into my space—as if she had the right."So, you have the audacity to bring your boyfriend into this house?" My voice was low but laced with fury, dripping with venom. "You date children now? And you come here to hurt me?"Elena’s eyes widened, and she took an instinctive step back. I saw it—the flicker of fear in her gaze. A dark satisfaction curled inside me.Good. She should be scared."I—I don't know what you're talking about," she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper.I scoffed, stepping closer, closing the
Chapter 0024SHATTERED VOWS.ELENA,My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. No matter how hard I tried to still them, the tremors wouldn’t go away. My back remained pressed against the cold wall where Evan had cornered me, his fury seared into my mind like a brand I couldn’t erase.The moment his fist slammed into the wall—just inches from my face—something inside me shattered. Fear, raw and unfiltered, coiled in my chest, suffocating me from the inside out. It was as if all the air had been forced out of my lungs, leaving behind nothing but a hollow ache and the echoes of his rage.I had seen Evan angry before. I had seen him reckless, dangerous even. I knew what he was capable of. But tonight was different. Tonight, I saw something in his eyes that I had never seen before. Something dark. Something possessive.I wrapped my arms around myself, struggling to breathe. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, drowning out rational thought. He had looked at me like I was his possession, something that b
Chapter 0087SAVED BY A STRANGERELENA,The man’s words hung in the air, charged with something I couldn’t quite place. They were heavier than I expected, their weight sinking into me like the last moments of a storm, just before the rain finally stops. I was still trying to process everything—his speed, his power, the way he shifted the entire atmosphere with just his presence. Every inch of the room seemed to bend toward him, and for a moment, I couldn’t remember how to breathe. But then his gaze lingered on me, and I noticed a subtle shift in his expression. It was fleeting, but it was there: a flash of something I recognized. Something so familiar, so deeply embedded in my memory that it made my heart skip. It wasn’t a flicker of recognition—no, this was deeper. It was more like a pull in my chest, a tug at my soul. I stared at him, blinking rapidly, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. The man in front of me—his sharp jawline, the intensity of his gaze, the way he stood l
Chapter 86RENEWED HOPE...ELENA,The air grew thick with tension as the man stepped into the dim light. At first, he was just a shadow, a silhouette cutting through the haze, but as he moved closer, his features sharpened. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with sharp, angular lines carved into a face that seemed both familiar and foreign. My eyes struggled to place him, to dig through the haze of memory and confusion and fear. Something about him triggered a strange feeling deep in my chest—a jolt of recognition that didn’t make sense. Who was he? Why did he feel like a name I had once known, spoken in the dark?But more than anything, it was his presence that unsettled me. His very energy thrummed with something primal, dangerous. The way his storm-grey eyes locked onto Jonathan was terrifying—cold, calculating, but also burning with something deeper, something older. I felt it in my gut, like an instinct carved into bone: this man was not to be underestimated. And yet, I wasn’t afraid
Chapter 0085THE END BEGINSELENA, The warehouse was cold—bone-deep, soul-sinking cold. The silence stretched around me like a noose, thick and suffocating, wrapping tighter with each passing second. I sat in the hard metal chair, my wrists bound, the coarse texture of the chains biting into my skin. My hands trembled, though I tried desperately to still them. The faint clinking of the chains echoed off the concrete walls, too loud in the oppressive stillness.Jonathan’s presence loomed before me, his tall frame casting an elongated shadow beneath the flickering overhead light. His gaze, piercing and merciless, landed on me again. I could feel the chill of it against my skin, like ice sliding down my spine. But I refused to look at him. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Instead, I focused on the shadows pooling in the corners of the room—dark, yawning stretches of black that seemed to breathe with silent menace.Time blurred. Seconds bled into minutes, minutes into a dragging, di
CHAPTER 0084FREEDOMELENA,The car engine rumbled beneath me, its sound a low growl that matched the dark promise in Jonathan’s eyes. The night outside blurred into streaks of black and gray, the headlights cutting through the darkness like a razor. We were speeding away from everything I thought I could trust, everything I once believed was safe.I could still feel the blood on my hands—Evan’s blood. The weight of it was unbearable, as if it had soaked into my very soul. The sensation of his dying body in my arms, his breath faltering as his life drained away, haunted me. The last words he had whispered to me before he died echoed in my mind."Run."But where was I supposed to run now?Jonathan’s gaze was steady, almost predatory, from where he sat across from me. His presence loomed over me, cold and calculated, like a predator studying its prey. His fingers rested casually on his knees, his posture relaxed, as though none of this—none of the devastation he had caused—bothered him
CHAPTER 0083 THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK ELENA, Blood. It hit me first—sharp, metallic, unmistakable. The air thickened with it, seeping into my lungs, into my senses, suffocating. I didn’t need to look to know that Evelyn had cut me. Just enough to hurt. Enough to remind me this nightmare was real. But even that pain didn’t seem to matter. Because standing before me, materializing from the darkness like a ghost, was him. Jonathan. Alive. Smiling. I couldn’t breathe. My body trembled, not from fear, but from the shock of seeing him. This wasn’t possible. I had watched him fall. Watched his world burn to ashes. Yet there he was, standing in front of me, his eyes drinking in my disbelief. “Hello, sweetheart,” Jonathan said, as if nothing had changed, as if years hadn’t passed, as if he’d just returned from a casual business trip and not from the grave. I could barely keep my grip on consciousness. My body was stiff, frozen in place, caught in some cruel illusion.
