บททั้งหมดของ Forbidden: My Billionaire Stepbrother's Obsession : บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

Rhaena’s POVIt had been a whole week since I started working at Ravelli Holdings, and somehow it felt like a month. Every day blended into the next, full of meetings, files, emails, and Alessio.Especially Alessio.Working with him was exhausting in a way I hadn’t expected. We were civil in front of others, professional when we had to be, but beneath that was constant tension. He challenged every idea I brought up. I challenged his right back. Sometimes it felt like we were speaking different languages, even when we agreed on the same thing.There were days I left the office with a headache, my jaw sore from clenching it all day. Days when I replayed our arguments in my head, thinking of better comebacks long after the moment had passed. And yet, annoyingly, the work itself was going well. Too well. We made a good team when we weren’t trying to kill each other.That fact alone irritated me.Micah, on the other hand, was easy. Simple. Safe.He had texted me the day after we exchanged

Rhaena’s POVMy stomach twisted in a way that had nothing to do with the alcohol.I stared at the screen for a moment, like if I waited long enough, the name might disappear. It didn’t. A message sat there, glowing against the dark.Hey Rhaena, I’m sorry about how things ended between us. Can we talk?I let out a short, bitter laugh and shook my head slowly, staring at the screen like it had personally offended me.Sorry.Now he was sorry.The word felt empty. Cheap. Like something he had typed without really meaning it.He hadn’t been sorry when I caught him cheating. Not with one girl. Not even with two. I could still remember the way my chest had gone tight when I found him in bed with the girls. And those were just the ones I knew about. There could have been more. There probably were.He hadn’t been sorry when he looked me in the eye and told me I was boring in bed. Like it was my fault he couldn’t keep his pants on. Like my pain was an excuse he could hide behind. That memory st

Alessio’s POVI glanced around, taking in the crowd, the strangers brushing too close, hands lingering too long. “Yeah. Huge difference.”Her eyes narrowed. “I didn’t ask you to come.”“No,” I said quietly. “You didn’t.”The music in the club suddenly changed, the beat dropping even lower, heavier than before. It pounded through the floorboards, vibrating up into my bones like a living thing.The air was thick with sweat and perfume, bodies pressed close in the dim, flashing lights that painted everything in reds and blues.People danced all around us, lost in their own worlds, but right then, it felt like the crowd was closing in tighter, making the space between me and Rhaena feel even smaller.Out of the blue, someone bumped hard into us from behind—probably just another drunk guy not watching where he was going.Rhaena stumbled forward a step, her balance thrown off by the push and the booze she'd had. Her hand flew out instinctively to steady herself, and it landed square on my c

Rhaena’s POVI braced myself, lamp raised, heart pounding wildly, waiting to finally face the consequences of the night I couldn’t remember.The door opened slowly, almost painfully slowly, and the very last person I expected to see walked into the room. It was Alessio. My eyes grew impossibly wide with shock and disbelief when I saw him standing there in the doorway, filling the entire frame with his presence.He was wearing a plain white tank top that clung to his chest and showed off his strong, muscular arms, and grey sweatpants that hung low on his hips in a way that should be illegal. His dark hair looked slightly damp and messy, like he had just run his fingers through it, and there was a light sheen of sweat glistening on his tanned skin. He looked like he had just finished an intense workout session at the gym. I tried my absolute best not to stare at him, but it was incredibly hard to look away. My eyes seemed to have a mind of their own.His green eyes landed on me first. Th

Rhaena’s POVThe crude, explicit words hit me like a physical blow. My mind immediately conjured up images I definitely did not want to be thinking about. Images of him and me, tangled together, his body pressed against mine, him pushing inside me. I shook my head quickly, trying to clear those thoughts away.I couldn't help the deep, burning blush that took over my entire face. I felt the heat spreading rapidly from my cheeks, down my neck, across my chest, and probably all the way down my body. My face must have been bright red, practically glowing. I probably looked like a tomato.Must he be so crude? Must he say things like that so casually, so confidently, like he was talking about the weather or what he had for breakfast? Like it was the most normal thing in the world to say something so explicit and dirty?"You're disgusting," I told him, trying desperately to sound firm and unaffected and like his words hadn't just sent a jolt of something through my entire body. But my voice