Page 141 of The Dark Obsession

If these people don’t know who he truly is, the threat he poses, it might gain him some time. The time I desperately need.

I’ve been a coward before, all my life really.

Taking all that has been thrown at me without protest.

But Tyson has taught me my worth and I’ll fight with everything within me for what I want. Who I want.

My loyalty is to him and only him.

The car comes to a halt in from of my old house, and I don’t feel anything. Any cherished memories I might have had here marred by the truth that I was being groomed.

When the doors unlock from the inside, I scramble to get out first, carefully pressing an arm against my side to hide the outline of Tyson’s phone in my pocket.

My father’s hand lands on the small of my back, making me shudder in disgust as he leads me towards the front door.

Everything looks just the way it was when I left months ago. I feel a pang in my chest at seeing my flowers still alive in their pots by the entrance.

The door opens to the echo of my mother’s frantic footsteps sounding from the kitchen as she rounds the corner, charging towards us.

She looks drastically different from when I last saw her.

Her usually perfectly styled hair in disarray, sunken eyebags prominent under her eyes.

“My baby!” She exclaims, throwing her arms around me, making me flinch.

I can’t do this.

I know she loves me in her own way and her intentions might have been somewhat genuine, unlike my father’s.

Even if that meant seeing me married off to a rich businessman like she secured for herself with no regard for my own happiness.

Her love for my father has always been unrequited and I choose to believe that she simply doesn’t know any better, doesn’t know that there’s more out there than financial security and status.

Yet it doesn’t excuse what she did to me. The obsessive control over my every move.

Without Tyson I’d be a shell of who I am today.

“I need to be alone.” I step back and she gasps, looking at the marks Tyson left on my neck with disgust.

I never bothered to cover them up, not that he’d let me. I love showing off that I belong to him.

Shaking her off, I hurry up the stairs without looking back. At this point, I couldn’t care less about hurting her.

I’ve left this all behind a while ago, come to terms with it by finding closure in Tyson’s arms. And now I’m back where it all began.

Slamming the door of my old room, I don’t stop to reminisce about the space I’ve spend most of my life in.

One that’s now almost completely empty.

Tyson really managed to move most of my prized belongings once he knocked me out that night. Even my old stuffed animals.

My thoughtful, rough around the edges man. My heart twists in agony just thinking about him.

I drag the heavy wooden dresser in front of my door, barring the entrance since my mother removed the lock, stripping me of any semblance of privacy.

Whirling towards the bathroom, I shut that door as well before huddling under a thick blanket I grabbed from the bed in hopes that it’ll muffle the noise.

A wave of relief hits me as I take out Tyson’s phone, seeing that it doesn’t have a password.

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