Page 9 of Obsession

His eyes glinted dangerously. “What are you doing here?”

His deep, accented voice slid across her skin, causing a subtle quiver to run through her. She forced herself to ignore it.

“I see you’re still avoiding the fact that we are legally bound,” she said.

“You’re right.” His lips tightened. “I refuse to address the worst mistake of my life.”

Her heart pinched. She ought to have expected this reaction from him. Nonetheless, she soldiered on, refusing to show him how his cruel words hurt her.

“That still doesn’t change our truth,” she said, as casually as she could. “You and I are still very much married,husband.”

“I’m not your husband.”

“I have a piece of paper that says otherwise, husband.”

“Anna, stop calling me that,” he ordered.

Anna. He was the only one who’d ever called her by that name. At one time, she’d loved to hear it from his lips. But now, it was a haunting reminder of lost dreams and shattered hopes.

“Stop calling me Anna,” she retorted.

“I will call you what I want,Anna.”

“Then that works the same for me,husband.”

His eyes hardened. “Why are you here? Have you lost your goddamned mind?”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“And you thought this was the best way to do that,da?”

She shrugged. “Okay. I was also curious to know where you were going.”

“Why? So, you can have more rubbish to write about me in your gossip rag?”

“Maybe. And Noir isnota gossip rag.”

“When it comes to me, it is.” His jaw worked. His irritation only fueled her delight. It thrilled her to know he was not as immune to her writings as he pretended to be.

She looked around. “What is this creepy place? Why are you here?”

“Nothing you need to know about. Get back to your car and drive away, Anna. This is not safe.”

She moved a step closer to him. “Happy to know that you care about me,husband.”

His lips thinned. “I really don’t. But I do care about your brother and your sisters enough to ensure that nothing happens to you—for their sake.”

Her heart twisted at his harsh words, but she ignored the pain.

“I’m not leaving till I talk to you,husband.”

“Stop calling me that, and we can talk.”

“Fine, have it your way, for now.” She looked at him for a long moment. “This war between you and me is affecting our families.”

He lifted a shoulder and dropped it as if it didn’t matter to him in the least. “They will live. Is that all?”

“What is wrong with you?” she stormed. “You and I fighting—it has to stop. We have to be better for the sake of our siblings. They deserve to be happy.”

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