Lahat ng Kabanata ng Owned By His Obsession : Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

It had rained heavily that morning. The campus grounds were wet, with leaves littering the pathways due to the strong wind. Autumn stood outside his dorm, contemplating whether or not to brave the storm or miss his first class. For a moment, he thought of how nice it would be to go back to his bed and actually lie on it, given the loads of studying he'd done the night before, dozing in between at his study table. Sadly, he was never one to miss a class, and even worse, neither was Professor Sheila. She'd show up even if an earthquake were to happen. “Why do I always forget that darn umbrella?” he breathed out, remembering he'd left it at his mom's for the hundredth time. He shook his head a bit as he saw a couple of people walk by with umbrellas, some in pairs, the water pattering against their shoes. Soon, even more people walked by, a couple of cars driving through now. He checked his watch once again. 7:44 a.m., it read. “Why didn't I just put the books away?” he mutt

Vegas sat at the large dinner table, the fork feeling like a brick in his hands as he fiddled with his now half-empty plate. Dinner had consisted of a luxurious spread as usual, even including one of his favorites: pecan pie. Yet the food never really settled. He had barely picked at a few pieces. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy it. It was the weight of silence that filled the room, a formal air with his father seated at the far end of the table, eyes fixed on his tablet almost the whole time. His mother sat a bit closer, gorgeously dressed as though they had attended an important event, though she would argue that this dinner counted as one. With time, Vegas had come to the conclusion that his father only called for these occasional meet-ups for formality’s sake, disguised as making an effort to see him. But it never really mattered, not to him anyway. Yet, he made an effort to speak to his mom, who had thrown a couple of glances at him in the past twenty minutes. “So, how

Julian kept going, casual as ever. The conversation dragged on. He asked about Autumn’s favorite classes, what he thought of the clubs on campus, and even joked about how hard it must be to balance social life with the architecture workload.Autumn answered in short, awkward sentences, shifting on his feet, eyes darting to Vegas every few seconds.Vegas shot him a flat look. "Why are you talking so much?"Julian grinned. "Because one of us has to. You look like you're about three seconds away from committing a felony."Autumn almost choked. For a moment, the tension eased. Almost. Vegas didn't laugh. His gaze slid back to Autumn immediately, intense enough to make his stomach knot. Julian noticed."Oh." The grin slowly slipped from his face. "Oh, you two were in the middle of something.""We're leaving," Vegas said.Autumn stiffened.Julian raised an eyebrow. "That wasn't a suggestion, was it?""No.""Right."An awkward silence followed. Julian looked between them, clearly trying to f

Vegas was already seated at the dining table when Autumn came downstairs, Aaron heading toward the door as soon as he walked in.The air was thick with the rich, savory smell of grilled steak and roasted garlic. Warm, buttery bread sat in a basket, its golden crust still steaming slightly.The faint sweetness of caramelized onions and herbs mixed with the sharp tang of red wine that Vegas had already poured into two glasses. The plates looked expensive—heavy, white ceramic that clinked loudly as they were set on the table, the middle-aged chef also heading outwards.“Well, don’t just stand there,” Vegas grumbled, voice low and flat. He didn’t look up at first. He kept cutting into his steak, the knife sliding through the meat with a soft hiss, juices pooling dark and glossy on the plate.Autumn pulled out a chair, settling down stiffly. The wooden chair felt cold and hard. ‘I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be sitting at his table like this is normal. Like I belong to him.’ The thought

It was supposed to have been like any other day. Just heading to class, his backpack slung over one arm while tucking the large sketchbook under his arm, a strand of hair or two slightly falling over his face.Today, however, had been different.Autumn stared out of the car at the students in little clusters at the front of the building, some checking out the boards pasted on the wall.He was one long breath away from possibly choking, the thought of gaining more attention putting him in fight or flight mode.But he didn't react all that much, not outwardly anyway.“Thanks for the ride,” he managed, sparing only a glance at Vegas, who'd been driving silently the whole time, which somehow seemed to make him more nervous.Even more annoying, he didn't even give a fucking reply.Autumn stepped out of the car quickly, walking past several people before deciding to stick to the corner after almost bumping into someone.By the time he got to the entrance, he suddenly turned back, his head d