The Ex Who Became His Obsession novel Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Alyssia stared blankly as the Rolls–Royce drew closer.

‘Please don’t let Leonard be inside,‘ she prayed silently. After all, Rocco sometimes used his car for business, too.

At the same time, Alyssia couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Is this all just a coincidence, or did someone set this up on purpose?‘

As the window rolled down, Alyssia realized escape was no longer possible.

Leonard sat inside the car, his icy gaze fixed on her.

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The sun blazed mercilessly.

Leonard saw the woman in a crimson jumpsuit standing against the pristine white wall, her silhouette blurred at the edges like a bold stroke of color from an artist’s brush, as if she might dissolve into the canvas behind her.

Before he could fully register it, he had already unlatched the car door.

Alyssia, who had been fixed in place like a figure in a painting, faltered for a moment. Without thinking, she spun around and slipped away along the wall in the opposite direction.

Her pace quickened until she was nearly running. But the footsteps behind her relentlessly closed in.

Finally, her arm was seized, and she was yanked back around. The momentum nearly sent her crashing into Leonard’s chest.

In the next instant, Leonard pinned her against the wall.

The afternoon sun had baked the wall so hot that Alyssia’s clothes on her back felt as if they were curling away from her skin.

“What, are you addicted to playing hard to get now?” Leonard lowered his head, his nose almost brushing her forehead.

Seeing the obvious confusion and surprise in Alyssia’s eyes, he sneered, “How long have you been waiting for me?”

‘Scheming to wait here, then running off the moment she sees me. Isn’t that exactly playing hard to get?‘ he wondered. ‘Don’t tell me she is here to interview William. He would never agree to meet with any journalist, and she must know it.‘

Alyssia exclaimed, “I’m here to interview Mr. ¡larlow.”

Leonard fell silent for a beat, then scoffed.

Just as I expected. Couldn’t even come up with an original excuse,‘ he thought.”

He gripped Alyssia’s arm with one hand and braced the other against the wall, blocking all escape routes. “Alyssia, let me give you a piece of advice,” he said.

“If you’re going to lie, put some effort into it. The workplace isn’t Rosewood Manor. Half–hearted excuses will get you burned,” Leonard warned.

་་

Alyssia didn’t know whether to laugh or rage. Her face was a picture of disbelief. “Leonard, I-”

She had nothing left to say ‘What’s the point of explaining? What good would it do? Was there any need?‘ she thought.

“Let me go,” she said.

Leonard didn’t let go. Alyssia seemed to have stirred a perverse amusement in him, and he pressed her even tighter, trapping her against the wall.

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Chapter 49

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“What’s this? Couldn’t even last the full ten days before crawling back? Did someone mistreat you?” Leonard taunted.

He pictured her, eyes downcast, on the verge of tears, begging him to champion her cause. That was always her favorite ploy in the past.

Alyssia nearly laughed, “Who else in this world would bully me but you?”

‘And who could bully me and still have me treat him with such tenderness, other than Leonard?‘ she wondered.

Leonard’s face darkened several shades. He seized Alyssia’s chin, forcing her to look up at him, his icy gaze raking over her features like a blade, tracing every line from her brows downward.

“You call that bullying?” he murmured.

He lowered his head, his lips nearly brushing her earlobe. His breath mingled with the scorching sunlight, making her earlobe feel as if it might melt.

“I always thought you quite enjoyed being bullied by me,” he added.

Alyssia let out a humorless scoff and turned her face away; the last spark in her eyes flickered out. With a touch of self–mockery but no resistance left, she said, “If that’s what you want to believe, I can’t stop you.”

Yes, she once foolishly waited and longed for him to come back, only for him to humiliate her over and over again.

She treated the crumbs of kindness that slipped through his fingers as if they were the very nectar of life.

But when she finally woke up, she realized that what she thought was honey was actually poison, slowly eroding who she was.

Yet Leonard didn’t need to keep dredging up her shattered past, picking up the broken pieces just to crush them into dust between his fingers.

He was always so skilled at humiliating and belittling her, keeping her emotionally bound with his hot–and–cold games.

But now that she had escaped this relationship, all his pathetic tricks were plain as day to her. They simply didn’t work anymore.

Alyssia’s indifference only earned a cold sneer from Leonard.

“Been out to work for a few days, and yet you’ve already gotten better at giving up on yourself?” Leonard sneered.

