All Chapters of His velvet obsession : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

81 Chapters

Chapter 31- Report

Xavier povThe notification on my screen wasn't a market alert. It was a ping from the penthouse security mesh. I swiped the glass, my thumb lingering over the icon.Status: Subject 01. Activity: Nutrients consumed. Location: Gym.I felt a microscopic shift in my chest—the kind of relief I usually only felt when a competitor’s CEO signed over his soul. She had eaten. It was a small victory, but in the war I was waging for Astrid’s survival, it felt like a breakthrough.My private line buzzed. I didn't have to look at the caller ID to know it was Ava. I pressed the phone to my ear, leaning back in the chair that still felt like a predator’s seat."Report," I said. My voice was clipped, the CEO persona still vibrating in my throat."She finished the plate, sir," Ava’s voice was as steady as a sniper’s breath. "Standard compliance. No outward resistance, though the resentment is... palpable.""I don't pay you to measure her resentment, Ava. I pay you to ensure she s

Chapter 32-You’re home early

Astrid’s POV When Ava finally called an end to the session, she didn't offer a word of praise or a hand to help me up. She simply wiped the sweat from her brow, gathered her gear, and walked out, leaving me trembling on the matted floor. The walk back to my room was a blurred marathon of pain. Every muscle in my legs felt like it had been replaced by hot lead, and my ribs throbbed with a dull, rhythmic ache that kept pace with my heartbeat. I managed to stumble into the shower, letting the water scald my skin until the scent of the gym—the iron, the sweat, the fear—was washed down the drain. I dressed in something simple: a soft, oversized sweater and leggings that didn't feel like a costume. I wasn't in the mood for velvet. I slumped onto the cushioned swing near the floor-to-ceiling window, tucking my bruised knuckles under my sleeves. I closed my eyes, trying to piece together a plan. Escape seemed like a fever dream now. With my father in a cage and Xavier's eyes in ev

Chapter 33-You really want to run away from me

Astrid pov The silence between us was no longer empty; it was heavy with the things he knew. Xavier took my hands back into his, his touch shifting from a cold command to something agonizingly gentle. He rubbed the bruised, angry skin of my knuckles with his thumb, his gaze fixed on the damage I’d done to myself. "I don't like seeing you get hurt, Velvet," he murmured. His voice wasn't a threat this time. It was worse. It was a soft, possessive caress that made me want to lean into him and scream at him all at once. He dropped my hands and moved toward the far wall. I watched, frozen, as he pressed a hidden panel in the cabinet—one I never knew was there. He pulled out a small tube of ointment. He didn't mention the office. He didn't mention the video of my father. My heart hammered against my ribs—did he not know I’d seen it? Or was Ava playing a much more dangerous game than I realized, letting me see that cage just to see what I would do? Xavier walked back to the bed an

Chapter 34- GYM

Astrid’s POV The sun hadn’t even cleared the horizon when the door to my room clicked open. I didn't need to check the clock. I knew the weight of that silence anywhere. I sat up, my body protesting with a chorus of sharp, stinging aches from yesterday’s session with Ava. The room was bathed in the cold, blue light of dawn, making the expensive furniture look like jagged ice. Xavier was leaning against the doorframe. He’d traded the charcoal suit for black tactical gear—a fitted compression shirt that showed every hard line of his chest and dark trousers. He looked less like a CEO and more like the man who had dragged me through the mountain mud. "The world doesn't wait for you to stop aching, Astrid," he said. His voice was a low vibration that seemed to settle right in the marrow of my bones. "Five minutes. Gym. He didn't wait for an answer. He never did. I dragged myself out of bed, my knuckles still tacky with the ointment he’d applied. I dressed in silence, my mi

Chapter 35- I landed

Xavier’s POV The morning air in the gym was sharp, but the heat coming off Astrid was sharper. She stood there, breathing hard, looking like a chaotic masterpiece I was tempted to ruin. She’d traded the oversized sweaters for actual training gear, and it was a problem. She was wearing a pair of high-waisted leggings and a cropped tank top that clung to her in ways that made the "CEO" part of my brain short-circuit. I’d always known she was beautiful but seeing her like this, flushed and defiant, was a different kind of torture. She had curves that made the tight compression of her gear look like a challenge. The soft rise and fall of her chest, the taper of her waist—it was a distraction I hadn't budgeted for. I felt a tightening in my gut that had nothing to do with adrenaline. "Again," I said, my voice sounding rougher than I intended. She didn't hesitate. She stepped back into a stance, and that’s when I saw it. The way she shifted her weight wasn't the clumsy,

