The Ex Who Became His Obsession Novel Ch 55

The Ex Who Became His Obsession Novel Ch 55

Alyssia had just turned around. Suddenly, Joseph lunged at her from behind like a rabid beast.

“Ms. Clairmont, do you know Mr. Rivera is-” His words were abruptly cut off as someone clamped a hand over his mouth.

Alyssia turned to see Theodore pinning Joseph to the ground, one arm locked around his neck and the other hand clamped over his mouth.

Alyssia was stunned.

Beatrice stepped between them, waving at Alyssia with a composed, unfazed smile. “Go now, hurry. I’ll give you a call once Leonard’s grandpa’s birthday is confirmed.”

Alyssia cast one last glance at Joseph, pinned to the ground by Theodore. After a brief hesitation, she nodded and hurried away.

Once Alyssia was well out of earshot, Beatrice gave Theodore a discreet signal. Only then did Theodore finally loosen his grip on Joseph.

To everyone’s shock, Joseph audaciously grabbed Theodore’s hand, tears streaming down his face. “Mr. Rivera,” he cried, “why did you let Ms. Clairmont leave? Mr. Leonard Rivera said he’d rather die than be without her.”

“Just let him die,” Theodore snapped, shaking Joseph off impatiently. “What kind of man threatens suicide over a woman? If he’s that pathetic, he might as well drop dead now.”

After berating his son, Theodore turned to fawn over Beatrice. “Of course, I’m the exception. In front of you, my dear, I’m nothing.”

Alyssia returned to Vanguard Media with William’s exclusive interview, instantly sending shockwaves through the entire news department.

Every company chat, from main groups to private DMs, absolutely blew up.

A rookie entertainment reporter, less than a month on the job, became an overnight sensation by reporting on the romance between the Clairivera Group’s heir and the Ingrey Group’s heiress, only to be sued by Leonard for 25 million dollars.

Then, during an interview with the entertainment industry’s newest top star, Archer, she was falsely accused by him of attempted seduction. In the end, she dropped the receipts and got him so thoroughly canceled that he completely vanished from public view.

Now, she had landed an interview with William, the one who was playfully nicknamed the Interview Bermuda Triangle.

Alyssia was the first journalist William had granted an interview/to in a decade.

[Did Charlie pull strings for her? He’s totally doting on her.]

Such speculations kept pouring into the private chat

[We just can’t compete. She’s got cheat codes built-in, and small fry like us wouldn’t even dare to compare.]

[What’s there to compare? Didn’t you see how Brianna got totally burned?]

[Huh? What happened to Brianna? I had no idea.]

[Last time, Charlie almost sent Brianna home packing because of Alyssia. How could you not know? Brianna was

still ruthless.]

g her eyes out, but Charlie was

[What kind of stunner is she, anyway? I’ve never even run into her across departments. Honestly, I always thought Charlie was into guys.]

[Why do you think Charlie likes men? Just because he’s got zero scandals?]

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[Ugh, I don’t like how Alyssia just coasts by on men’s help, but damn, I got to admit she’s drop dead gorgeous

[Same here.]

[Pretty face, empty head.]

[I’m all for beauties.]

[Want her? Think you can handle her?]

[Hell yeah. Even Charlie wants her. Why wouldn’t I?]

[Think you can afford her? Could you handle Leonard suing you for 25 million dollars? Can you survive Archer’s and Bright Orange Media’s revenges combo? Can you even get William to accept

your interview?]

[Damn, now that’s what I call some serious connections.]

[I used to think Charlie had our backs, but now, compared to his real darling, we might be nobody.]

In their private chats, these people were running their mouths.

But as soon as they entered the main company group chat, everyone lined up to shower Alyssia with over-the-top praise.

[Alyssia rocks. Our role model.]

[Graceful Alyssia, sharp as a whip.]

[Alyssia holds the fort. Nothing gets past her.]

[Alyssia’s soaring high, rising to unimaginable heights.]

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Alyssia was stunned for a moment. ‘Seriously, if they’re going to flatter me, they might as well go all out, she thought to herself.

As she turned around, Lauren’s private message popped up.

Lauren: [Come on, be honest. Did Charlie pull some strings for you?]

Alyssia: [Nope.] She couldn’t be bothered to say another word.

‘Even Lauren is asking me questions like that-so you can imagine what everyone else must be thinking, she wondered. But honestly, Alyssia couldn’t

care less.

No matter how nasty the gossip got behind her back, nobody was dumb enough to spout off in the company group chat.

And even if someone did, it didn’t matter. It was not like Alyssia would be the one embarrassed. Alyssia didn’t care at all.

