The Billionaire's Dangerous Obsession (Nivera) novel Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The wedding reception was every bit as extinçant as expected.

Crystal chandeliers glimmered from above like cascading icicles, spilling golden light across the sprawling fullroom.

Every surface sparkled as the tables were adorned with roses and candles, champagne flutes catching the light like priems.

Meanwhile, the waiters were in crisp uniforms, weaving through the crowd with practiced elegance.

Nivera barely had time to soak it in.

The moment they stepped in, hand in hand, the atmosphere subtly shifted.

If it were up to her, they would have been the first to get there so she wouldn’t have to deal with the people she was looking at

However, before she and Alejancho could get to the car, he was pulled to take pictures with the bride and groom, and she was dragged alongside him.

The bride didn’t even know yet, she

she would see her in a number of pictures.

Turning her attention back to her environment, she took it in.

There were no gasps or open–mouthed stares–but in those quiet, charged moments of attention, she saw curious glances

Slow assessments Whispers that were just out of earshot

She couldn’t help but wonder if it was because Alejandro changed dates for different events, or if it was because she was the first person he had brought as his date.

She suspected it to be the latter.

Eyes flicked to her like moths to flame. Women, dozens of them, seemed to assess her from beneath perfectly lined lashes, their eyes moving from her face to the emerald gown that clung to her body like it belonged there.

Nivera didn’t need a mirror to know she looked good. The way they looked at her confirmed it.

But it wasn’t admiration she felt radiating from them,

It was rivalry, Territory. Jealousy.

And behind all of it–confusion. As if they couldn’t believe it. Alejandro Garcia had walked in not just with a woman on his arm–but one who looked like

this.

Who carried herself like this. Who didn’t flinch under their scrutiny.

Due to the fact that Alejandro was the groom’s brother, he was in the center most of the time, and she stood close to him, while other times, she was sitting, but it was still in the center,

“Alejandro“, she called his attention as she stood up and moved to a corner.

He turned and began to make his way over to her “I want to sit down over there.” She pointed to the back of the room.

But before he could respond–or oblige her affention snapped to a woman standing a few feet away, watching them with an unreadable expression.

Elegant, poised, Mid–forties, maybe. Her blonde hair was swept up in a chignon, and her dress was tailored to perfection, her heels lethal and her presence commanding,

Something about her looked familiar.

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Chapter 31

Nivera squinted sightly, trying to plan her face, until the realization landed like a whisper brushing down her spine

That fate. She’d seen it during one of her obsessive online seaches, late at night when she’d been trying to piece together Alejandro’s world.

She hadn’t lingered on the photo back then, too caught up in her spiraling paranoia – but now, pelosa, Alejandro’s mother,

And the way the was looking at them–no, her–made Nivera’s stomach ip

was staring at Marceline Garcia,

Realizing something had caught her attention, Alejandro followed her line of sight, and on seeing his mother, his hand tensed slightly around hers

“Mom,” he greeted, his tone light but laced with something else. Affection, perhaps. Or caution. Maybe both.

A subtle smile tugged at Marceline’s lips as the moved closer to them,

She turned her sharp eyes on Niveta, and in that moment, Nivera was sure the woman was scrutinizing her as she looked at her the same way her mother looked at her before she scalded her.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your…friend?” Marceline said so, though her eyes never left Nivera. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing someone.” Alejandro’s smile widened just enough. “This is Nivera,” he introduced, as he took her hand in his and squeezed her hand “My girlfriend“.

The words took time to sink in, and when they did, it hit her like lightning-

Nivera blinked, too stunned to speak

Girlfriend?

What the hell?

That wasn’t in the plan. There was no plan! Not one that involved publicly labeling whatever mess this was

And certainly not in front of his mother, who was now blinking at them both as if trying to process whether she’d heard correctly.

Nivera instinctively turned her gaze to Alejandro, hoping to catch some silent explanation in his eyes but he stayed firmly in character, looking at her with the kind of fondness that felt so convincing she almost forgot to be angry.

Almost.

Marceline arched a brow, assessing them both again.

“Well,” she said slowly. “It’s been years since you’ve introduced me to anyone. And suddenly…” She turned her sharp gace back to Nivera, though her tore wasn’t cruel Just observant.

“You’re very beautiful, dear. And brave for being with him.”

Nivera managed a polite smile. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“Marceline,” she corrected smoothly. “Please, No need to sound like we’re in an official setting”

There was a beat of silence before she added, “Telfme something, Nivera. Did he force you into this? Into coming here, playing the date?”

Alejandro didn’t flinch, but Nivera saw the corner of his mouth twitch–just the barest flicker of amusement.

Bastard. Was that what this was for him? He was fucking lying to his own mother.

“No,” Nivera said, her voice calm, “He didn’t force me. I came because I wanted to.

Marceline tilted her head, unconvinced. “Funny. That look of shock on your face said otherwise

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Chapter 31

Nivera inhaled through her nose. Her Instincts kicked in the same instincts she used around her father and her mother during every Family Band required her to smile while lying.

“I was shocked,” she admitted with a small shrug, because Alejandro’s never put a label on us before I didn’t expect him to do it now.

She said it sweetly, lightly, but with just enough bite to push the attention track where it belonged on him

Marceline’s r

s eyes narrowed just slightly, then shifted to Alejandro. “Still avoiding commitment,

Alejandro lifted a hand in surrender. “Guilty,” he said “But I’m working on it. I mean, hello… girlfriend,” he raised his and hivera’s intertwined hands

“I don’t…” Before Marceline could finish her words, somoone nearby called her

led her name, and she turned.

“I’ll be back,” she said to Nivera, her voice more cordial now. “We’ll talk Just me fire someone.”

And just like that, she walked off, leaving Hivera and Alejandro in the center of a room full of a

As soon as she was out of earshot, Nivera rounded on him, ready to lash out at him.

“Don’t forget people are still staring,” he reminded her.

“What. The hell was that?” She asked with a smile on her face.

Alejandro leaned in, still smiling as well. “Smile, mi reina.”

Tayes.

am smiling, and don’t call me that,” she hissed. “But I swear, if you don’t explain that stunt”

“You played your part well,” he interrupted, gaze flicking across the room. “Impressive.”

“Oh, fuck you, Alejandro” She was damn serious, and he was treating it like a game..

He turned to face her fully now, taking both her hands in his like some doting partner, leaning in close enough that their foreheads nearly touched.

Anyone watching would have seen a man utterly enthralled by his date.

“You looked like you!

u wanted to melt into the marble,” he murmured. “So I gave them something else to look at.”

“What the hell are you talking about? I’m talking about what just happened with your mother.”“

“What about it?”

“You lied to your mother.

“I redirected,” he said. “There’s a difference.”

There was nothing in his words that screamed redirection. It was an outright lie

She was about to argue when another woman approached them, smiling glossy, and her dress clung like it had been painted on.

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