Chapter 6: Obessesion In The Dark
1474 Words
Rain crashed violently against the mansion windows as silence swallowed the balcony whole.
Vivian stood motionless near the doorway, her silk robe hanging loosely around her trembling body while her eyes remained locked on Elvis.
Cold.
Possessive.
Broken.
Lena immediately rose to her feet.
“Mom—”
“Don’t,” Vivian snapped sharply without looking at her. “Don’t call me that right now.”
Elvis slowly stood as tension thickened dangerously between them.
Vivian’s eyes moved toward Lena briefly before returning to him.
“You really chose her,” she whispered painfully.
“No one belongs to anyone here,” Elvis replied quietly.
That only made her laugh bitterly.
“You still don’t understand.” Vivian stepped closer slowly. “I gave you everything.”
“Elvis never asked for any of it,” Lena fired back.
Vivian finally looked at her daughter fully.
“And you think this is love?” she asked coldly. “You’re obsessed with winning.”
Lena’s jaw tightened.
“At least my feelings are real.”
The statement hit Vivian harder than expected.
Because deep down…
She feared it was true.
For the first time in years, Vivian felt old.
Replaceable.
And Elvis had become the terrifying reminder of everything she lost — youth, passion, desire, attention.
Meanwhile Lena represented everything Vivian hated seeing in the mirror.
Freedom.
Beauty.
Time.
Vivian’s eyes slowly returned to Elvis.
“Tell her the truth,” she demanded.
Elvis frowned slightly.
“What truth?”
“That you only stayed for money.”
Silence.
Lena looked at Elvis instantly.
Vivian stepped even closer.
“Go on,” she whispered cruelly. “Tell her what you told Marcus.”
Elvis exhaled heavily.
“Yes,” he admitted. “At first, I stayed because I needed the money.”
The truth landed heavily between them.
But Lena didn’t move.
Didn’t flinch.
Because somehow…
She already knew.
“What changed?” she asked softly.
Elvis looked at her for several painful seconds before answering honestly.
“You.”
Vivian’s breathing became uneven again.
“No,” she whispered immediately. “No. You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
Vivian shook her head slowly like someone losing grip on reality.
“You can’t love her.”
“This isn’t about you anymore.”
The words destroyed the last bit of control she had left.
Vivian’s eyes filled instantly with tears she refused to let fall.
Then suddenly she smiled.
But the smile looked frightening.
“You think this ends happily?” she asked quietly.
Neither Elvis nor Lena answered.
Because the truth was obvious.
Nothing about this situation could end peacefully anymore.
Vivian stepped backward slowly.
“You brought destruction into this family,” she whispered to Elvis.
Then she turned around and disappeared back inside the mansion.
Leaving heavy silence behind.
Lena immediately looked toward Elvis.
“She’s losing it.”
Elvis rubbed exhausted hands over his face.
“No,” he murmured. “She already lost it.”
—
The next few days became unbearable.
The scandal exploded across the city completely.
Paparazzi camped outside the Cole mansion.
News articles spread endlessly online.
People dissected Elvis’ old nightclub videos like entertainment.
And elite society enjoyed every second of the humiliation.
Because wealthy people loved watching scandals destroy each other.
Especially scandals involving s*x, obsession, and power.
Unfortunately, Elvis became the perfect target.
Women online mocked him.
Men insulted him.
People reduced his entire existence to one word:
Stripper.
As if that alone made him worthless.
Inside Velvet Room Club, things became worse.
The moment Elvis walked inside, whispers followed him everywhere.
Some dancers stared sympathetically.
Others laughed quietly.
Tasha immediately noticed the exhaustion on his face.
“You look terrible.”
“I feel worse.”
She handed him a drink before leaning against the counter.
“The internet is brutal right now.”
Elvis laughed bitterly.
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
Tasha hesitated briefly before speaking carefully.
“The club owner is nervous.”
His stomach tightened immediately.
“What does that mean?”
“It means rich clients are complaining.”
Elvis closed his eyes briefly.
Of course they were.
Scandal only entertained people from a distance.
Nobody wanted to be personally connected to it.
“I gave that club everything,” Elvis muttered.
“And now they’re scared you’ll ruin business.”
