All Chapters of CRUEL OBSESSION: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Noah consumed me. Every little detail about him had carved itself into my memory like an intricate painting—one I couldn't stop staring at, even when I knew I shouldn’t.The way he absently adjusted his glasses when they slipped down his nose. The subtle clench of his jaw when calculus frustrated him. The almost imperceptible drop in his voice when he was angry—or more often, trying not to be.It was maddening. A constant, low-humming awareness that pulsed beneath my skin, a pull so relentless it threatened to unravel me completely. I lingered by his locker more than I cared to admit, pretending to study the bulletin board just for a glimpse of him. And the worst part? I knew, deep down, he felt it too.I had confronted him earlier that week about the kiss—the kiss that had burned through me, leaving an imprint on my soul. It had been reckless, desperate, a moment of surrender to something we had both been fighting for far too long.For the briefest second, I had seen it—the vulnerabi

I saw him before he saw me.Elena stood in the middle of the crowded quad, the late afternoon sun catching in her hair like fire. She was arguing with Cameron, her head bobbing like it was going to come off. And then Cameron leaned in. He knew I was watching.My stomach twisted, nausea hitting me like a sucker punch. I should have looked away; I should have spared myself the torment, but I couldn’t. I was frozen, watching as his lips met hers. It wasn’t some casual, meaningless kiss. It was deliberate, possessive—something meant to be seen, meant to stake a claim. The entire school bore witness.And so did I.Betrayal burned through me, hot and unexpected, leaving behind something sharp and ugly. But why? What right did I have to feel this way? Elena was never mine. I’d never had any claim to her, never belonged in her world.But damn it, she’d kissed me first.That night in her room had changed everything. It was supposed to be nothing—a mistake, a moment of weakness. But I had felt

I stared at my reflection, but the girl in the mirror felt like a stranger. Tonight was the night. Dinner with both families—mine and Cameron’s.My stomach twisted at the thought, a slow, creeping dread curling around my ribs like a vice. The October air seeped in through my half-open window, chilling my skin, but it wasn’t the cold that made me shiver.Fingers trembling, I adjusted the delicate lace collar of my dress, a nervous habit I hadn’t outgrown since childhood. The dress was soft lavender, a shade my mother adored. "Elegant," she had called it, smoothing down its flowing skirt with the kind of satisfaction only she could muster. "Appropriate."Appropriate. How I loathed that word.Nothing about this was appropriate. Not the dress, not the dinner, and certainly not the boy I was supposed to sit across from. But my feelings had never mattered. My father had made that perfectly clear."It’s only right," he had said earlier, his voice firm but patient, as if I were some skittish

I returned to school with a single mission: to reclaim control. Over my emotions. Over my heart. Over Noah Carter.For days, he had wormed his way into my thoughts, an unshakable presence that haunted me in ways I refused to admit. I wasn’t supposed to feel this way. I wasn’t supposed to crave the very thing I’d once looked down upon. So, I did the only thing I knew—I buried it.I made sure my laughter rang through the hallways with my arm draped casually over Cameron’s shoulder and that my smile was wide and radiant whenever he whispered something in my ear. I let him touch my waist, let him pull me close, let everyone see exactly what I wanted them to see.That I was fine.That I was untouchable.That Noah Carter meant nothing to me.But I felt it before I even saw him. His eyes, burning into me like an open flame. When I finally turned, our gazes locked across the hall.Noah wasn’t indifferent.He wasn’t unaffected.There was something dark in his expression, something controlled b

I barely managed to give Julian a flimsy excuse about making a call before I turned on my heel and walked away.The walls of the ballroom seemed to close in, the perfume-laced air suddenly suffocating. My skin prickled with the weight of a hundred expectant eyes, the heavy hum of polite conversation pressing in.“Excuse me,” I murmured, pushing past a cluster of guests, barely registering the champagne glasses that clinked in my wake. My heels clicked against the marble floor as I headed straight for the French doors.The cool night air hit me like a blessing. Crisp, fresh—free.I stepped onto the terrace, gripping the stone railing, my fingers pressing into the smooth surface. Below, the manicured gardens stretched out like something out of a painting, bathed in silver moonlight. A breeze whispered through the hedges, rustling the perfectly trimmed roses, carrying the distant sound of a fountain bubbling.I exhaled, letting the tightness in my chest unravel just a little.And then, a