Page 48 of His Obsession
That makes her listen, at least. She rolls her eyes, but her posture does relax a little. Even if she’s crossing her arms as it does.
“What did you find?” Nico asks curiously. “When I tried to look into him last year, I couldn’t find any information. He was like a ghost.”
“That’s the privilege of the rich,” I say. “If you’d come to me about it then, maybe we could’ve avoided all of this.”
“Would you have still slept with my sister?”
He doesn’t ask it in malice, but there’s still an edge to his voice.
“Jesus Christ,” Val complains. “Get over it, Nico, we both have.”
That surprises me, especially since I’m very much not over it.
“Whatever,” Nico grumbles. “So what did you find?”
“Adrian is exactly the kind of man I was worried he was.” I sigh. “Maybe we should move to the dining room and sit down. Adelina can bring us something to eat.”
“I’m not hungry,” Val snaps, just as her stomach growls.
“Well, I am,” I say. “And I don’t allow food in the sitting room. Let’s go.”
I lead them to the dining room and hear the two of them bickering behind my back. At least I’m not the only one she’s mad at. When we get to the dining room, I pull out a chair for her, but she deliberately sits in one on the other side of the table. I take the seat I pulled out, and Nico sits between us like a referee.
“So, you were saying?” he prompts.
“We think Adrian has men here,” I answer. “He recently set up a business through a shell corporation in LA. I’ve got Matteo checking it out.”
Val noticeably stiffens while Nico curses under his breath.
“You can’t go back home,” he tells her. “Promise me you’re not going to be stubborn about this, Val. He already tried to take you away from me once.”
I don’t know what he means, but I can imagine after spending the day reading about this asshole. She looks down at her hands and says nothing.
“You don’t get to control my life,” she finally says, her voice thin. “Whether Adrian is here or not, the two of you don’t just get to make decisions on my behalf.”
“Even if those decisions keep you safe?” he asks. “You know I would be devastated if anything ever happened to you. Would you really put me through that just to protect your autonomy?”
She still doesn’t look up, and she doesn’t answer him.
Adelina comes out to ask what we want for dinner, but otherwise no one speaks.
“I don’t think I’m going to stay,” Nico finally says. “It’s like arguing with a brick wall.”
“No one told you to come anyway,” she answers coldly.
He stands up and walks over to her slowly, placing a brotherly kiss on the top of her head. “You can be mad at me all you want, Val, but it’s not going to stop me from doing everything I can to keep you safe.”
He walks out without another word, leaving the two of us alone. Once he’s gone, I take a moment to really look at her. She looks wrung out. Too tired to keep fighting and too proud to show it.
“If you’re really not hungry, you should get some rest,” I tell her. “But if you’re just trying to get away from me, Adelina can bring a meal to your room.”
That finally gets a response. She looks up at me, searching. “Was it you or her who left me that tray last night?”
“Me,” I tell her. “When you didn’t come down all day, I figured you were probably avoiding me.”
“That didn’t bother you?” she asks suspiciously.
I just shrug. “You aren’t a prisoner here, Val. This isn’t a situation where you have to be on my schedule. You’re here for your safety, not for my ego. So, if you want to completely ignore me and take all your meals in your room, I’m not going to stop you. As long as you understand that I’m going to make you travel to work in an armored vehicle and insist you keep a guard with you at all times.”
