By admin The Ex Who Became His Obsession Novel Ch 31
Alyssa walked fast and steady, but only she knew the fire surging through her body had already scorched her heart aw
She clutched her wrist, where the electroshock bracelet–dispused as a piece of jewelry–was still burning hot, though the current inside had long since farled out
Just moments ago, when Archer tried to pull her
few, and his head smoked as he howled in pain
t embrace, she raised her arm without hesitation and slammed the bracelet against him. Sparks
His face probably wasn’t ruined, but that scorched mark on his forehead would take a good week or two to fade. For a man who made his living off that pretty face, that was as good as a death sentence.
Though Alyssia spent seven years as Leonard’s carefree girlfriend, she didn’t become some clueless little lamb.
As an orphan stripped of her parents‘ protection, no matter how much affection others showered her with, she could never grow up carefree
Uncertainty about the future was always there, waiting for the moment to strike,
Alyssia spent the past three days preparing for this interview. She dug deep–not just into Archer’s public history, but his current affiliations, the power plaven backing him, and even the tiniest details of his personal life that most people would miss.
On the surface. Archer’s agency didn’t seem to have much pull in the industry.
But Alyssia had her own channels. And through them, she got her hands on a solid lead thanks to his breakout success, Archer had scored a slice of company shares.
The price coming with the shares was that he
he might be on the hook to represent the company in a private wager with Summer Haze Media.
Summer Haze Media was propped up by the Johnson family’s Ingrey Group, which was practically tailor–made for Milena’s debut
Aly couldn’t confirm whether an actual betting agreement had been signed between the two sides.
But just hearing about it was enough to make Alyssia wary that interviewing Archer, the most popular rising star, could very
ry will be a trap set by Milena.
As Alyssia had expected, the moment she arrived, they asked her to hand over her phone and voice recorder.
Then they left her hanging in a closed off room for over ten minutes, breathing air laced with something noxious and chemical
Everyone in Vanguard Media mocked Alyssia as an overhyped fraud, a clueless newbie.
No one knew she’d been working in this cutthroat world since she was sixteen. She’d seen demons in designer suits and monsters in tailored smiles. She’d walked through more shadows than most people even know existed.
Just Charle once said, Alyssia was sharp, observant, cool beaded, and last when it mattered.
So when she lifted her hand to test the airflow from the air conditioner, she spotted a tiny patch of white, stuck to the vent. It blended right into the background and was sady lọ min
But Alyssa realized it in a flash. Some drugs were plow release. If they were stuck to the AC, the second the air started flowing, it started carrying the
the digital tempp
and the temperature on it, it confined what she’d suspected all along
Archer might look like a man above t
the game. But the truth was, he had teamed up i
up with the
the investurs.
He wasn’t some heaven sent miras the gras just another puppet, crafted by the investors to dazzle the masses.
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Chapter 31
Out on the street, Alyssia clutched her collar lightly, her hand trembling a little,
Aucher’s whole persona was
ersona was boilt on the image of a golden boy–authentic, hardworking, and heaven-blessed
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One crack in that mask, and everything he owned now would crash down Fans would vanish, endorsements would dry up, and the investments behind him would bum to ash. He’d lose the bet with Summer Hare Media.
When Milena sent Archer to have Alyssia in, they not ‘ve known there was a g
was a good chance Alyssia would see through the charade,
But they weren’t afraid. As long as something happened between Alyssia and Archer, and they got proot, Alyssia would be on their hook for good.
From that point on, Alyssia wouldn’t just stay quiet. She’d have to protect them, to keep herself afloat.
Milena wanted to destroy Alyssia, to wipe her out, to ruin her name, and to bleed her dry before tossing her aside.
Alyssia hadn’t anticipated their game and come prepared, she didn’t even dare to imagine what would’ve happened.
Alyssia’s body still felt like it was boiling. Her Embs were soft and weak, with no strength left in them.
She tilted her head back. The sun blazed overhead. She ducked behind an office building where a fountain gurgled. Mist sprayed into the air, cool and fresh. The droplets kissed her skin like a blessing.
She had taken the antidote the second she suspected something was off. It saved her mind and kept her anchored.
But the dosage she’d inhaled before that still hit hard. Her body could barely fight it.