Chapter 0082ELENA'S PAST.ELENA,Still lost in my thoughts, I noticed a shadow passed behind Evelyn.A tall figure stepped into the light, the realization made my heart stopJonathan.i recognized him in that instant, he had been here before and now here he was again. Tall and broad-shouldered, dressed in charcoal gray, his black hair still sharp at the edges, his jaw just as defined as the day I walked away. But it was his eyes that undid me—icy blue, like a frozen lake just before it shatters. Calculating. Cold. Dangerous.“Hello, Elena,” he said, his voice smooth like silk pulled too tight over a blade.I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think. Every nerve in my body was screaming—but I was frozen in place, trapped in a nightmare that had come back to life.He looked me over slowly, like a collector appraising an artifact he thought lost.“You look… different,” he said with a smirk. “But then again, so do I.”The words, his tone, the very air around him—it all cut deeper than I wanted t
CHAPTER 0081BETRAYED AGAINELENA,The cold had seeped into everything. Not just the air around me—it was inside me, coiled around my ribs, buried deep in my muscles, swimming through my blood like ice water. It had been hours. Or maybe longer. Time had unraveled, stretched thin and meaningless, and I was left trying to grasp onto something real—some thread of thought that could anchor me.But there was nothing. Only pain and silence.The ropes binding me to the chair were no longer just restraints; they were part of me now. Twisted into my flesh. My wrists had gone numb long ago, but I could still feel the phantom pulse of pain where the coarse fibers had carved their signature. My ankles were just as bad—throbbing, raw, and heavy. I’d tried to shift, to move, but even that slight defiance had drained what little energy I had left.I was beyond exhaustion. Dehydrated. Starving. My lips were split open, my throat a desert that begged for water. My head throbbed with a dull pressure, a
CHAPTER 80UNDER ATTACK.ADRIAN,"Boss, maybe we should confirm before heading to the docks—" I said to Evan skeptical about going into the docks without full information."Just drive," Evan barked, cutting me off.His voice was sharp, tight with urgency, leaving no room for argument. The air in the car was thick, charged, and heavy with something just shy of violence. My fingers curled into fists as I stared out the windshield, my heart hammering like a war drum, each beat a reminder of how much time we were wasting.I didn’t argue after that.The tires screeched as he swerved through the late-night traffic, weaving between cars like a predator hunting in the dark. Streetlights flashed past in bursts of white and gold, the reflection shimmering on the wet pavement as we tore forward, leaving nothing but the roar of the engine behind us.I pulled out my phone, fingers moving fast as I dialed.One ring.Two.Three.And then it went up to voicemail.Damn it.I muttered a curse under my
Chapter 0079 A GHOST ELENA, I laid down in the room, my mind filled with who the man was and what he wanted from me. For the first time, I wanted Evan to be here. If he was, he would be able to get me out of here. I was Evan's captive, but I wasn’t locked up with darkness crawling up over me. The darkness had been there, but now— The darkness was worse this time. It wasn’t just an absence of light—it was a presence. Heavy. Watching. I could feel it pressing in, curling around me like an unseen force, suffocating yet intangible. My breath came in shallow gasps, each inhale filling my lungs with the taste of dust and fear. The cold slithered over my skin like skeletal fingers, wrapping around me in a suffocating grip. I drew my knees to my chest, tucking myself into the smallest space possible, as if that could protect me from whatever lurked beyond the void. I didn’t know how long I had been here. Time had ceased to exist in this place. The silence stretched endlessly, coiling