Sadistic Obsession

Chapter 13

A flash of surprise crossed Blaire's eyes, but she immediately masked it with a cute pout. She ignored my existence in the room and approached Kade.

Meanwhile, I kept my focus on my food. As much as I wanted to leave the room and let them be, it felt like they would think that I was leaving out of jealousy.

"Today's my schedule for the photoshoot," Blaire said. "I saw the newly designed car... It's so pretty."

Oh, right. Blaire was a known model, most especially that she was one of the goddesses of Olympus, a successful global company of beauty products and apparels. No wonder Kade's company hired her to promote their new product.

"By the way," Blare continued, "I also brought something with me."

I lifted my head and saw her unrolling a large illustration paper. It wasn't that visible from where I was sitting, but it was obviously a painting.

"I am sure you know Georgina Jackson," she said. "She is a friend of mine and she was such a sweetie for sketching this one. It might be to your liking that would be painted on the renovated hall."

My grip on the fork tightened while trying my hardest to maintain my expression. Georgina Jackson was the genius artist. Of course, her works were worth millions compared to mine. Her masterpiece would even represent the wealth and influence of the Storm family. How could I possibly compete to that?

"So what do you think?" Blaire's eyes landed on me with a smirk at the edge of her lips before she looked back at Kade.

My jaw tightened. If he ever chooses another artist's work...

"It's unique," Kade commented.

I took my food and stood from my seat, my eyes locked on the door.

"But my wife's work is more fitting," he added, freezing me on the spot.

"W-Wife?" Blaire blurted out, her goody-two-shoes acting dropped. "Have you forgotten how she stole from you?"

I heard a small chuckle from him and felt his gaze landing on me.

"Of course not. That's why she is going to do this project with no charge," he replied, making me look back at him.

"That is not what we agreed on," I said, only to receive a mocking scoff from Blaire.

"Even after taking a billion dollars from Levanti Motors, you still want to be paid? I wonder where you got that audacity from," she commented. "Anyways, the shoot is about to start. I'll pick you up later."

Blaire leaned down and kissed him on the cheek before strutting out of the room. The hunger I felt just a few minutes ago vanished even though I barely touched my food. My legs brought me to Kade's desk and snatched my sketch away from him.

"Tell me... Why did you exactly bring me here?" I asked, looking him straight in the eyes.

"For the art project," he replied with no hesitation.

"I don't believe you. Just tell me the real reason."

"Believe it or not–"

"Kade!" I shouted, my grip crumpled my sketch. My voice lowered. "Is it to punish me?"

He did not say anything as if confirming what had been running through my mind ever since he brought me to his grandmother's birthday party.

I laughed bitterly as tears pooled my eyes.

"How many times must I tell you that I never stole from you? I did not even touch a single cent from that billion dollars you all claim that I took." I gritted my teeth to suppress the sobs that were waiting to leave my mouth. "You threw me out three years ago after accusing me and wanting to divorce me. My name got tarnished in public. I lived in constant fear and endured nightmares every night after receiving hate and death threats for something I didn't even do."

I wiped away the tears that stained my cheeks.

"You seized my parents's property to build that fúcking warehouse. And now, you brought me back here for what? To punish me even more? Gods, Kade... How much more suffering must I go through before you're satisfied?"

His gaze grew cold and sharp as he took a few strides and closing the distance between us. He wiped away the stray tear with his thumb before a groan left my lips when his hand gripped my jaw.

"Until I got that billion dollars worth you stole," he replied. "So you're going to finish this art project whether you like it or not."

"I told you I don't work for free."

Kade drew closer. His warm breathe brushed the shell of my ear.

"You know you can't win against me. About your parents's property, even if you bring it to the court, I will make sure to drag the process as long as possible until you give up yourself."

My chest tightened. How foolish of me to even think that Kade brought me back here in Valtemort just for this art project. How foolish I was to even believe this cunning man's words.

My hands moved on their own. I pushed him back and slapped him across the face. His head tilted to the side, but the moment he turned to meet my gaze, my hand landed on his cheek again.

My anger refused to disappear so another slap resounded in the room. This time, blood stained the edge of his lower lip.

"Are you done?" Kade asked while he wiped away the blood from his lip. "Then, get back on that seat and finish your work."

Before I could say another word, David entered the room. He seemed to have sensed the heavy tension that he immediately apologized and was about to leave, but Kade spoke.

"What is it?" he asked.

"The board meeting will start after 10 minutes," David replied. He walked up to Kade and handed him a folder.

I looked down to hide my face, knowing that it was obvious that I cried due to the reddish color of my skin around my eyes.

The moment I sat back down behind my desk, Kade and David left the office. A relieved sigh left my lips. My hand still stung after that consecutive slaps.

It was just unfair. Still blaming me for something I had no idea about just brought back the pain from three years ago.

Gritting my teeth, I took my things and drove to the renovated hall of the Storm family. Checking the canvas myself would be more helpful before I start working on it.

I already expected it to be huge, but standing right in front of it while looking like a miniature statue made me tired already. Just thinking about drawing my sketch over it seemed taxing and it might take maybe three days to make. A sigh left my mouth.

Either way, I took out my phone and started to list the materials I needed to start tomorrow as well as the much needed help to ensure my safety. While doing so, I heard the clacking of heels against the marble floor.

I immediately knew who it was even without looking in their direction. Those footsteps were just too hard to forget even if I hadn't heard it for years.