Anger burned inside him instantly.
Not because he was surprised.
Because he was tired.
Tired of being disposable.
Tasha softened slightly.
“You should leave the city for a while.”
“With what money?”
“You still have Lena.”
Elvis looked away immediately.
Because that was exactly the problem.
Lena made him want things he stopped believing in years ago.
Peace.
Love.
A future.
And men like Elvis rarely got those things.
—
Meanwhile, the Cole mansion had transformed into emotional warfare.
Vivian barely left her room anymore.
Marcus spent most of his time dealing with media damage control.
And Lena openly refused to hide her relationship with Elvis.
Which only worsened everything.
“You’re embarrassing this family further,” Marcus snapped during dinner one evening.
Lena looked unimpressed.
“This family embarrassed itself.”
Marcus slammed his fork down angrily.
“You sound just like your mother.”
That struck a nerve instantly.
Lena stood abruptly.
“Don’t compare me to her.”
Marcus looked toward Elvis coldly.
“This entire mess started when you entered this house.”
Elvis clenched his jaw.
“I never forced anyone to want me.”
The silence after those words felt dangerous.
Even Marcus looked stunned.
Then slowly, Marcus laughed humorlessly.
“Women destroy themselves over pretty faces every generation,” he muttered bitterly.
Lena grabbed Elvis’ hand beneath the table.
Small.
Protective.
And somehow that tiny gesture angered Marcus more than anything else.
“You think this relationship survives public humiliation?” Marcus asked sharply. “Society will tear both of you apart.”
Lena lifted her chin stubbornly.
“Then let them try.”
—
Later that night, Elvis stood alone beside the mansion pool again.
The same place where everything between him and Lena first changed.
Blue water reflected against his tired face while distant thunder rolled across the sky.
“You always come here when you’re overwhelmed.”
Elvis turned.
Lena walked toward him wearing an oversized hoodie, her hair loose around her shoulders.
“You notice too much,” he murmured.
“I notice you.”
The softness in her voice weakened him instantly.
Lena stopped beside him quietly.
For several moments, neither spoke.
Then finally Elvis whispered:
“You should leave me alone.”
Lena looked at him carefully.
“You don’t mean that.”
“I’m serious.”
“No,” she said softly. “You’re scared.”
He laughed bitterly.
“Look around, Lena. Your family hates me. Society hates me. The internet turned me into a joke.”
“I don’t care.”
“But I do.”
His voice cracked slightly for the first time.
That caught her attention immediately.
“Elvis…”
“I spent years surviving people who only wanted pieces of me,” he admitted quietly. “My body. My attention. My performance.”
Lena’s expression softened painfully.
“And now?”
He looked directly into her eyes.
“Now I don’t know who I am without all of it.”
The honesty shattered her heart instantly.
Because beneath the confidence, Elvis was exhausted.
Emotionally bleeding.
Lena slowly reached for his hand.
“You’re more than what they call you.”
Elvis stared at their intertwined fingers silently.
Nobody had ever defended him the way Lena did.
Not for money.
Not for desire.
Just because she cared.
And that terrified him more than obsession ever could.
Because love meant vulnerability.
Loss.
Pain.
Lena stepped closer slowly.
“You’re not alone anymore.”
The words nearly broke him.
Before he could stop himself, Elvis pulled her against him suddenly.
Lena gasped softly before wrapping her arms around his neck.
Then he kissed her.
Not with desperation like before.
This time the kiss felt emotional.
Raw.
Needy.
Like two damaged people trying to disappear inside each other.
Lena melted against him immediately while Elvis held her tighter, his fingers brushing carefully through her hair.
The world around them disappeared again.
No scandal.
No family.
No cameras.
Only this moment.
Only each other.
“Elvis…” she whispered breathlessly against his lips.
He rested his forehead against hers quietly.
And for one dangerous second…
Peace existed.
But peace never lasted long inside the Cole mansion.
Vivian stood near the glass doors again.
Watching.
But this time something felt different.
Terrifyingly different.
Her eyes looked empty.
Cold.
Resolved.
Then slowly…
She smiled.
A broken smile.
The kind people wore right before doing something irreversible.
- Writer
