The Billionaire's Forbidden Obsession

Chapter 15

Aurora stood frozen, her mind racing. She looked at her frail father sleeping in the hospital bed, his heart monitor ticking away. Then she looked down at Leo and Liam, who were clutching her coat, their wide, dark eyes darting between her and the towering, terrifying man in front of them.

If she screamed, if she fought his guards, she would wake her father. The shock alone could kill him. And her boys—she couldn't let them witness their mother being dragged out by security.

She had no choice. For now, she had to play his game.

"Fine," Aurora said, her voice dropping into a cold, dangerous whisper. She stepped closer to Adrian, forcing him to look down at her. "I will go with you. But you will not touch my boys. You will not speak to them in that cold, threatening voice. If you frighten them even once, Adrian, I swear to God I will find a way to make you regret it."

Adrian’s jaw clenched, but the harsh, icy look in his eyes softened just a fraction as he looked at her. A dark, possessive satisfaction settled over his features.

"I would never hurt my own sons, Aurora," he murmured, his voice deep and raspy.

He stepped back, giving her space to guide the boys. Aurora kept her arms wrapped tightly around Leo and Liam as they walked out of the hospital room. Adrian walked right beside her, his body acting as a shield, blocking her from the sight of anyone else in the hallway.

When they reached the private rear exit of the hospital, Marcus was already waiting with the black SUV. The doors were open.

Marcus looked at Aurora with an apologetic expression, but she ignored him. She helped the twins into the back seat and climbed in after them. Before she could slide to the opposite side, Adrian climbed in right behind her, shutting the door.

The space in the SUV instantly felt microscopic.

Adrian sat incredibly close to her. He didn't touch her, but his shoulder was pressed against hers, his thick, expensive cedarwood scent completely filling her senses. Aurora kept her eyes fixed on the window, refusing to look at him, but she could feel his heavy, burning gaze on her side profile.

Down on the seat, Leo was staring openly at Adrian.

"Who are you?" Leo asked suddenly, his sharp, childish voice cutting through the heavy silence of the car.

Aurora’s heart leaped into her throat. She went to pull Leo closer to her, but Adrian beat her to it. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, bringing himself down to the little boy’s eye level.

"My name is Adrian," he said. His voice wasn't cold or ruthless anymore. It was quiet, incredibly gentle, and carried a strange, shaking warmth that Aurora had never heard from him before. "I am... a friend of your mother’s."

"You have my eyes," Leo observed, pointing a small finger at Adrian’s face. "And my hair."

Adrian let out a low, breathless sound that was half-laugh, half-sob. He reached out, his long, scarred fingers trembling as they hovered near Leo’s cheek. He wanted to touch him so badly, to feel the warmth of his son's skin, but he restrained himself, not wanting to scare the boy.

"Yes," Adrian whispered, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "We have the same eyes."

"Don't," Aurora snapped quietly, her voice trembling with anger. She pulled Leo back into her lap, wrapping her arms around his chest. "Don't do this, Adrian."

Adrian slowly sat back in his seat, his face turning cold again as he looked at her. But the raw emotion in his eyes didn't fade. He kept his gaze locked on his sons for the entire forty-minute drive.

When the SUV finally pulled through the massive iron gates of Adrian’s forest estate, Aurora’s chest tightened.

The modern fortress looked exactly as it had five years ago—isolated, sleek, and heavily guarded. But as they parked in the underground garage and took the private elevator up to the main floor, Aurora noticed a massive change.

The cold, empty, museum-like interior was gone.

The polished concrete floors were covered in thick, soft rugs. In the corner of the grand living room, a massive, state-of-the-art play area had been set up, filled with brand-new toys, books, and small easels. A team of professional, warm-looking staff stood in a neat line, bowing their heads respectfully as they entered.

Marcus had clearly worked fast. The moment Adrian knew she had returned, he had ordered his entire home to be remodeled for children.

"Mrs. Ellen," Adrian called out, gesturing to an older, kind-looking woman in a nanny's uniform. "Take Leo and Liam to the playroom. Prepare some food for them."

The twins looked at Aurora, waiting for her approval.

"Go on, sweeties," Aurora whispered, kissing their foreheads. "Mommy will be right here. I promise."

The boys hesitated, but the sight of the giant toy castle in the playroom was too much to resist. They let go of her hands and ran toward the nanny, leaving Aurora and Adrian completely alone in the center of the massive living room.

The moment the playroom door shut, the silence rushed back.

Aurora spun around to face him, her eyes flashing with pure fury. "How long, Adrian? How long are you going to keep us here?"

Adrian walked toward her, his steps slow, quiet, and predatory. He didn't stop until he was standing directly in front of her, his chest almost touching hers.

"Forever," he said flatly.

"You're insane!" Aurora shouted, pushing her hands against his chest to force him back. But his body was like a solid brick wall. He didn't move an inch. "I have a life in Europe! I have a job, I have friends, my boys have a school! You can't just kidnap us and think we are going to play happy family with you!"

"You think I care about your life in Europe?" Adrian hissed, his hands suddenly coming up to grip her shoulders, his fingers digging into her coat with a desperate, wild intensity. "I spent five years in hell, Aurora! Every single morning I woke up in an empty bed, wondering if you were dead or alive. I drank myself to sleep. I ruined my family. I turned my companies into weapons just to find a single trace of you! And the entire time, you were raising my sons in another country!"

"Because you are a monster!" she yelled back, tears of anger and exhaustion finally spilling over her lashes. "Look at you! You're doing it again! You're locking me up, you're controlling me, you're treating me like your property!"

"I don't want to treat you like property!" Adrian roared, his voice cracking with a sudden, devastating vulnerability that completely caught her off guard.

He let go of her shoulders, his hands moving down to slide around her waist, pulling her flush against his hard, shaking body. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, his hot breath brushing against her skin as he held her so tightly she could barely breathe.

"I don't want to lock you up," Adrian whispered, his voice cracking with raw pain. "I just... I can't breathe without you, Aurora. When you left, the light in my world went out. I tried to be cold. I tried to be the ruthless CEO everyone wanted me to be. But I was dying. Please... just let me hold you. Just let me have my family."

Aurora froze.

The absolute desperation in his voice made her chest ache. She wanted to hate him, she wanted to push him away, but as she felt his strong body trembling against hers, the memories of the only man who had ever truly loved her—even if that love was a dark, suffocating madness—flooded her mind.

"Adrian..." she whispered, her hands slowly rising to rest against his back.

Before she could say anything else, the heavy oak doors of the estate's main entrance were pushed open.

"Adrian!" a sharp, hostile voice echoed through the grand foyer.

Aurora’s head snapped toward the door.

Standing there, looking older, bitter, and completely disheveled, was Damian.