The Ex Who Became His Obsession novel Chapter 19

Chapter 19

“Alyssia,” Charlie’s worried voice called out from across the greenbelt. He had been driving slowly, keeping pace with Alyssia.

Alyssia gently sniffed, wiping away her tears. She looked up and gave a faint smile. “I’m fine now.”

She crossed the greenbelt and opened the car door herself, settling into the seat. After buckling her seatbelt, she flashed Charlie a big grin.

“I always think I’m tougher than I really am. It’s only after I hit a wall and walk away that I realize what I was really made of,” Alyssia said.

“Don’t sell yourself short.” Charlie pressed the accelerator. “You’ve always exceeded expectations. Your potential is incredible.”

Alyssia didn’t respond. She turned to look at the city lights outside the window, but her hand subconsciously rested on her stomach.

Seven years ago, to protect a secret that could change everything, Alyssia crawled out of a window on a snowy night, climbing down the building’s water pipe.

She hadn’t expected the old pipe to freeze and break, causing her to fall. The broken end of the pipe pierced her abdomen.

To keep from being caught and to protect the secret, Alyssia used the snow nearby to apply pressure to the wound and stop the bleeding. She then hid in the snow for two hours until Charlie came to rescue her.

Alyssia hadn’t exceeded expectations, nor did she have incredible potential. She had drained her life force. Just like loving someone, she had prepaid all her future emotions and courage, leaving herself with no ability to ever possess them again.

“Here, take a look at this.” Charlie handed her another lawyer’s letter. “If you don’t want to respond, the company will find someone to handle it for you.”

Leonard was tirelessly intent on suing Alyssia. This time, the staff at Vanguard Media had learned their lesson. Instead of directly requesting her ID, they sent the lawyer’s letter to Charlie.

Alyssia glanced down at the signature on the lawyer’s letter. “I’ll handle this.”

She had nothing left to fear. She’d been with Leonard for so many years; she knew him. If it were just a warning, the group’s legal team would’ve sent the letter. But if he truly wanted to sue her, it’d be his personal legal team.

Alyssia looked up as she thanked Charlie. “How can I keep making you take the hits for me?”

Charlie didn’t respond, but she already knew–he was planning to take on the “Nova Deriver” pen name for himself.

Leonard still had no idea who was behind that pseudonym. Otherwise, their argument tonight wouldn’t have centered around the behavior of a maid.

And Leonard’s focus on suing this reporter was most likely because he had already assumed it was Charlie or one of his

associates.

“I’ll gather more evidence,” Alyssia said, placing the lawyer’s letter between herself and Charlie. She stared at it for a moment. “Don’t worry, Charlie. No one can defeat me again.”

She thought, ‘No one. No one can make me do what I did for him again–bleeding in the freezing cold, with a sharp pipe jammed into my side, just to protect a secret!

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Chapter 19

“The company will give you full support,” Charlie remarked, catching a glimpse of Alyssia’s profile out of the corner of his eye, something stirring faintly in his chest. “Don’t be afraid.”

“I’m not,” Alyssia replied, stretching out her body. She thought, ‘In this world, if I take love out of the equation, there’s really nothing left to fear.

The servants at Rosewood Manor spent the entire night packing up Alyssia’s belongings. It wasn’t until the afternoon of the next day that they were delivered to the place Beatrice had designated.

Beatrice enjoyed tending to her flowers and had created a quiet, understated garden lounge, which she opened occasionally for her close friends and guests she wished to entertain.

The sun was positioned just right, casting a golden hue across the garden. Beatrice sat with her coffee, reclining under the shade of the flowers, her eyes closed in a peaceful nap.

“Mrs. Rivera, Ms. Clairmont’s things have arrived. Where would you like them placed?” Joseph had been assigned to handle the task and had diligently followed through. But seeing Leonard standing in the shadows by the flowerbed, he didn’t dare speak much.

Beatrice slowly opened her eyes and stood up leisurely. She casually opened a box and saw that it was filled with dazzling

white.

She sighed, “Anything that’s easy to let go of isn’t important. Fine, just pile it all in the storage room. If Alyssia ever wants to come back, I’ll return everything to her. But if…”

She suddenly stopped, looking toward the door. “What are you doing here?” Beatrice had been a breathtaking beauty in her youth, full of charm and allure. Even now, with age showing just a little, her smile still lit up the room.

“Aren’t you busy?” she asked with a radiant grin. “You really came all this way just for something this trivial?”

She then glanced at Joseph. “Seriously? This is how you handle things? What, your boss has to babysit you now?”

Joseph dared not speak up. He thought, ‘Mrs. Rivera saw Mr. Rivera a long time ago but only asked about him now. Clearly, she just wanted to take her time and sarcastically poke fun at Mr. Rivera until it made her feel better.‘

“Why are you just standing there?” Beatrice waved her hand toward Leonard. “Come in. I actually have something for you to handle.”

Only then did Leonard walk over to her. The bruises on his face had faded slightly overnight, but the dark circles under his eyes were hard to miss. Still, his expression remained composed.

Beatrice had always been known for her beauty, and she enjoyed using it to get her way. From the eldest to the youngest in the Rivera family, anyone who crossed her knew better than to push their luck.

Leonard wasn’t nearly foolish enough to test her temper when she was picking a fight on purpose.

“Mom, doing this will only encourage her bad behavior,” he said lightly. “You spoil her too much, and now she’s getting bolder, becoming more and more unruly.”

Beatrice chuckled, “Well, what can I say? Spoiling her was my choice. And in case your memory’s failing you, would you like me to remind you who saved your life back then?”

Her expression grew slightly colder. “My only regret is that Alyssia didn’t make more of herself.

“If another girl had the kind of protection and indulgence I gave her, she’d be running the world by now–loved, feared,

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Chapter 19

untouchable, like a damn queen. But what did Alyssia do? She let herself become your plaything.”

Leonard’s brows furrowed, his expression darkening. “Mom, who told you that?”

“What’s wrong?” Beatrice smiled even more brightly. “What, you think I wouldn’t hear a thing? Rosewood Manor’s been turned upside down–leaks everywhere–and I’m not even allowed to catch a bit of the gossip?”

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Leonard’s face remained gloomy. He didn’t really pay much attention to the household staff at Rosewood Manor. There was a group of old staff members brought over from Rivera Estate, some of whom Beatrice had personally selected.

Leonard thought, ‘Besides, Alyssia lives at Rosewood Manor too, right? I’m handling everything at the company–shouldn’t she be taking care of what goes on back home? If something goes wrong with the staff, doesn’t some of that fall on her too?”

“Why does it bother you so much?” Beatrice nudged Leonard with her elbow. As unserious as she was, she couldn’t understand how she ended up with such a stoic son who always had a stern expression.

She continued teasing, “You don’t care about the servants gossiping anyway. They could be talking all kinds of trash, and it still wouldn’t reach you, right?”

“Did Alyssia tell you all this?” Leonard asked, unable to think of anyone else who would’ve said that to Beatrice.

Beatrice sneered, “If Alyssia had even half the sharp tongue those servants at Rosewood Manor do, maybe she wouldn’t have ended up like-”

“Mom.” Leonard’s voice turned cold. He didn’t usually mind Beatrice’s temper, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have his own.

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