Page 26 of Lethal Infatuation

I never thought the reason for my downward spiral would be curly, brown hair, dimpled cheeks, and big hazel eyes that made my fucking knees weak. Not only weremy knees weak, but my defences.

She pushed me away every opportunity she got and I wondered why. It’s as if there were walls surrounding her after our night together. I told myself I wouldn't gather information on her in an unethical manner like I did, but fuck, I was beyond livid when I woke up alone that night.

Left with nothing but memories of our night together. Shadows of our interactions. Dreams. Silhouettes in the darkness that reminded me of her.

Prior to that night, my hands itched to find out every single thing about her, but I stopped myself. She shouldn't have left me. She shouldn't have given me a taste of what she had to offer, because now I felt like a fucking crack addict.

With each encounter between us, I could feel the tension growing. At what point would the confines crack and then explode, unleashing everything inside of me that I've kept locked away all of these years? My obsession grew drastically and I wouldn't stop until she was mine.

All mine.

My little butterfly could try to fly freely as much as she wanted, but it was only a matter of time before I caught her. Caging her in. I'd clip her wings if necessary.

"Keep scowling and I'm afraid your face might just stay that way," Kayden said, handing me a glass of whiskey.

"You're funny," I deadpanned. "Maybe you should ditch the intelligence analyst role and become a stand-up comedian, instead."

"Your vacation should've changed you for the better, but you came back all guns blazing. You're a special case." He laughed.

I sipped on my alcohol, looking at him with a straight face. "Marriage should've enhanced your personality, but you're still insufferable."

"What are friends for?"

"Sometimes I wonder why I even bother coming over," I grimaced, making him chuckle again.

"You clearly have nothing better to do. Should I call Gabriella and tell her to keep you company when I'm too busy?" I didn't let on that the mention of her name made my fingers twitch.

"Who?" I feigned obliviousness.

"If you want me to pursue stand-up comedy, then you definitely need to dabble in acting. You're really good at it."

"I'll pick you up the next time there's auditions. There's nothing more I love than constructive criticism." I folded my arms across my chest, looking at him with a grin.

"You're also a master at deflecting."

"Is that so?" The last person I wanted to think about right now washer. She already plagued me. Day and night.

"Yeah. I suppose there's nothing wrong with being in denial, but with me, of all people, Nicolas? Come on."

"I don't have time to deal with women right now. You know where my priorities lie."

"She's not just any woman, though. The tension between you two was so thick at Amala's housewarming, I could've sworn I saw it floating around the apartment."

I huffed in annoyance. "My main focus right now is being cleared by that God awful therapist so I can return to work."

"That's only going to happen if you're doing better, mentally."

"I am," I dismissed him.

"Are you, though?" He raised an eyebrow. "So you're not having nightmares or anxiety attacks anymore?" I looked away from him, clenching my jaw in frustration. "That's what I thought."

I slid a hand over my face. "Any updates regarding Antonio?"

"Nothing so far. It's almost as if the man fell off the face of theGoddamn earth. No trace of him anywhere. No digital footprint, no credit card usage, absolutely nothing."

"It doesn't make any sense. He couldn't just have disappeared."

"Ares and I will figure that out. You need to rest and focus on your mental well-being. Even if your therapist is awful." I chuckled at his words and shook my head.

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