Page 7 of Charmingly Obsessed
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Chapter 4 Diana
“What an absolute nutcase!” The taxi driver glances nervously in his rearview mirror, his hawk-like features tight with adrenaline. The massive black SUV is glued to our tail. “Seriously, whoisthat guy? Swear I’ve seen his face… Not some celebrity psycho, is he?”
I shake my head mutely before realizing he can’t see me. “No. He’s… an investor. Well-known. Mykola Frez. Heir to the Korshunov fortune.”
“Ah.” The driver’s lips purse in distaste. “Thatkind of rich asshole. Got it.”
For the next ten minutes, it’s a high-stakes game of cat and mouse through downtown traffic. Frez’s SUV repeatedly surges forward, pulling alongside us with terrifying speed. He cuts people off, ignores lights, drives like he owns the damn city – which, financially speaking, he probably does.
My driver, a stubborn old pro, refuses to yield, cursing under his breath as he takes a sharp, unexpected turn.
A sensible person would tell him to pull over. To face Frez and end this madness. But a stupid, traitorous part of me, a part that still hums with the memory of his behavior in my office, feels a perverse thrill.
He’s chasing me.
“And there he goes!” my driver suddenly exclaims, a note of triumph in his voice. “Told ya he’d give up! Psycho couldn’t keep up.”
I twist in my seat, nausea churning in my stomach as I watch the SUV execute an abrupt, aggressive U-turn mid-block, tires squealing, before speeding off in the opposite direction. Gone.
Relief floods me, so potent it makes me dizzy. It’s followed by a sharp, confusing pang of disappointment.
No. This is good,I tell myself firmly.He’s gone. You’re safe.
Except… I’d almost convinced myself I needed to talk to him again. Not that our earlier encounter qualified as a conversation. More like a hostage negotiation interrupted by… whatever that was.
A bitter taste floods my mouth. Clinging to crumbs of contact with him like a starving woman. Pathetic.
The truth is, afterthat daythree years ago, Frez and I never really spoke again. Not beyond clipped professional necessities.
My feelings for him settled into a strange, dormant state. Calming, almost, in their utter hopelessness. Frez would never look at me twice, notthatway. He has legions of women throwing themselves at him – supermodels and heiresses. All vying for the ultimate prize: the brilliant, obscenely wealthy, devastatingly handsome Mykola Frez. The tabloids practically run betting pools on who will finally land him.
Maybe he doesn’t want anyone. He has everything else.
And even if, by some cosmic fluke, hedidfind me attractive… it’s laughable. We’re fundamentally incompatible. He’d be bored or frustrated within days. I’m… broken. Too shy, too scarred, too tangled up in my own anxieties to navigate the complexities of a real relationship
The taxi eventually turns into the familiar, pothole-ridden courtyard of my apartment building. My heart, which had just started to slow, plummets.
Waiting there, headlights cutting through the twilight, is the black SUV.
“Well, damn,” the driver mutters, pulling to a stop. “Guess the psycho won.”
Frez kills the engine. The sudden silence is deafening. Frez unfolds his long frame from the driver’s seat and starts toward us, moving with a predatory grace that makes my breath catch.
“You sure you’re okay, lady?” the driver asks.
“I’m fine,” I lie, forcing a reassuring smile. “He’s… technically my boss. He’s harmless. Really. Thank you so much for everything.”
“If you say so.”
I step out onto the cracked pavement just as Frez reaches me. He shoves his hands deep into his pockets, a failed attempt to look casual. The coiled energy vibrating off him is anything but.
“I’m just trying to understand,” he finally says, breaking the unbearable silence. His voice is low, rougher than usual. “Trying to understand why you’re leaving, Diana. Why youlied.”
Always trying to understand. Always analyzing. But this isn’t about logic. This is about his ego. How dare I walk away when the great Mykola Frez asked me – no,toldme – to stay? The irony is thick enough to choke on. If he only knew… in some other reality, I’d dissolve into a puddle at his feet without a second thought.
I take a deep, steadying breath. “ Mr. Frez…”
