جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 40

The atmosphere was heavy with tension, oppressive.Valeria walked backstage after her exhausting, all-day photo shoot, her body tired, but her mind unsettled. She had tried to the point of frustration to keep him out of her mind throughout the shoot, but KC Page—was not to be forgotten.And now, turning a corner in the dark corridor of the fashion studio, he waited for her.His massive frame rested against the wall, arms folded, jaw set in irritation."You played all right out there," he said to her, deep voice but with no expression of love.Valeria's fingers tightened around the clutch in her hand. "What do you want, Kc?"He breathed slowly, slowly, then descended from the wall and traversed the gap between them. "Did you think I'd sit back and let you show off yourself before everyone?"She gaped at him in outrage. "Excuse me?""You heard me." His tone slices, with an undercurrent of darkness. "You think you're free now? That because I can see that you weren't the one to do it to V

The threat, the promise, the sheer ownership in his voice made her shiver coldly down her spine.It was not a game.It was not revenge alone.Kc was not releasing her.And she resented her body for betraying her, reacting to his nearness with something other than fear.She was mad at herself.Mad at him.Mad at how much he still owned her even when he did not touch her.Kim drew her back, his defensive stance barring her from Kc's imposing figure. "Enough, Kc. This obsession of yours—it's no longer justice. It's madness."Kc laughed harshly, shoving his hands deep into his pockets, but nothing about the set of his cutting eyes was relaxed."Madness?" he repeated, cocking his head. "Then why is she still here?"Kim released a harsh breath, his patience frazzled. "Because you won't let her go."Kc's smile broadened. "I did promise to let her go." His voice was smooth, but there was a bite beneath. "She won't."Valeria prepared herself to take a step forward, pushing the fear creeping up

He marched in uninvited, his mass overflowing the space."What in tarnation are you doin' here Kc?" Valeria growled, stepping back instinctively. He shut the door, metal crashing loudly. He walked through the room with all the urgency of a sloth."Like a cat playing with a dead mouse.""You're supposed to be workin' on Sebastian, not bustin' into my bedroom.""I am workin' on him."His tone was flat, too flat. "But you and I have to have a word first Valeria."Valeria folded her arms over her chest. "There's nothing to say.""Then why aren't you saying, 'get out' Kc?"Valeria's nails pressed into the palms of her hands. "Because I know you won't." Kc smiled, pleased with her answer. "Clever girl.""What do you want?""You."Her breath caught. "Excuse me?""You heard me." He moved forward, still looking at her. "You've been keeping your distance ever since you discovered the truth. You think I'm going to back down and let you pack your belongings and leave?" "That's what I'm doing,"

Valeria was suffocating. The atmosphere around them was stifling, constricting—one heavy with unuttered words, feelings too tangled to untangle. She could not draw air into Kc's angry gaze, the dark vacuity of his eyes leaving her numb.Her fists were balled against the material of his shirt. "Why, Kc?" Valeria pleaded, her voice breaking with the urgency of it all. "Why are you doing this to me Kc? I've already shown I had nothing to do with the murder of Vanessa! I've endured enough! I lost everything—my career, my pride—due to your fanaticism!"Kc's teeth clenched together, his body rigid as if he held something malevolent, something deadly. "You think it's that easy?" His voice was a growl, the whisper gentle but it was the power of a storm about to unleash. "You think I can just release you? That I can just erase you?"Valeria's breasts trembled and dangled in her unbalanced respirations, the nails burying into his collar. "I don't want to be entombed inside this anymore, Kc! I do

Meanwhile… While watching the city from his seat in the office, Sebastian leaned back in his chair, taking a swing ahead for whiskey after another.His brain was always on razor-sharp focus, three moves ahead. There was a knock on the door, breaking his chain of thought."Come in." It was a man who had just walked into the room in a very dark deep suit with a stern face. "We have a problem."Sebastian's eyebrow rises. "I take it you mean Kc Page." The man nodded. "He's straying further than we agreed on. He's in too close."Sebastian sighed, setting his glass down. "That man does not know when to leave well enough alone."The man hesitated, then replied. "He's spoken to Valeria too."Sebastian's eyebrow rose, his hand wrapped around the rim of his desk. "Did he so?"He reclined, a wry smile spreading across his face. "How interesting."There was a pause before he went on speaking. "See that he doesn't get any nearer."The man obeyed. "And Valeria?"Sebastian's smile grew wider. "Tel