HER DARKEST OBSESSION

In my world, power isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you take—by force, manipulation, or sheer will. Being a "Marino" doesn’t just mean I was born into one of the most feared mafia families on the East Coast. It meant I was destined to command that power. My brother, “Leonardo Marino” or “Leo” to those closest to him, took control of the family’s business after our parents were killed when I was two. I never knew them, not really. Their legacy lives in whispers around me—my mother’s elegance and my father’s ruthless precision. But their deaths left a void Leo was determined to fill, ensuring the Marino name remained untouchable. For years, Leo kept me at arm’s length, shielding me from the family’s darker dealings. I was the “princess”, spoiled and sheltered. But it wasn’t enough to be coddled. I wanted to be involved. I wanted control. The power was intoxicating. And as I grew older, I learned how to use it. I found my own ways to involve myself in the business. Sometimes it was subtle—a whispered suggestion here, a favor called in there. Other times, it was more direct. Collecting debts…Like the one I had to collect from sweet little lsy. “Jayden Holt”. His sister, "Isabella", had a problem. A gambling problem. She owed the family half a mill, and she didn’t have a way out. But I did. I offered her a deal: her freedom in exchange for something more valuable to me than money—her brother. Jayden didn’t know it, but he was on my radar, and he was all mine long before he even stepped foot in my house. It was the perfect setup. He was strong, defiant, and just arrogant enough to think he could resist me. I liked that. I liked breaking people who thought they were unbreakable. At first, it was just that—a challenge. I didn’t need Jayden for anything more than entertainment. He was supposed to be a distraction from the monotony of power, someone I could control, body and soul. But it didn’t take long for things to change. For me to change. It was gradual at first. A flicker of annoyance when he wasn’t around. A tightening in my chest when he looked at me with those cold, unyielding eyes. The way his presence seemed to fill a room, suffocating and thrilling all at once. I hated how much I wanted him. I hated how much he made me feel. I should have let him go. I should have cut him loose the moment things started to feel too real, but instead, I kept him close. Closer than I should have been. Tonight, I was hiding in the common room, pretending to read, but my thoughts were tangled in him. I hated that he had this effect on me. I hated that, despite everything, I craved him. Jayden was supposed to be beneath me—a tool, a toy, nothing more. But the truth was more complicated. And I didn’t do complicated. The sound of footsteps pulled me from my thoughts, and I knew it was him before I even looked up. Jayden always moved with a quiet intensity, his presence too large for any space he occupied. "Sorry, didn’t know you were in here," he said, his voice low and indifferent. But I could hear the tension beneath it, feel the current that crackled between us. It had been like this for weeks—this unbearable tension that neither of us wanted to acknowledge. I stood abruptly, hoping to escape the moment before it swallowed me whole. But as I brushed past him, my shoulder bumped against his arm, and a jolt of electricity shot through me. I froze, my breath catching in my throat. "Shit." His eyes locked on mine, and for a second, everything else disappeared. The air around us grew thick, suffocating, as if the tension between us had its own gravity, pulling us together. I hated this feeling—this loss of control. But I couldn’t seem to stop myself from leaning into it, into him. "Bridget..." His voice was softer now, almost hesitant. I should have walked away. I should have put distance between us. But instead, I stayed, my body betraying me as I leaned into him, drawn by some invisible force I couldn’t fight. His arm brushed mine again, and it was like my entire body was on fire. Before I could think, before I could stop myself, I looked up, my lips hovering dangerously close to his. Everything about this was wrong, but at the same time, it felt inevitable. Like we had been building to this moment all along. And then it happened. Our lips met, softly at first, but quickly growing more urgent, more desperate. His hands gripped my waist, pulling me closer, and for the first time, I wasn’t thinking about power or control. I wasn’t thinking about the fact that I had trapped his sister in debt, or that I had taken him as my captive. At that moment, none of that mattered. It was just us. And I was lost. But that was the problem. I wasn’t supposed to be lost. I was supposed to be in control. "I was a Marino", and no one—not even Jayden—could take that from me. I pulled away, my breath ragged, my heart pounding. Jayden looked at me, his expression a mix of confusion and something else—something I didn’t want to name. "I—uh, I have to go," I stammered, barely able to form the words. Without waiting for a response, I turned and fled, my mind spinning. As I rushed down the hallway, reality crashed back down on me like a tidal wave. Jayden Holt wasn’t just a distraction anymore. He was something more. Something dangerous. And that terrified me.