CHAPTER 15 — Obsession
734 Words
The door closed behind him with a quiet click that lingered longer than it should.
I didn’t look up right away. I finished signing the document in front of me, closed the file, and set the pen aside. Only then did I lift my gaze.
Rafael stood closer than usual. Not distant, not detached. Intentional.
“You’re becoming predictable,” I said.
“You’re becoming difficult.”
His voice stayed controlled, but something beneath it had sharpened.
I leaned back slightly. “What do you want this time?”
“I want you to stop.”
“Stop what?”
“Him. Cole.”
Of course.
“And if I don’t?”
“You will.”
The confidence was still there. The habit of being obeyed.
I smiled faintly. “Still giving orders.”
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
That was the problem.
“You haven’t changed,” I said.
“And you have?”
“Yes.” I held his gaze. “I learned.”
“What?”
“How to stop loving someone who never deserved it.”
The words landed quietly, but they cut.
For a moment, something flickered in his expression. Gone too fast to name.
“You think I didn’t notice?” he said.
“Notice what?”
“The way you looked at me. The way you stayed. The way you waited.” His voice lowered. “You don’t just stop feeling like that.”
Silence settled.
“So tell me, Evelyn… what changed?”
“You.”
He went still.
“You showed me exactly who you were,” I continued. “I just stopped pretending you were someone else.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s just not the one you want.”
The air tightened.
His hand pressed against the desk. “You’re pushing me.”
“And?”
“You won’t like what happens next.”
A faint smile curved my lips. “Try me.”
Something shifted.
“You think this is about business?” he asked.
“No.”
His gaze sharpened.
“But you’ll keep telling yourself that.”
His jaw clenched.
“This isn’t about the company.”
“I know.”
A pause.
“It’s about control,” I said. “About losing something you didn’t think you could lose.”
Silence.
Then I added, “It’s about me not being yours anymore.”
The truth settled between us.
He stepped closer. “You were always mine.”
I met his gaze. “That’s where you’re wrong.”
His restraint cracked.
“You think I’ll let someone else have you?”
There it was. Not control. Possession.
I stood, closing the distance.
“Let?” I repeated.
He didn’t answer.
“You don’t own me, Rafael.”
“Stay away from him.”
“No.”
Immediate.
“I’m not asking.”
“And I’m not agreeing.”
His voice dropped. “Then don’t blame me for what happens next.”
I stepped past him, calm, steady. My hand reached the door.
“You never told me why you stayed.”
I stopped.
Just for a second.
“You want to know?” I said quietly.
Silence behind me.
“I was stupid.”
The words were soft, but they struck deeper than anything else.
“I thought if I tried hard enough… you’d finally see me.”
Nothing.
“But you never did.”
My hand rested on the handle.
“So now… I’m done waiting.”
I walked out without looking back.
This time, he didn’t follow.
Inside, Rafael didn’t move. The room felt larger, emptier.
Her words echoed.
I thought if I tried hard enough… you’d see me.
His hand clenched at his side.
For a moment, something unfamiliar surfaced.
Regret.
Brief. Unwanted.
Then it vanished.
Replaced by something darker.
His gaze was fixed on the closed door.
“You don’t get to move on,” he said quietly.
“You don’t get to choose someone else.”
Because this wasn’t about business anymore.
And it wasn’t about control.
It was something else entirely.
Something he no longer denied.
Obsession.
Outside, I didn’t slow my steps.
But I felt it.
That shift.
That line he had just crossed.
A faint smile touched my lips.
Because the moment he stopped thinking clearly—
Was the moment he became predictable.
And this time…
I was ready.
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