Alyssia slumped against the cold tiles by the fountain. The chill seeped into her, pushing back the unbearable heat.
She let out a soft moan of relief, in the very next second, her eyes snapped wide open.
Alyssia saw Leonard stand in front of her without a word.
Her whole body jerked, and her heart pounded violently.
She stared at him, frozen, her brain short–circuiting like someone had pulled the plug. For a second, she honestly thought she was imagining things.
But the next moment, clarity kicked in. The upside of taking the antidote early was that no matter how wrecked her body felt, her mind was still hers.
She let out a sharp laugh, bold and reckless, her voice dancing with mockery. “Men sent you here, didn’t she?”
Alyssia thought, “it al makes sense now. Milena went through all that trouble and even risked exposing Archer’s backers, just to make Leonard misunderstand me. This was her endgame.
never believed Alyssia would actually walk away from Leonard or give up the glittering cage of the Rivera family’s wealth and power.
wanted Leonard to see Alyssia tangled up with another man, so he would slam that door shut for Alyssia forever.
Even if Leonard didn’t love Alyssia, he’d always treated her like something he owned
He could sproNE
or even discard h
I suited him. But the one thing she wasn’t allowed to do was betray.
To Lesnard, Alyssia was a puppet And the moment a puppet grew a maid of its own, that was treason
If Leonard had seen Alyssia on the bed with her, he might have tossed her out a window without blinking.
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Chapter 31
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“Tell me, the guys out there got you feeling so good?” Leonard didn’t answer her question. Instead, he stepped in closer, grabbed her arm in one swit imation, and yanked her toward him. “Got you look like ”
He stopped mid–sentence, but he wanted to say, “Got you look like a mess,”
His eyes darkened as they dragged over her face. Her cheeks fined too red, lips glossy and swollen, and her usually sharp eyes were now soft with haze, struggling to stay focused.
Leonard’s throat moved as he swallowed. He couldn’t tear his gare away from her lips.
They were bitten, the edges marked with tiny dents where her teeth had dug in. The shape of her innuth–slightly parted, trembling–whispered things he had no business thinking.
She stared back at him, something cold and distant swimming in her eyes. But under that coolness, the dangerous heat was rising, it curled from the edges of her pupils, slow and deliberate, setting fire to the shadows in his chest,
Leonard’s grip on her arm tightened. He couldn’t hold back his thoughts. ‘Damn it. She is too sweet like this
Alyssia stumbled forward, knees buckling under her, and melted into his chest like her bones had turned to syrup. Her head dropped against his
In that split second, Leonard could hear the ignition, like something inside her combusted, and the flames leapt to him too.
“Alyssia tried to speak, to protest, to pull away, but her body refused to listen.
The second that one breathy syllable leh her lips, Leonard’s are softened, because her low, smoky, and overly sweet voice was too much to handle.
She’d never spoken to him like that before. Her voice was like a thorned hook hiding in a flower, luring him in with something he knew would tear him
He reached out with his other arm and locked it tight around her waist, pulling her fully into him.
They were so close. Alyssia could see his unreadable eyes clearly. They looked like the mouth of a storm waiting to pull her under
Alyssia knew Leonard far too
too well. One glance, one twitch of muscle, and she’d already read everything he was about to do.
But the gritted his teeth, swallowed down the rage bubbling in his throat, and spat out something cruel just to wound her deeper. “Look how hary you are. What, the pretty boy didn’t get the job done?”
Alyssia chuckled, her expression seductive and dangerous.
She scoffed to herself. He acts like I should carry the blame alone. It’s always like this. He always sees me the same way!
Back then, when they first crossed that line, Alyssia walked in with her heart wide open, but the one who’d made the first move was Leonard.
He told her he’d give her a birthday surprise. In the end, he slept with her that night…
And later, he twisted it into Alyssia being manipulative, and that she schemed her way into his bed.
go.” Her voice was soft, almost pleading as she gave him a weak push. She felt like she might melt into the pool behind her
“Let you go?” Leonard p
d pulled het Lighter, molding her against him like he meant to erase the space between t sleep with other gun, hunt you can keep dragging the Rivera name through the mud, right?
them. “Let you go so you can go back to
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