All Chapters of I Became the Obsession of My Ex-Husband’s Godfather: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The little Italian restaurant was tucked between two high-rises, the kind of place that didn’t need a sign because the line out the door was advertisement enough. Elena had been looking forward to it all week. A solo dinner. No Daniel, no Sophia, no pretending. Just her, a plate of pasta, and a glass of red wine that cost more than she’d admit to her mother.She ate slowly, savoring every bite. The couple next to her was arguing about soccer practice, but Elena tuned them out. For forty-five minutes, she wasn’t Elena Walsh, the soon-to-be Thompson bride. She was just a girl enjoying a good meal.What she didn’t notice was the man sitting in the corner booth, alone, reading something on his phone. Alexander Voss had chosen this restaurant for the same reason she had, quiet, good food, no one bothered him. He’d seen her when she walked in, recognized her immediately, and decided to leave her alone. She was clearly enjoying herself. He wasn’t about to interrupt.But when she paid her

The Thompson estate was a maze of marble floors and cold hallways, but Elena had learned something in her past life: the people who really ran the house weren’t the Thompsons. They were the staff.In her past life, she’d barely spoken to them. Not because she was rude, she just hadn’t thought about it. She’d been too busy trying to impress Margaret, too busy being the perfect fiancée, too busy crying over Daniel’s absences. The cook, the maids, the driver, they’d been background noise. Furniture that moved.Not this time.It started small. A “good morning” to the maid who cleaned the guest bathroom. Learning the driver’s name was Frank and his daughter was starting college in the fall. Asking the cook, a round woman named Rosa, about her recipe for arroz con pollo.“You remember my name, miss,” Rosa said, surprised.“Of course I do,” Elena said. “You made that lemon cake for the engagement party. I still think about it.”Rosa beamed.Elena brought little things. A box of good c

The rumors about Elena and Marcus spread like wildfire, but Elena didn’t defend herself. She stayed quiet, watched, and thought.Why is Marcus coming at me so hard?Yes, he was a creep. Yes, he’d always been touchy. But spreading lies about her? Risking a family scandal? That wasn’t just creepy. That was calculated. Someone had put him up to it, or he had a reason beyond his own greasy desires.Elena sat in her childhood bedroom, replaying every interaction she’d had with Marcus. The elevator. The hallway. The way he’d looked at Sophia after the failed trap at the gala.Sophia.She sat up straighter.At the gala, when Marcus walked out of the elevator alone, his first glance had been at Sophia. And Sophia’s face had crunched up, annoyed, angry. Like a plan had failed.What if they’re working together? Elena thought. What if Sophia is using Marcus to get to me?But that didn’t quite fit. Marcus wasn’t the type to take orders from anyone. Unless he was getting something out of i

Daniel didn’t say a word on the drive home from the wine tasting. His jaw was tight, his hands gripping the wheel. Elena watched him from the passenger seat, pretending to be exhausted, pretending not to notice the storm brewing behind his eyes.He dropped her off at her parents’ house with a kiss on the forehead. “Get some rest.”“You too, darling.”She watched his car disappear down the street. Then she went inside, changed into her pajamas, and settled into bed with a novel she’d been meaning to read for weeks.She didn’t expect him to go straight home.She expected him to go to Sophia.He did.Daniel didn’t even text first. He just drove to Sophia’s apartment, parked in her building’s garage, and took the elevator up. His knuckles rapped against her door at 10:47 p.m.Sophia opened it in a silk robe, her hair slightly messy. She looked surprised to see him.“Daniel? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”He pushed past her into the apartment. “We need to talk.”“

The Thompson family business dinner was held at a private dining club downtown, the kind of place where the waiters wore white gloves and the wine list was thicker than most novels. Elena wore a simple black dress, her hair pinned up, pearl studs in her ears. She looked the part of the devoted fiancée. Quiet. Pretty. Unnoticeable.She sat at the long table between two elderly Thompson uncles who smelled like cigar smoke and didn’t speak to her. Daniel was at the other end, deep in conversation with his father. Margaret held court in the middle, laughing too loudly at something a business associate said.And Alexander Voss sat across from her, three seats down, saying almost nothing.He was wearing a charcoal suit, his dark hair silver at the temples. He didn’t look at her. He didn’t acknowledge her existence. He just sat there, swirling whiskey in his glass, listening more than he spoke.Elena had gotten used to that. The not-looking. The distance. After the roses, after the way h