He seized her wrist, yanked her away from the wall, and dragged her briskly toward the car.

“Stop making a scene. I have important business to attend to,” Alyssia said.

Alyssia was dragged along, stumbling. Just as she was about to resist, she suddenly fell silent. The grand vermilion gates at the far end of the courtyard were slowly swinging open.

Leonard really arranged to meet William?‘ she thought, stunned.

William’s butler greeted Leonard, his expression showing a hint of surprise as he saw Alyssia step out of the car with him. He thought, ‘Isn’t this the girl-‘

“Joseph, keep an eye on her,” Leonard instructed, then nodded to the butler. “Where’s Mr. Harlow?”

“Mr. Harlow is waiting for you in the collection room,” the butler replied, quickly averting his gaze. “This way, please.”

In the traditional–style hall, only Joseph and Alyssia remained.

A few minutes later, Alyssia stood up and asked the maid nearby, “Excuse me, where’s the restroom?”

Joseph immediately rose to his feet, visibly anxious.

Alyssia pretended not to notice him and followed the maid out without a backward glance.

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‘Surely not,‘ Joseph thought to himself. ‘The main gate’s locked. Ms. Clairmont couldn’t possibly get far. Following a girl to the restroom? That would make me look like a pervert.‘

Unbidden, memories of being cornered in the ladies‘ room by Alyssia and her friends back in his childhood flashed through his mind.

‘I’ll just wait outside. Keeping my distance should be enough,‘ Joseph thought. ‘It will be okay, right?‘

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“You’re looking for a diamond butterfly brooch, right?” William adjusted his reading glasses and pulled the index book of his gemstone collection from the shelf. “Let me see. Ah, I’ve handled so many pieces over the years. My memory isn’t what it used to be.”

Leonard glanced up at the towering rosewood bookshelves that reached the ceiling. This was William’s collection catalog room, where every single piece he owned was meticulously documented.

Feigning to be casual, Leonard remarked, “I heard you acquired that item over a decade ago. Would you like me to help you look for it?”

William was notoriously stubborn. He adamantly refused to digitize his records, firmly believing that traditional methods could solve any problem.

Leonard was about to say something more, but William, relying on his old methods, quickly found the answer. “Here, check that bookshelf. Look for the catalog from the year I acquired it,” he instructed.

Quickly, Leonard had already pulled it down. Together, they quickly flipped to the correct page using the index.

“This is it.” A rare look of elation crossed Leonard’s face as he gazed at the photo of the brooch. “Would you be willing to sell it to me? Name your price, whatever you ask.”

“Can’t sell it now,” William shook his head, pointing at the line below. “I put it up for auction ten years ago–at a charity event, if I recall. Just happened to pick that one out, and all the proceeds went to help those in need.”

Leonard’s gaze fell on the auction date and the name of the auction house, and he felt a jolt of surprise.

‘What are the odds?‘ he thought.

After all these years, the butterfly brooch Alyssia had treasured was the very same one William had auctioned off back then.

After all these twists and turns, it turned out to be the exact same brooch.

And after all that digging, Rocco somehow managed to trace it right back to the original owner.

“How did you come by this brooch?” Leonard asked.

A flicker of hope rose in him. Maybe William had it custom–made. If the original sketches still existed, or if Leonard could find the designer.

“Let me think. A friend sold it to me,” William said evasively. “Why? Is this something from your family?”

Leonard got it. The brooch probably had shady origins.

Years later, Leonard had no choice but to repeat the fabricated story he’d spun back then.

Leonard said, “This brooch was a family heirloom belonging to a close friend of mine. Years ago, tragedy struck her family. Her mother died unexpectedly while wearing the brooch.

“My friend was so devastated she fell into depression, and by the time she thought to look for it, the brooch had already vanished.”

Just like the lady who bought the brooch at auction years ago, William actually bought into Leonard’s lie.

Oh, I see” William nodded. “Let me look into it for you. I’ll definitely get back to you if I find anything.”

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Chapter 49

As they chatted, the two men made their way out of the collection room.

Perhaps having taken a liking to Leonard, William personally escorted him all the way to the main hall at the front of the house.

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Leonard immediately spotted Joseph, standing all alone and anxiously pacing in circles. His heart sank. “Why are you the only one here?” he asked.

Joseph, trembling and on the verge of tears, stammered, “M–Mr. Rivera, Ms. Clairmont is gone.”

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