Page 14 of Chains of Obsession

“I wasn’t looking for anything,” I say, my voice defiant even as my heart pounds.

“Then why are you trembling?” he murmurs, his eyes flicking down to where my hands clutch the edge of the desk.

I release my grip immediately, cursing myself for giving him any leverage. His presence is overwhelming, suffocating in its intensity, but I refuse to back down.

“You don’t get to control me,” I say, my voice shaking but firm.

His gaze darkens, the playful glint vanishing as he leans in, his face inches from mine. “Control you? Amelia, you’re in my world now. Everything about you-your safety, your choices, your life—it’s mine to protect. Whether you like it or not.”

“Protect? Is that what you call this? Trapping me here, watching my every move? That’s not protection, Matteo. That’s obsession.” I snap, pushing back against his words.

His lips curl into a smirk, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Maybe it is. But obsession is what keeps you alive. You want freedom? Walk out that door. See how far you get before someone tries to use you against me.”

The weight of his words crash over me, and I hate that he’s right. But I hate even more the way his proximity makes my resolve crumble.

“Why are you like this?” I whisper, the question slipping out before I can stop it.

“Because I have to be. This world doesn’t allow weakness, Amelia. I won’t let it destroy you.”

For a moment, I see something in his eyes, vulnerability, regret, maybe even longing. But it’s gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced by the hard-edged man I’ve come to know.

“Get out of my office,” he says, his voice quiet but commanding.

I glare at him, my defiance rekindled. “You don’t give me orders.”

“Don’t I?” he murmurs, his lips curling into that infuriating smirk.

Before I can respond, he steps even closer, his hand brushing against mine as he reaches past me to close the drawer. The contact sends a jolt through me, the electric pull between us impossible to ignore.

“You can hate me all you want,Tesoro.But you’ll never escape me.”

I want to argue, to scream, but the intensity of his gaze leaves me speechless. As I storm out of the office, I can’t help but wonder if he’s right.

Chapter five

A Dangerous Discovery

Matteo

Control. It’s the foundationof everything I’ve built, the cornerstone of my life. But with Amelia, control feels like a fleeting concept, slipping through my fingers like water no matter how tightly I try to hold on.

This morning, she was in my office—pushing boundaries she knows better than to cross. The fire in her eyes when I caught her rifling through my things was enough to set my blood alight. She challenges me, defies me, and yet, I can’t bring myself to stop her. Not entirely.

Now, as I sit in the same office, staring at the empty space she occupied, a faint pang of something unfamiliar twists in my chest. Guilt? No. Guilt is a weakness I’ve long since banished.

Amelia doesn’t understand the world she’s in, and maybe it’s better that way. If she knew the full truth about her father, about me, it would destroy her. The door creaks open, as Nico steps in.He is loyal to a fault and sharp as a blade, carries an expression that tells me whatever he’s about to say, will upset me.

“What is it?” I ask, leaning back in my chair.

He hesitates, which is unlike him. “We’ve been monitoring her brother, Luca.”

I arch an eyebrow. “And?”

“There’s something you need to see.” He hands me a tablet, the screen glowing with a series of surveillance photos and documents.

I scroll through them, my jaw tightening with every passing second. Luca Ricci, Amelia’s golden brother, is far from the paragon of virtue she believes him to be. His hands are as stained as mine, his alliances tangled with people who’d slit his throat the moment it suited them and then there’s the proof that Luca was involved in the chain of events that led to their father’s death. The bastard sold him out.

My grip tightens on the tablet, the screen threatening to crack under the pressure. This changes everything. Amelia’s hatred for me has always been rooted in the belief that I’m responsible for her father’s death. If she finds out the truth, that her own brother betrayed their family...

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