Chapter 36

Xavier’s POV The gym door hissed shut behind me, but the ghost of Astrid’s touch lingered like a burn. I walked down the long, sterile hallway toward my room, my boots silent on the marble. My pulse was still erratic, a rhythmic thrumming in my ears that had nothing to do with the physical exertion. It was her. The way she had looked at me from the mat—defiant, flushed, her dark hair a chaotic silk against the black rubber. I pushed open the heavy oak door to my bedroom and stopped. Carl was standing by the window, a tablet in his hand. He turned as I entered, and for a rare second, His professional mask faltered. His eyes traveled from my sweat-dampened tactical shirt down to my braced stance. He’d seen me in a hundred different states of undress or high-end tailoring, but he’d never seen me like this: unsettled. "Good morning, Boss," Carl said, his voice regaining its disciplined neutral. "I didn't expect you to be... active this early." "The morning required a

Chapter 37-Sign the papers

Xavier’s POV The boardroom doors were double-thick oak, reinforced with steel, designed to keep the secrets of the Mattoe empire in and the prying eyes of the world out. As I stepped through them, the low murmur of thirty high-level executives died instantly. It wasn't a fade; it was a decapitation of sound. I didn't go to my chair. I walked the perimeter of the room, my boots clicking with a slow, rhythmic finality against the polished floor. I could see them sweating. Men three times my age, titans of industry who had survived recessions and coups, were currently vibrating with a primal, lizard-brain fear. "I spent my morning on a mat," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, yet it carried to every corner of the room. "I spent it learning how to find a weakness and exploit it. How to take a strike and return it with interest." I stopped behind Arthur Sterling, the Head of Legal. He was a man who prided himself on his composure, but today, his collar looked three sizes t

Chapter 38- Thank you

Astrid’s POV When the heavy doors finally hissed shut behind Xavier, the air in the gym didn't get warmer; it just felt emptier. I was left with Ava. I could feel her gaze on me—sharp, judgmental, and heavy with a dislike that was entirely mutual. But I could barely focus on her. My mind was a traitor, looping back to the moments before. To the way Xavier had looked in that tactical gear. The fabric had been a second skin, highlighting the brutal, efficient power of his body. My skin still hummed where his biceps had brushed against me, solid and immovable. He was a monster, yes, but he was a masterpiece of one. His face remained etched behind my eyelids—that razor-sharp jawline, the dark, ink-black hair that looked like he’d run his fingers through it in a fit of frustration, and those eyes. Eyes that looked like a winter sea just before a storm. He was too handsome for the world he lived in, a beautiful lie wrapped in a suit. "Princess? Are you done daydreaming, or ar

Chapter 39- Game of thrones

Astrid’s POV After the stifling tension of breakfast, I needed to disappear. I spent the next hour navigating the endless, silent corridors of the penthouse, refusing to give Ava the satisfaction of asking for directions. Eventually, I pushed open a pair of heavy, soundproofed doors at the end of the north wing, and the air shifted. The home theater was a dark, opulent sanctuary. Low-slung, crimson velvet loungers were arranged in tiers, and the walls were bathed in the soft, rhythmic glow of red LED strips that made the room feel like the inside of a beating heart. At the back, a sleek black marble bar glinted with rows of crystal decanters—tequila, bourbon, and spirits I couldn't name—all reflecting the ruby light like liquid jewels. It was beautiful, expensive, and utterly lonely. Setting up the screen was a struggle that made my throat tighten with a sudden, sharp pang of grief. In my old life, I never had to touch a remote; there was always a maid or a technician a button

Chapter 40-Tequila

Xavier’s POV The penthouse was silent, save for the low, rhythmic hum of a battle scene echoing from the north wing. I had spent the last ten hours dismantling a board of directors, but walking through my own front door felt like stepping onto a different kind of battlefield. My suit jacket was draped over my arm, my tie pulled loose and hanging around my neck like a noose. I didn't head for my office or the bar. I followed the sound. I pushed open the theater doors. The room was bathed in a haunting violet-red light. Amidst a sea of crumpled Pringles cans and half-eaten popcorn, I saw her. Astrid was slumped in the center lounger, the blue light of the credits rolling over her skin. I reached for the wall panel and killed the screen, plunging us into the soft, red glow of the LEDs. She was out cold. An empty bottle of tequila lay on the floor, the glass mocking me. One bottle, I thought, a muscle jumping in my jaw. One bottle and she’s managed to drown the world. I step

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