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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Author: Black Willows
last update publish date: 2026-02-28 21:05:40

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Truce and Truths

EVA

I woke up to the smell of bacon and coffee, and for a moment, I let myself just lie there and breathe it in.

This was becoming a pattern. Grayson cooking breakfast while I pretended I wasn’t getting used to it. While I pretended it didn’t make something warm and dangerous unfurl in my chest every time I walked downstairs to find him at the stove.

I got dressed slowly, pulling on jeans and one of the soft cashmere sweaters from the closet, and made my way to
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  • Santa's Dirty Obsession   CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

    || Ava' POV ||The fact that my life was far from perfect was a fact I had to live with and of course make myself embrace ever since I was a young girl.I had a father who gambled away everything he touched…and a brother who treated me like something he scraped off the bottom of his shoe…and a condition that made the whole world see me as less than human.I had long stopped expecting things to go smoothly. Until I met and fell in love with Xander three years ago. He had been the one person who just made it enough to keep going regardless of what the whole world thought of me.Never in a million years did I think or imagine that a day would come where I would watch my entire life as I knew it fall apart before my very own eyes.But that was what was happening now….that was what I was seeing as I looked at Xander from across the table at the restaurant he had chosen for our Valentine's Day dinner.The candles between us flickered. Couples at nearby tables laughed and fed each other dess

  • Santa's Dirty Obsession   CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

    I frowned as I turned to see Grayson walking towards us, his expression dark and thunderous.He stopped a few inches before me, his jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle ticking."Let's go inside, Eva," he said, his voice low and controlled in a way that made my skin prickle.I raised a brow. "Excuse me? Who do you think you are to order me around?"Grayson pinned me with a hard glare, his gray eyes flashing with something dangerous. "I don't want my patience to be tested. Get inside. Right fucking now."I opened my mouth to protest, fury rising in my chest—But before I could get a single word out, he bent down, hurled me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing, and started marching toward the cabin."Put me down!" I screamed, pounding my fists against his back. "You psychotic asshole! Put me the fuck down right now!"He didn't respond. Didn't slow down. Just kept walking with determined strides while I cursed and struggled against his grip.Behind us, I heard Sylvester's unc

  • Santa's Dirty Obsession   CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

    I couldn’t believe my ears.I just stood there, staring at him, my brain refusing to process the absolute insanity of what he’d just said.Love.He’d said love.What the hell was he talking about? How dare he kneel there and say he loved me after what he’d put me through? After everything he’d done to me? After four years of systematic torture that had left scars so deep I still felt them every single day?“I love you, Eva,” he said again, his voice raw and desperate. “I’ve always loved you. I—”The slap happened before I could think about it.My palm connected with his cheek with a crack that echoed through the cabin, and for one brief, glorious moment, I found satisfaction in the red mark blooming across his perfect face.He didn’t move. Didn’t flinch. Just stayed there on his knees, looking up at me with those gray eyes that seemed to swallow all the light in the room.“Do you think I’m stupid?” I asked, my voice shaking with rage. “Is that what this is? You think I’m so pathetic a

  • Santa's Dirty Obsession   CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

    I couldn’t believe my ears.I just stood there, staring at him, my brain refusing to process the absolute insanity of what he’d just said.Love.He’d said love.What the hell was he talking about? How dare he kneel there and say he loved me after what he’d put me through? After everything he’d done to me? After four years of systematic torture that had left scars so deep I still felt them every single day?“I love you, Eva,” he said again, his voice raw and desperate. “I’ve always loved you. I—”The slap happened before I could think about it.My palm connected with his cheek with a crack that echoed through the cabin, and for one brief, glorious moment, I found satisfaction in the red mark blooming across his perfect face.He didn’t move. Didn’t flinch. Just stayed there on his knees, looking up at me with those gray eyes that seemed to swallow all the light in the room.“Do you think I’m stupid?” I asked, my voice shaking with rage. “Is that what this is? You think I’m so pathetic a

  • Santa's Dirty Obsession   CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

    I couldn’t believe my ears.I just stood there, staring at him, my brain refusing to process the absolute insanity of what he’d just said.Love.He’d said love.What the hell was he talking about? How dare he kneel there and say he loved me after what he’d put me through? After everything he’d done to me? After four years of systematic torture that had left scars so deep I still felt them every single day?“I love you, Eva,” he said again, his voice raw and desperate. “I’ve always loved you. I—”The slap happened before I could think about it.My palm connected with his cheek with a crack that echoed through the cabin, and for one brief, glorious moment, I found satisfaction in the red mark blooming across his perfect face.He didn’t move. Didn’t flinch. Just stayed there on his knees, looking up at me with those gray eyes that seemed to swallow all the light in the room.“Do you think I’m stupid?” I asked, my voice shaking with rage. “Is that what this is? You think I’m so pathetic a

  • Santa's Dirty Obsession   CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

    CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Return to Willow CreekEVAThe closer we got to Willow Creek, the harder it became to breathe.I watched the landscape change through the car window—the mountains giving way to rolling hills, the pine trees thinning out to reveal familiar roads I’d thought I’d never see again. Every mile marker felt like a countdown to my own execution.Grayson’s hand found mine somewhere around the halfway point.He didn’t say anything. Didn’t ask if I was okay or try to reassure me with empty platitudes. He just laced his fingers through mine and held on, his thumb tracing slow circles across my knuckles.I held on back like he was the only thing keeping me tethered to earth.“We can turn around,” he said quietly when we were about twenty minutes out. “If you want. We can turn around right now and go back to the cabin, and I’ll handle the board meeting remotely.”“No,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “I said I’d come with you. I meant it.”His hand tightened around mine.Wh

  • Santa's Dirty Obsession   CHAPTER ELEVEN

    The sound of my phone ringing on the nightstand was what woke me up the next morning.I groaned and closed my eyes, playing with the idea of just ignoring the call until it rang again and I reached out and grabbed it.St. Mary’s Hospital flashed across the screen.My heart stopped.I answered immed

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-17
  • Santa's Dirty Obsession   CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

    CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Return to Willow CreekEVAThe closer we got to Willow Creek, the harder it became to breathe.I watched the landscape change through the car window—the mountains giving way to rolling hills, the pine trees thinning out to reveal familiar roads I’d thought I’d never see again. Ev

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-17
  • Santa's Dirty Obsession   CHAPTER TEN

    I woke to sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows and, for one blissful moment, forgot where I was or everything else for that matter… just focused on the beautiful and warm feeling that only Christmas morning would bring.Then reality crashed back down.Grayson. The auction. Twelve

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-17
  • Santa's Dirty Obsession   CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

    CHAPTER SIXTEEN: The Breaking PointGRAYSONI woke up with Eva in my arms, and for a moment, I just lay there, barely breathing, afraid that if I moved she’d disappear.Sunlight streamed through the windows, casting golden light across her face. Her hair was splayed across my chest, and one of her

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-17
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