All Chapters of His Secret Obsession: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Arie’s POV “Now,” Nico murmured, his eyes holding mine, “we can discuss what happens tonight.” His thumb remained against my lower lip, slowly tracing the place where he had wiped away the drop of soup. The bowl beside us was empty, but Nico showed no intention of leaving. Neither of us spoke. The silence became heavy with everything we had refused to acknowledge. My anger was still there, sharp and alive, but beneath it existed something more dangerous—the awareness of how close he was and how easily my body remembered him. Nico’s gaze travelled over my face as though he were searching for every change the months apart had left behind. His fingers moved from my mouth to my cheek, caressing my skin with a tenderness that didn’t belong to the ruthless man who controlled an empire. “You’ve become thinner,” he said. “I was happier before you arrived.” His eyes darkened, but he didn’t respond to the insult. Instead, his hand slid behind my neck. His fingers moved slowly into my hai

Chapter 24The Morning AfterArie’s POVThe first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was the emptiness beside me.The sheets were cold.For one disoriented moment, I stared at the untouched pillow and wondered whether I had imagined everything. Perhaps the exhaustion, Nico’s voice in the darkness, and the weight of his arms around me had been nothing more than a cruel dream.Then I moved.A deep ache spread through my body, and the memories returned all at once.His mouth against mine. His hands holding me. The way I had clung to him instead of pushing him away. The things he had whispered when there was no space left between us.You’re mine, Arie.I squeezed my eyes shut.“No.”The word escaped into the empty room, thin and useless.I pulled the sheet tighter around myself, but it couldn’t protect me from the truth.I had slept with Nico.Not the man I had loved before everything fell apart. Not the Nico who used to meet me in secret and convince me that what we shared was enough.

Nico’s POVI had spent three months imagining Arie inside my arms again.None of those imaginings had prepared me for the reality of waking beside her.She lay with her back against my chest, her hair scattered across my arm and her breathing soft in the darkness. Even in sleep, her fingers remained curled around my wrist, as if some unconscious part of her feared I would disappear before morning.I didn’t move for almost an hour.I had meetings waiting in Florence. Men expected orders. A shipment had vanished two nights earlier, and someone inside my organisation had begun selling information that belonged to me.None of it seemed important while Arie slept against me.I watched the shadows shift across her face as dawn slowly entered the room. The anger that had sharpened her features since I brought her back was gone. In sleep, she looked like the woman who used to wait for me beside open windows, pretending she wasn’t listening for my car.But she wasn’t that woman anymore.Seattl

Arie’s POVMy lips parted, but no explanation came.Bianca’s faint smile slowly disappeared. Her eyes moved from the keys in my hand to the open delivery van and then back to my face.“Arie?”The teasing note had vanished from her voice.She stepped closer, and I moved backwards instinctively. The reaction made pain flash across her expression.“It’s me,” she said softly. “You don’t have to be frightened.”That familiar warmth almost broke me.For months, I had imagined what would happen if Bianca discovered the truth. I had expected accusations, disgust, perhaps even hatred. I had never imagined her standing before me with the same concern she used to show whenever she found me crying as a child.“What are you doing here?” I managed to ask.“I could ask you the same thing.” Her gaze returned to the keys. “Were you trying to leave?”I curled my fingers around them.Bianca looked toward the guards before lowering her voice. “Did Nico bring you here?”I didn’t answer, but she saw the tr

Arie’s POVThursday arrived slowly.For two days, the brass key Bianca had given me remained hidden inside the torn lining of my blue coat. I checked it every few hours, slipping my fingers through the small opening to reassure myself it was still there.The note was gone.I had torn it into tiny pieces, soaked them in water, and flushed them away. I couldn’t risk Nico finding anything that connected Bianca to my escape.But the words remained inside my head.Thursday. West gate. 4:10.You will have seven minutes.Nico hadn’t returned to the villa in two days.I should have been relieved. His absence gave me time to study the house, observe the guards, and prepare without his eyes following every movement.Instead, I found myself listening whenever an engine approached the gates.Part of me expected him to enter my bedroom and confront me about Bianca’s visit. But no one mentioned her name. Elena continued bringing my meals, the guards followed their routines, and the villa behaved as