Deep Consuming Addiction

Chapter 25

✨Late Evening✨

Elena Vale

Elena’s apartment was quiet except for the faint rustle of papers on her kitchen table.

A single lamp cast a soft pool of light over the reports spread out in front of her. Her laptop screen glowed beside them, half-filled with notes she had been trying to finish for the past hour.

Trying.

Because she hadn’t written a single useful line.

She leaned back in the chair and rubbed her temples, letting out a slow breath.

Her mind refused to cooperate.

It kept drifting back to him.

Ari.

Earlier that day she had been standing in his office, her posture perfectly straight, her expression carefully controlled. The mask she wore in professional spaces had been firmly in place — calm, distant, unshaken.

But inside…

Inside was another story.

The memory returned before she could stop it.

Her apartment.

The quiet tension between them.

Ari’s hand sliding slowly along her leg before he had leaned forward, his lips brushing the inside of her thigh with a deliberate confidence that had sent a sharp, unexpected jolt through her.

Elena closed her eyes briefly, annoyed with herself.

She had pushed the memory away then.

Today in his office, when he had looked at her like he knew exactly what he had done to her composure, she had forced herself to remain still.

Back straight.

Voice steady.

“Leave me alone.”

She had said it clearly.

Firmly.

Like a command.

Elena opened her eyes again and reached for her coffee mug, only to realize the drink had gone cold.

Of course it had.

She hadn’t taken a sip in nearly an hour.

With a quiet sigh, she pushed the papers aside and stood, walking toward the window of her apartment. The city stretched out below, lights glowing against the darkness of the night.

Somewhere out there Ari was probably exactly where he always was.

Confident.

Unbothered.

Unmoved.

Elena folded her arms across her chest, staring out into the night.

What unsettled her wasn’t what he had done.

It was the fact that, for a brief moment earlier…

She had almost reacted.

And that was something she absolutely refused to let happen again.

Elena stared at the stack of reports on her table for another minute before pushing the chair back.

This wasn’t working.

Every line she tried to read blurred together, her concentration slipping in the same frustrating circle. Her mind kept wandering back to the same moment, the same man, the same unsettling memory she had been trying all evening to ignore.

She stood and grabbed the elastic band from her wrist, pulling her hair into a tight ponytail.

“Enough,” she muttered under her breath.

She needed to clear her head.

Twenty minutes later Elena stepped into the gym, the familiar smell of rubber mats and metal weights greeting her. The place was quieter at this hour, only a few people scattered across the floor, the low hum of equipment filling the room.

This was where she came when she needed control again.

When her thoughts became too loud.

She dropped her bag beside the heavy bag hanging near the far wall and wrapped her hands with practiced ease. The cotton tightened around her knuckles, grounding her, focusing her attention.

Good.

That was what she needed.

Elena stepped forward and threw the first punch.

The bag swung slightly on impact.

Another punch followed.

Then another.

Soon the rhythm took over—sharp strikes, controlled breaths, steady movement of her feet against the mat. The physical exertion pushed everything else away, forcing her mind to focus only on the motion of her body and the dull thud of her fists against the bag.

But even as sweat gathered at the back of her neck, the memory crept in again.

Ari.

The calm confidence in his voice.

The way he looked at her like he could read every reaction she tried to hide.

Elena hit the bag harder.

The heavy bag jerked violently on its chain.

“Focus,” she told herself quietly.

She threw another combination of punches, faster this time, letting the energy burn through her muscles. Her breathing deepened, her body moving on pure discipline.

This was better.

This she understood.

Effort. Control. Strength.

Things she could rely on.

Not unpredictable men who tested her composure and left her thinking about them hours later.

Elena stepped back after several minutes, her chest rising and falling steadily. She wiped her forehead with the back of her wrist and stared at the swaying bag.

Her mind was quieter now.

Not completely free of him.

But quieter.

And for tonight, that would have to be enough.

