All Chapters of Love, Obsession, Torture: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

A month earlier… Sleep abandoned me as my eyes fluttered open. I rubbed at them gently before easing myself upright on Lana’s bed, and sighed. I missed Mason. God, I missed him so much.Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I instinctively brushed them away with the back of my index finger, as though wiping the tears might erase the lingering pain too. “He never deserved me,” I squeaked, my voice a few notes higher than usual. Lana stirred beside me. “Sorry,” I murmured, offering her an apologetic smile when her eyes lifted to mine. Lana and I shared a space, we’d always shared everything, ever since we met as freshmen at Oxford University. Every high, every low, every messy in-between. She’d given up a Mayfair luxury house, her mother’s graduation gift, for my modest Bexley apartment—nothing too fancy. A decision that still baffled and irritated me.“This space is big enough,” She’d insisted back then.I’d rolled my eyes, imagining the life we could have lived in one of London’s most

“Miss Clay,” he murmured, his voice only deepening my paralysis.I tensed all over. I could hear my heart thudding in my ears. I knew I had to speak at this point—but I couldn’t. I was lost for words, completely captivated by this man.“I’m closing the door now,” he said calmly, recognising my stupidly tensed state.He leaned down, lowered his head to level with my eye, then whispered in my ear, “Are you okay?” His hot breath against my skin sent scorching coals to radiate through my body, a sharp pulsation breaking free between my legs. I breathed in and cleared my throat, snapping myself out of the embarrassment.“Hi,” I croaked, my skin flushing. “I’m Robin Clay.”I extended a hand. He took it gently, the contact sending a shiver straight through my frail body. I gasped, both of us releasing our hands just as quickly as we clasped them.“I know,” he murmured, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. “Come. Sit. Mr Betton sent over your portfolio for a position at our company.”“O

The weekend passed very quickly in a hazy blur. Lana had dragged me downtown to a bar for some much-needed relaxation after a stressful week in her department and the looming reality of my new job. Still, every spare moment, my mind faltered, circling back to Jack. What was it about him I just couldn’t resist?His piercing blue eyes?That impossibly handsome face?The searing warmth of his touch? Or the way he made me quiver when we were in close proximity?I was by and large slipping into a reverie about Jack every fleeting moment. I was losing myself in want, one I hadn’t planned for. This job meant the world to me, I would never want to ruin it with an insatiable desire I had no right to feel.My first day at the confectionery was tranquil. The grandeur of the factory was unlike anything I’d ever seen before, its interior nothing short of breath taking.I work here now? At McCullen Confectionery? It felt incredible. The Confectionery rose with a quiet confidence; dark glass, clean

Voices filtered through my foggy head, dragging me awake. I puffed, the sound sharpening into Lana and Mike’s low murmurs drifting from the kitchen.I groaned and pushed myself upright, my head already protesting with a stab of pain. Sauntering down the hallway, I cradled my skull in one hand.Gosh! It hurts like a bitch.“I’ll take my leave now, Miss Robin,” Mike said softly when he spotted me. He gave a small nod and exited through the kitchen door.Mike was a man of few words—one of the longest-serving chauffeurs in the Betton family. Lana swore she didn’t need the security or the entourage chasing her about, but she never hesitated to enjoy the perks and highs of her privilege when it suited her, like Mike being at her beck and call.“Sleep good?” Lana asked, sliding a mug of coffee into my hands.“Ugh,” I groaned. “My head is killing me. Remind me why I agreed to get wasted?”I pressed my fingers against my temples, massaging slowly, willing the ache to ease. “I’m never doing this

The restaurant opened up like a cathedral, it was an embodiment of modern luxury and effortless elegance. The space was defined by the sheer, breath-taking volume of airy grandeur, softened by the plush expanse of cream leather and the dizzying height of the ceiling above. Gosh it was so high.To the left, a towering wall stretched two storeys high, its glass panes turning into vast, obsidian mirrors and suspending from the distant ceiling on impossibly thin wires was a constellation of massive glass spheres hovering over the centre of the room. They burned with molten intensity, their irregular, organic textures catching the light like embers trapped in ice. Hung at staggering heights, they cascaded downward like a waterfall of illuminated glass, breaking the vast emptiness of the atrium. There were long, theatrical shadows stretched across the stone walls as a soft, amber luminance rained down upon the diners below. Walking on the impeccably polished marble floor resembled a dark l