All Chapters of Is this Love or Obsession : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Sebastian was asleep upstairs, having spent the evening getting to know Victoria. The four-year-old had been shy at first, clinging to his father's leg, but Victoria had won him over with her gentle patience and the gift of a stuffed lion she'd brought from London."He's wonderful," Victoria continued. "I can see so much of you in him. When we're married, I promise I'll love him as if he were my own."Timothy's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. *When we're married.* Not *if*, but *when*. Victoria had always been skilled at making assumptions sound like foregone conclusions."Victoria," he began, but she cut him off with a radiant smile."I know this isn't how we planned it," she said, producing a small velvet box from her purse. "But I thought perhaps it was time we made things official."Timothy stared at the box, recognizing it immediately. It was his grandmother's engagement ring-the one he'd given Victoria when they were nineteen, full of dreams and certainty about their future.

Three thousand miles away in New York, Victoria Ashford stood in Timothy's penthouse office, her engagement ring catching the afternoon light streaming through the windows. She'd been back in New York for only two weeks, but her presence had already begun to transform Timothy's sterile bachelor existence."I hate to leave you so soon after we've gotten engaged," Victoria said, straightening Timothy's tie with practiced intimacy. "But Professor Morrison specifically requested that I return to complete my dissertation defense. It's only three months, darling."Timothy nodded, though something in his expression remained distant. "Your education is important. We've waited this long-three more months won't matter."Victoria studied his face, searching for the enthusiasm she remembered from their youth. Timothy had proposed, had slipped his grandmother's ring onto her finger, had announced their engagement to his business associates with all the appropriate pride. But there was something mi

The next hour descended into controlled chaos. Victoria, stunning in her custom Vera Wang gown, stood in the bridal suite as Marcus explained the situation. Her face cycled through shock, horror, and something that might have been relief."Cancel everything," Timothy ordered, his voice carrying the authority that had built an empire. "Get everyone out. Now."Guests were quietly informed of a "family emergency." The elaborate floral arrangements suddenly looked obscene, the white roses like funeral flowers. The string quartet packed their instruments as catering staff cleared untouched champagne glasses.Timothy's phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number: *One move toward the authorities and the boy dies. This is between you and me.*A second message followed with coordinates and a time: *Come alone. You have three hours.*Timothy's security team transformed the estate into a command center. Satellite phones, tracking equipment, and enough firepower to level a city block appeare

Two miles away, Nicole stood in her cottage kitchen, one hand pressed to her now-prominent belly as she watched the unusual amount of traffic moving through her quiet town. Expensive cars, men in suits, the kind of activity that Raglan never saw.Her pregnancy was now impossible to hide at five months along. The local doctor had been kind, asking no questions about the father or her circumstances. She'd told everyone her name was Emma Thompson, that she was a writer seeking solitude. The story had been accepted without question in this laid-back community.But tonight, something felt wrong. The air hummed with tension, and she found herself checking the locks on her doors, drawing the curtains tight.She'd been having dreams about Timothy lately-vivid, disturbing dreams where he was calling her name, searching for something he'd lost. She'd wake with tears on her cheeks and his child moving restlessly in her womb, as if the baby could sense her distress."It's nothing," she whispered

The shot was precise, professional. Reeves jerked backward, clutching his shoulder as the gun flew from his hand. He collapsed against the wall, gasping, his eyes still burning with hatred even as blood soaked through his shirt."It's over," Timothy breathed, cradling his wounded hand as he stumbled toward Sebastian.The next hours passed in a blur of paramedics, police statements, and the overwhelming relief of holding his son again. Sebastian clung to Timothy with desperate intensity, refusing to let go even as medics treated Timothy's shattered hand."I'm sorry, Daddy," Sebastian whispered against Timothy's chest. "I tried to be brave like you said.""You were so brave," Timothy murmured, his voice thick with emotion. "So incredibly brave. Daddy's here now. You're safe."Victor Reeves Jr. was airlifted to Auckland Hospital under police guard, his shoulder wound serious but not life-threatening. The charges against him would be numerous: kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, int