All Chapters of Bound by Obsession: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The hospital waiting room smelled like antiseptic and fear.I sat in a plastic chair, still wearing the Valentino dress, my heels kicked off somewhere, makeup probably destroyed from crying. Damien paced like a caged animal, his phone pressed into his ear as he barked orders at someone about getting the best cardiac surgeon in the state."He's already in surgery," I said dully. "There's nothing.""There's always something." He hung up, immediately dialing another number. "I'm getting Dr. Reeves from Johns Hopkins. He's the best. He can...""Damien, stop."He looked at me, his eyes wild with something I'd never seen before. Helplessness."I can't stop," he said. "I can't just sit here and do nothing.""That's all we can do." My voice cracked. "Just wait and hope and..."I broke. Just completely shattered. One second I was holding it together, the next I was sobbing so hard I couldn't breathe.Damien was across the room in two strides. He pulled me up from the chair and into his arms, h

"What now?" I asked."Now we go see your father. Now we deal with the media frenzy. Now we figure out how to navigate a real relationship inside a fake marriage." He smiled against my hair. "Now we stop pretending and start living.""Sounds complicated.""Everything worth having usually is.""Is that what I am? Worth having?"He pulled back to look at me, his eyes intense and honest. "You're worth everything, Isla. Everything I have. Everything I am. Everything I never thought I could be."It wasn't quite "I love you."But it was close enough to steal my breath."Come on," he said. "Let's go see your father. Then we'll come back here and I'll show you exactly how worth it you are.""Is that a promise?""It's a guarantee."We left the penthouse hand in hand. No longer pretending, no longer fighting it.Just two people who'd made a deal with the devil and somehow found something real in the ruins of their carefully constructed lies.The contract still stood. The year still loomed. The c

Lucas arrived at the penthouse with coffee, a laptop, and a grim expression."It's bad," he said, pulling up the TMZ article on his screen. "Really bad."I read over Damien's shoulder, my stomach sinking with every word:EXCLUSIVE: Billionaire Damien Cross's Marriage EXPOSED as Contract Arrangement! Wife Paid $10 Million for Year-Long PerformanceSources close to the Cross family reveal that Damien Cross's whirlwind Vegas marriage to Isla Monroe was nothing more than a business transaction. According to leaked contract details, Monroe was paid $5 million upfront with another $5 million due at the end of their one-year arrangement."It's all fake," the source claims. "He needed a wife to claim his inheritance. She needed money to save her bankrupt family. They're both just playing their parts."The contract allegedly includes provisions for public appearances, media management, and a strict NDA. Friends of Monroe's ex-fiancé Marcus Hale confirm she was engaged to Hale just days before

We'd made love three more times—in the shower, against the wall, and once more in bed before we finally collapsed in exhaustion.I lay sprawled across Damien's chest, tracing idle patterns on his skin while he played with my hair."We should probably eat something," I said."Probably." But neither of us moved."And check our phones. See if the world is still exploding over our interview.""Don't care." His arm tightened around me. "The world can wait.""Damien Cross, billionaire CEO, ignoring business for a woman? Scandalous.""I told you. You're more important than any of them." He tilted my face up to kiss me. "The business will be there tomorrow. Right now, I just want to be here with you."My heart melted. "I love you.""I love you too." He said easily now, like the words didn't cost him anymore. "More than I knew I could love anything.""What about the contract? We never actually talked about what happens when it ends.""We renegotiate. Or tear it up entirely. Whatever you want."

We ordered dinner in—neither of us could face going out, being seen, performing for cameras. We ate Thai food on the couch, going over strategy, preparing for the storm.Around midnight, Damien's phone rang. Richard.He answered on speaker. "Father.""Damien. I hear you had an interesting meeting with Elena Russo today." Richard's voice was smooth, unbothered. "I assume she told you some creative stories.""She told me the truth. About how you destroyed the Monroe company. How you paid her to create a scandal. How you orchestrated everything to trap me.""Trap is such an ugly word. I prefer 'guiding you toward the right decision.'""You destroyed an innocent man's livelihood.""I created an opportunity. For both of you. You got your inheritance. The Monroe girl got her father's medical bills paid. Everyone won.""Except for the people you manipulated like chess pieces.""That's business, son. That's how power works. You manipulate or you get manipulated." A pause. "I assume Elena also