Missing a deadline, losing her bonus, or failing her probation were real worries. But now that all those problems were sorted, even if they were jealous, Alyssia didn’t mind.

After all, for most people, bottling up all that envy might just give them high blood pressure and a few nasty lumps. ‘I should probably leave these mediocre colleagues a little room to breathe, right?’ she wondered.

During lunch break, a group of colleagues gathered around Alyssia, eager to learn from her experience.

“Come on,

Alyssia, spill the beans. How did you manage to interview William?”

“Did he give you a hard time?”

“You didn’t dig up some dirt on him, did you?”

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With everyone talking at once, Alyssia just smiled sweetly. “There’s no secret, I got turned away for three days. Maybe we just hi it do persistence paid off.”

Unable to extract any real scoop from Alyssia and not fully buying her story, they scattered like cockroaches.

Soon, they were back in their private chats, furtive whispers flowing like sewer rats whining about why the world wouldn’t share its delicious cheast o opportunity with them.

“You little rockstar,” Lauren said affectionately, giving Alyssia’s arm a gentle squeeze. “That full-time spot is as good as yours now

Lauren wondered, ‘Alyssia doesn’t want to talk? Fine then. Honestly, in our line of work, who doesn’t have their own connections? So what if she landed the interview thanks to Charlie? Beauty is a resource too, and a damn scarce one at that.”

Faced with Lauren’s praise, Alyssia responded with her usual gentle smile, reserved and just a little shy.

Noticing that Alyssia neither seemed overjoyed nor feigned aloofness, maintaining a subtle composure, unfazed by either praise or criticism, Lauren realized there was much more to Alyssia than met the eye.

Alyssia was simply breathtaking. To others, all they saw was her beauty and her perceived fragility. What they failed to see was her remarkable composure and shrewdness.

At the hospital, Leonard opened his eyes, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

His last memory was grabbing Joseph by the shoulders. Then came a blinding flash, and his whole body felt like it was being thrown into a giant blender.

‘A car accident?’ he wondered. That was the only explanation he could come up with.

Someone waved a hand in front of his face. “Back with us now?”

Leonard recognized his mother’s voice immediately. He tried to move, but his whole body screamed in pain as if it had been dismantled-his neck, in particular, was almost immobile.

Still, gritting his teeth, he forced himself to turn his head and saw Beatrice sitting beside him, her expression a mix of concern and something oddly

unsettling.

Beatrice leaned in close, her face brimming with a strange, almost eerie anticipation. “Who am I?”

“Mom?” Leonard felt a chill run down his spine under her intense gaze.

Beatrice’s expression was quite strange, worried yet curious.

Sure enough, the moment Leonard called her Mom, it was as if all the fun had been sucked out of the room.

“Awake already?” Beatrice said flatly, not even pretending to be relieved. “That was fast.” Leonard blinked, confused. “How long was I out?” he managed

to ask.

“Not long,” Beatrice replied lazily. “Let me see. You fell asleep last night-hmm, about seven or eight hours, I suppose.”

Leonard let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

Now fully awake, the pain sharpened, but at least it told him nothing was seriously wrong. Just some soft tissue damage, most likely.

“Mom, could you press the button by the bed? I want to sit up,” Leonard called out to Beatrice.

‘No one else is around,, he thought. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother her.”

Sure enough, Beatrice gave him a faint eye-roll. “Can’t you do it yourself?”

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Leonard was stunned for a moment and wondered, ‘Am I even her real son?’

He’d just survived a car accident. Yet the way Beatrice looked at him, it was as if he were some bedridden nuisance she was itching to finish off with

drugs.

Noticing her son’s silent frustration, Beatrice scrolled through her phone and said, “Don’t think I don’t care about you. But with the way you’ve been raising hell these past two days, even several people couldn’t keep you under control.

“I refuse to believe you’re suddenly too weak to press a tiny button yourself.”

Leonard froze, bewildered.

“But didn’t you say I’d only slept for a few hours?” he asked, his voice trailing off in confusion.

‘Wait, does that mean I wasn’t in a car accident just last night after all?’ he wondered.

“Yeah,” Beatrice drawled, “this is the only time you’ve managed to sleep a full seven or eight hours. Every other time, you’d barely lie down before raising hell again. Not even sedatives could keep you down.

“The doctors were practically begging to just put you out of your misery.”

Leonard was stunned for a moment.

“Oh, by the way,” Beatrice said with a mischievous grin as she picked up her phone, “I got the whole thing on video. Care to see your performance?”