Elena pushed open the door to her apartment and stepped inside, the quiet wrapping around her almost instantly.

The workout had helped.

Her muscles felt loose, pleasantly tired, the sharp edge of frustration dulled by the rhythm of punches and the burn of exertion. She kicked off her shoes near the door and walked further inside, reaching up to tighten the ponytail holding her hair back.

The apartment felt warm after the cool night air outside.

She moved into the kitchen, opening the fridge before deciding against water and reaching instead for a bottle of wine resting on the counter. The cork slid free with a soft pop, and she poured herself a glass before walking toward the living room.

A few minutes later she was curled into the corner of the couch, dressed in soft lounge pants and a loose shirt, one leg tucked beneath her.

The lamp beside the sofa cast a gentle glow across the room.

For the first time all evening, Elena allowed herself to relax.

She lifted the glass and took a slow sip.

It should have been enough—the gym, the quiet apartment, the comfort of being alone.

But her mind refused to cooperate.

Ari appeared there again, uninvited.

The way he watched her.

The calm confidence in his voice.

Elena exhaled softly and leaned her head back against the couch cushion.

It irritated her how easily he slipped into her thoughts.

She had handled men like him before—powerful, self-assured, used to getting what they wanted. Usually they were predictable.

Ari wasn’t.

And that bothered her more than she cared to admit.

She stared down into the glass of wine in her hand, swirling it slowly.

“Stop thinking about him,” she murmured to herself.

Easier said than done.

Because even as she said it, another memory surfaced—the brief closeness between them earlier, the quiet intensity of the moment before she had forced herself to push him away.

Elena sat up straighter, taking another sip of wine as if that might chase the thought away.

It didn’t.

Her jaw tightened slightly.

The attraction wasn’t welcome.

It wasn’t smart.

And it certainly wasn’t something she intended to entertain.

Yet somewhere in the back of her mind, beneath the discipline and careful control she prided herself on…

Ari lingered.

And that unsettled her more than she liked.

Elena had barely settled on the couch when her phone buzzed on the coffee table.

She glanced at the screen.

Maya.

Elena hesitated for a second before answering. “Hey.”

“Don’t ‘hey’ me like that,” Maya replied immediately. “What’s wrong with you?”

Elena let out a small breath, leaning her head back against the couch cushion. Maya had known her long enough to hear the difference in her voice.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Uh-huh,” Maya said dryly. “You sound like someone who’s either exhausted or annoyed. Which one is it?”

Elena took another sip of wine before answering.

“Work.”

“That bad?” Maya asked.

Elena rubbed the back of her neck. “Just… frustrating.”

“You sound like someone annoyed you,” Maya said.

Elena sighed softly. “Someone did.”

“Coworker?”

“Something like that.”

She wasn’t lying.

Just not telling the whole truth.

Maya chuckled lightly through the phone. “You deal with criminals and corrupt businessmen all day. You can’t tell me one of them finally got under your skin.”

Elena stared across the quiet room, her fingers tracing the rim of her glass.

“I’m handling it,” she said calmly.

“You always say that,” Maya replied. “You ever think about taking a break? Coming out with me this weekend? Dinner, music, normal human life?”

Elena smiled faintly at that.

“Normal isn’t really part of my schedule right now.”

“Your schedule is the problem,” Maya said. “One day I’m going to drag you out of that apartment whether you like it or not.”

Elena huffed a quiet laugh.

“I’d like to see you try.”

Maya laughed too, the familiar sound easing some of the tension Elena hadn’t realized she was still carrying.

They talked a little longer—about Maya’s job, about a mutual friend’s upcoming birthday, about anything except the one thing lingering quietly in Elena’s mind.

Elena never mentioned Ari.

Not once.

When the call finally ended, she set the phone down beside her and leaned back into the couch again.

The apartment fell silent.

And despite the conversation, despite the wine, despite the distraction…

Her thoughts drifted back to him anyway.

"God what else can I do," she sighed.