The Billionaire's Dangerous Obsession (Nivera) novel Chapter 123

Chapter 123

Chapter 123

Nivera lay on the bed, her eyes fixed on the ceiling, unmoving. The faint glow of the moon slipped in through the curtains, bathing the room with silver light.

It was well past midnight, and the house had gone completely silent, but sleep refused to claim her, as her mind was a whirlwind.

Her body was exhausted–every muscle ached from the chaos of the day–but her mind? Her mind was wide awake, spinning webs she couldn’t untangle.

Thoughts of the men who had tried to kill them earlier flooded her mind and, more frustratingly, thoughts of Alejandro.

She scowled, turning to her side, her fingers gripping the sheet tightly. Damn him. Damn his brooding ey and ridiculous arrogance. Damn his ability to make her feel like she was safe even in the face of death.

She thought back to the shower–the moment where everything started to fall apart.

Or maybe it had been falling apart for days, and she’d only just noticed. She’d stood under the warm stream of water, eyes closed, head bowed, telling herself to wash everything away. But the warmth didn’t drown her thoughts. It gave them room to spread.

And when they did, they admitted one truth she had been denying over and over again.

She was falling for Alejandro.

It was ridiculous, stupid, and irresponsible. She had every reason not to fall for him.

He was controlling, arrogant, and secretive–and half the time, he drove her absolutely mad.

But when he held her hand in that car, when danger surrounded them and her heart pounded in her chest like a war drum… She had looked into his eyes, and like always, she felt safe.

He didn’t even say much, yet she’d felt protected. His presence had quieted the fear inside her better than any words could have.

It wasn’t just today. It was every day before it, too. It was the way he’d bandaged her bruises, the way he got unreasonably angry when anyone hurt her, the way he’d stand quietly nearby when she was overwhelmed, never saying much, just… being there.

How could she have let this happen?

“God, I’m so stupid,” she whispered to herself, dragging a hand over her face.

The problem was, she didn’t know when it had started. It hadn’t been a specific moment.

There was no clear line between disgust and desire. It had crept in unnoticed, slipping into the spaces between their fights and the silences in their car rides.

It had wrapped itself into the way he looked at her when she wasn’t paying attention, or the way his voice would soften slightly when she was upset.

She had been so sure she hated him. After that night at the club, after the mansion, after everything… she was supposed to hate him. But little cracks had begun to form, and slowly, warmth seeped in.

And she had kept denying it. Over and over. Until tonight.

It felt wrong. It should feel wrong. But it didn’t.

It felt good–terrifyingly good.

And maybe that’s what scared her the most.

He made her angry–often. He had stolen her passport, kept her locked in this house, lied to her, and

manipulated her.

And yet, he had also made her laugh when she had no reason to smile. He had shielded her from danger, held her like she meant something, and touched her like she wasn’t broken.

“Why didn’t you just stay a villain?” she muttered bitterly. “Why’d you have to go and become my protector

instead?”

She rolled onto her back again, letting out a frustrated groan, then clutched the pillow to her chest like it might silence her heart.

She kept thinking back to the way Alejandro looked at her sometimes–like he saw more than he was willing

to say.

The way he touched her when he thought she wasn’t paying attention. The way his voice changed when he

said her name.

Could a man really fake that?

Her mind replayed one conversation she could never forget. His voice was cold and emotionless.

“I don’t do love.”

And that was the problem, wasn’t it?

He didn’t do love.

Yet here she was… falling in love with a man who didn’t even believe in it.

)

But no matter how good of an actor he was, no man could pretend to care the way he had tonight. No man would put himself in danger for someone he didn’t feel something for.

Maybe he didn’t call it love. Maybe he didn’t understand what it was.

But she had seen it–the flicker in his eyes when he looked at her, the panic in his voice when they were attacked, and the desperation when she almost got hurt.

There was something there.

And if he didn’t do love, well, maybe she’d have to make him do love.

Because damn it, this was his fault too!

If only he had stayed cold. If only he had stayed cruel like he was that first night.

But no–he just had to turn into her dark protector. A wolf shielding her with his teeth bared and his arms

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