Lahat ng Kabanata ng His velvet obsession : Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

​Xavier’s POV ​The silence in the bunker was a living thing, thick and suffocating. ​I watched Astrid as she pulled back from me. My skin felt cold the moment her fingers left the wound. She looked like a ghost in the red emergency light—fragile, pale, and wrapped in a tactical jacket that could hold three of her. ​"Why do you call me that?" she whispered. Her voice was thin, trembling like a wire under too much tension. "'Velvet.' You’ve said it since the moment you stepped off that plane. Like it’s a secret I’m not in on." ​I didn’t answer immediately. I reached out, my thumb tracing the faint smear of blood I’d left on her jaw earlier. I didn't want to wipe it away; I wanted to mark her. I wanted the whole world to see the stain and know who she belonged to. ​"It’s not a secret, Astrid," I rasped, my voice sounding foreign even to my own ears. "It’s a memory. One you were too young to keep, and one I was too broken to forget." ​I thought of the box in my pocket—the one I ha

Xavier’s POVThe elevator ride to the penthouse was the quietest thirty seconds of my life, and the loudest.The only sound was the hum of the high-speed lift and the jagged, uneven rhythm of Astrid’s breathing. She was leaning against the mirrored wall, her eyes fixed on the floor, her hands still curled into tight, trembling fists. She was covered in the dust of my mountain and the blood of a man she had just unmade.I watched her through the reflection. She looked like a broken porcelain doll that had been glued back together with wire and spite."Don't retreat, Astrid," I said, my voice cutting through the silence like a blade. "The second you let your mind go back to that room, you lose. He was a shadow. You are still standing."She didn't look up. "He was a person, Xavier. And now he’s meat. Because of you. Because of us."The doors chimed, sliding open to reveal the sprawling expanse of my sanctuary. The penthouse was a cathedral of glass, marble, and filtered air—a place where

​Astrid’s POV​The silence of the penthouse was louder than the gunfire had been.​It was a heavy, artificial silence that hummed with the cost of the air filtration and the steady, rhythmic beat of my own heart—a heart that felt like it didn't belong in my chest anymore. I lay in the center of the massive bed, the silk sheets cool against my skin, but I felt like I was sleeping on a slab of ice.​I stared at the ceiling. It was white, pristine, and miles away from the jagged rock of the mountain. I should have felt safe. Xavier had told me I was safe. But "safe" was just another word for "captive" when you weren't allowed to leave.​I shifted, the midnight-blue velvet robe heavy on my limbs. The fabric was soft—impossibly soft—but every time it brushed against my skin, I was reminded of the way Xavier had looked at me when he draped the blanket over my shoulders. Like I was a masterpiece he had finally finished stealing.​Velvet.​The name felt like a brand. It wasn't just a nickname

​Xavier’s POV​The sun didn’t rise over London; it simply bled through the smog, a pale, clinical light that did nothing to warm the glass of the Mattoe Tower.​I stood in the center of the Chairman’s office—my office. The transition had been seamless, a masterpiece of corporate succession that Lyrien himself had set in motion months ago when he named me his sole heir. There were no frantic questions from the board, no whispered coups in the hallways. I had been groomed for this seat since I was eighteen, and now that I was finally sitting in it, the silence was absolute.​I adjusted my cuffs. The silver links clicked—a sharp, expensive sound in the hushed room.​"The press release has been distributed, sir," Carl, my personal assistant, said from the doorway. He didn't come inside. No one entered this room without a direct command. "The official statement confirms that Mr. Mattoe has retired to his private estate for health reasons. Your appointment as CEO is being met with a five-pe

​Astrid’s POV ​The threat hung in the sterile air in the room, cold and heavy. Ava didn’t move. She didn’t need to. The casual way her hand rested near the grip of her weapon told me everything I needed to know. To Xavier, I was a treasure to be guarded. To Ava, I was a problem that needed to be managed. ​"He’s in a cage," I whispered, my voice trembling as I looked back at the graining monitor. My father—the man who had ruled my world with an iron fist—looked like a broken ghost. "Xavier told me he ran. He lied to me." ​"Xavier does what is necessary," Ava said, her voice devoid of any sympathy. She walked toward the desk and tapped a key, darkening the monitors. The image of the cell vanished, leaving us in the shadows of the room. "And right now, it is necessary for you to walk out of this room, sit at that table, and finish your breakfast." ​"And if I don't?" I challenged, pushing myself up from the floor. My knees were weak, but the sight of my father had sparked something b