Page 78 of Unapologetic Obsession
It was addictive.
Sure, our relationship would ruffle feathers. I could already hear Saint Damon droning on about how I was jeopardizing my career. But I could handle the university. I could make the dean look the other way by expediting my work. The downside? I’d have to hire more incompetent staff members.
Rose’s family would pose objections, too, but with her scent lingering on my skin, I couldn't find it in myself to be bothered by it. My need for her transcended anything I’d known. This wasn’t just desire, it was absolute.
After months of torture, I had finally entered heaven. I had tasted what life could be with her, and I would burn anyone to the ground who tried to take that away from me.
Chapter
Twenty-Six
ROSE
I woketo a dimly lit room and ran a hand over my body. I was wearing a dress shirt, and my body ached with an unfamiliar pain between my thighs. The curtains had been pulled shut, yet a sliver of sunlight peeked through the gap so I could see the presidential suite of the mega yacht. A faint smile spread over my face as vivid images from last night flashed through my mind. I slapped a hand over my eyes. It finally happened. Everything I had wanted had come true. To my surprise, he was ecstatic that I was a virgin and didn’t mind my lack of experience.
Unable to contain my joy, I turned over. My blurry vision focused on the empty bed. I touched the pillow next to mine. It was cold.
“Damon?” I called out.
No response.
I listened closely, but there was no sound coming from the bathroom or downstairs. My brow furrowed in confusion.
I tossed aside the covers and wrapped myself in one of the white sheets. Turning on the light, I checked the downstairs area of the duplex. Untouched and empty.
Rose: Where are you?
I texted and stared at the screen, urging my phone to vibrate.
Did he leave?
No way. He wouldn’t leave me stranded on his brother’s boat.
Oh God, his brother! It suddenly dawned on me that I was on his brother’s boat, who happened to be my favorite professor. What if Professor Maxwell returned in search of his twin? It would be humiliating to be caught here, completely naked. Would he look at me differently or think I was a promiscuous woman? I never wanted him to view me as those thirsty women he constantly shook off.
I started searching for my clothes—and perhaps a note with an explanation. When I didn’t find one, I decided the safest course of action was to leave and connect with Damon later.
Fortunately, the pier was close to the main road, and I was able to call an Uber. When I remembered Amelie saying she planned to visit her boyfriend this weekend, I plugged in Poppy’s address instead of the dorm. I was restless and had no idea how to interpret Damon’s abrupt departure. I wanted company, but I wasn’t ready to admit that I had slept with our family’s archnemesis, nor could I process his subsequent reaction the following morning.
My cousin had recently moved in with her mom and stepfather at a mansion outside the city. It was the perfect escape, and Poppy wasn’t an inquisitive person. I could have company without rehashing last night.
My phone buzzed in my purse, and I lunged for it. My heart sank when I realized it wasn’t Damon, just a random number. Our family had been harassed for various reasons, mostly by angry customers whose investments didn’t pan out. Our publicrelations team had instructed us to never engage with random callers and to block the number immediately, which I did.
I reached her family home in less than forty-five minutes. It was more of a mansion sprawled over several acres of land. Still, something about the charming architecture and the green grounds made it a cozy home.
Once the security guard saw it was me in the Uber, he let the car through the large gates. Orange shades of early morning light enveloped the expansive grounds, the distant fog adding to the cathartic atmosphere.
I exited the Uber and rushed inside. The large front doors were open in anticipation of my arrival, and I strode into the living room to find Poppy reviewing client portfolios. Clad entirely in black, she sat on the floor and used the coffee table as her workspace. She was on her laptop and glanced up when she heard me enter.
“Rough night?” She looked me up and down. There wasn’t any trace of surprise over my unannounced visit. You would think she had been expecting me since yesterday.
“You could say that.”
I looked wild with unkempt hair, smudged makeup, and last night’s outfit. But Poppy didn’t ask about it or what I was doing there so early in the morning. Others might view our interaction as cold and impersonal. It wasn’t quite the case. Like Professor Maxwell, Poppy lacked empathy. Yet she had a knack for reading me and knew I wasn’t in the mood to bare my feelings.
Instead of trying to engage me in a futile conversation, she said, “Hm. I’m hungry. Let’s order breakfast.” She slid her phone open and pulled up the Uber Eats app on the screen. I watched her select a few items before passing me the phone. “Choose.”
I peered over the screen and absentmindedly selected a side item. I wasn’t a big eater, and it seemed the only times I ate nowadays was with Professor Maxwell. It had become a habit.
