The Billionaire's Forbidden Obsession

Chapter 9

The kiss ended, but Adrian didn’t pull his hands away. He kept his fingers tangled in the hair at the back of her head, forcing her to keep her face close to his. He was breathing heavily, his dark eyes scanning every inch of her face as if checking to see if she was still real, if she was still actually standing in his kitchen.

"You're shaking," Adrian whispered, his thumb lightly brushing against her temple.

"You just threatened to put your brother in prison, Adrian," Aurora said, her voice barely steady. Her hands were still flat against his chest, feeling the heavy, rapid thud of his heart. "Of course I'm shaking. You have completely ruined your family. What are your parents going to say? What will the board do when they find out about this?"

"I don't care about the board, and my parents have nothing to do with this," Adrian said coldly. He finally let go of her hair, but his hand slid down her neck, his fingers resting right over her collarbone, feeling her racing pulse. "I told you. Damian is a coward. He won't say a word to anyone because he loves his freedom and his money too much. He will sign the papers, and he will disappear. That is the end of him."

"And us?" she asked. "What about us? I am living in your house, wearing clothes you bought, and everyone in the city is going to wonder why the great Adrian Ashford is keeping his brother's ex-wife hidden away in the woods."

"Let them wonder," Adrian said.

He took her hand, his fingers locking with hers, and led her out of the kitchen. He walked her down a long, glass-walled corridor that led to the back of the estate.

The house was incredibly quiet, but it didn't feel lonely anymore. It felt crowded with his presence. Every corner of the building belonged to him, and now, so did she.

Adrian stopped in front of a pair of heavy double doors at the very end of the hall. He pushed them open, revealing a massive, beautiful room. One side of the room was completely made of glass, looking out over a private, hidden lake in the middle of the forest. The room was filled with blank canvases, professional easels, rows of expensive oil paints, and brand-new brushes still in their packaging.

Aurora stopped, her jaw dropping.

Before she had married Damian, she had been an art student. She had loved to paint, loved the feel of the brush in her hand. But Damian had hated the mess. He had told her that a woman of her status had no business staining her fingers with paint, so she had locked her easels away in the attic and never touched them again.

"How did you know?" she whispered, stepping into the room. Her fingers lightly touched the edge of a blank canvas.

"I told you, Aurora," Adrian said, standing right behind her. He didn't touch her, but his shadow completely covered her. "I have watched you for a year. I noticed the way you looked at the art galleries we went to. I saw the sketchbooks you tried to hide under your bed at the old house. I know everything about you."

A warm, confusing emotion swelled in her chest. For a year, she had lived with a husband who didn't even notice when she changed her hair or bought a new dress. But this younger boy, this silent "junior brother" who had always ignored her at dinner, had been paying attention to every single detail of her life.

"I bought this estate six months ago," Adrian whispered, his hot breath brushing against the back of her neck. "And the very first room I designed was this one. I built it for you, Aurora. I spent months choosing the right light, the right brushes, the right views. I knew that one day, I would bring you here."

Aurora spun around to face him. "Six months ago? You were planning this back then?"

"I've been planning this since the moment I saw you walk down the aisle in that white dress," Adrian confessed, his face completely serious, his dark eyes burning with a terrifying, heavy obsession. "I saw you marry my brother, and I knew it was a mistake. I knew he would ruin you. So I built this cage, and I waited for the right moment to lock you inside."

"You speak about it so easily," she said, her voice trembling. "Like I’m just a bird you wanted to capture."

"You are," Adrian said, stepping closer until his chest was pressed against her shoulder. "But you are my only bird, Aurora. And I will never let anyone else touch your cage."

Before she could answer, the heavy double doors of the art room opened.

One of Adrian's security guards stood in the doorway, looking nervous. He bowed his head, not daring to look at Aurora, who was still wearing the cream silk dress Adrian had bought her.

"Mr. Ashford," the guard said quickly. "Your assistant is on the line. The lawyers have delivered the divorce papers to Damian’s hotel in Chicago. He... he is refusing to sign. He says he wants to speak to Aurora first."

Adrian’s face went completely cold in an instant. The warmth in his eyes vanished, replaced by a ruthless, icy rage that made even the security guard take a step back.

"He wants to speak to her?" Adrian asked, his voice dangerously quiet.

"Yes, sir. He says he won't sign a single paper until he hears her voice."

Adrian slowly turned his head to look at Aurora. He reached out, his hand wrapping around her wrist in a tight, possessive grip that left no room for escape.

"He wants to hear your voice, Aurora," Adrian whispered, his eyes locking onto hers. "Let's go tell him what he needs to hear."