CHAPTER 5
MASKED MAN
I remember the exact moment I decided I would take him back.
Not if.
Not maybe.
Not someday.
He’ll be mine.
There was never going to be another ending for us.
The invitation was the easiest part.
Black velvet, written with silver ink.
I knew that it would be irresistible to someone like him.
I knew exactly what to write. Exactly the words what would pull him. Especially after I found out how his life turned out.
Harley was kind of predictable in this way. Always searching for something more, something better. Something that would finally make him feel whole. Like his true self.
Even when he was younger, I saw it.
That restless hunger in his eyes.
It’s what drew me to him in the first place.
It’s what made him mine long before he ever realized it.
Making sure he attended?
That required a little more effort. A few strategic pushes. A few manipulations. But I had to be careful. It shouldn’t be something obvious. Or something that could reveal that it’s me who’s behind it all.
Just enough pressure in the right places to ensure he’d feel like he had no other choice.
I watched him from a distance long before the night of the party.
Long enough to know his routines.
His habits.
The way he hesitated before making decisions, like he was waiting for someone to stop him.
No one ever did.
So I made sure he wouldn’t hesitate this time.
And he didn’t.
He walked right into it.
Just like I knew he would.
The drugging part…
Listen, it was necessary.
I don’t enjoy it.
Contrary to what people might assume, I don’t get pleasure from taking things by force. Not normally.
But Harley…
Harley would have run.
Or worse —
He would have hesitated. Second-guessed. Turned around before I could reach him.
And I can’t allow it. Not again. I already lost him once.
That was more than enough.
Years.
Six fucking years of watching from the shadows, building everything I needed, making sure that I give him everything he need, anything he could ask for, becoming everything I had to be —
All for him.
Obsession doesn’t fade with time. It sharpens. It roots itself deeper. Becomes something permanent. Something irreversible.
I know that someone even might say it’s fucked up.
But honestly…
Fuck them people.
I feel the way I do. And I know Harley does too. So what if for someone our relationship might be wrong or too much?
I know it’s not healthy. It’s not normal.
But neither am I. So it doesn’t matter.
Getting into the auction was laughably simple.
Money opens all the doors for you. And mixed with power it will keep them open for you as long as you want.
The event itself is called The Obsidian Veil.
This place is the gathering of the wealthiest people you can think of.
But the same people are the worst kind of people you can think of.
And I know that it includes me as well. And as I’ve mentioned before – I. Don’t. Give. A. Single. Fuck.
I am who I am. Take it or leave it.
The Auction just started. The host stepped onto the stage to welcome everyone. Also I wasn’t paying much attention to him. I was only here for one thing.
Then the lights on stage lit up.
God.
Seeing him there…
For a second, everything else disappeared. The room, the people, the noise, the host’s voice.
All of it faded.
Because there he was.
Harley. My Harley.
Under the lights.
Dressed in black silk that clung to his body like it was made only for him to wear. The heels added just enough height to make his legs look longer. The diamond choker caught the light every time he moved.
He looked beautiful.
Too beautiful.
My body reacted instantly.
A sharp, undeniable pull low in my stomach.
But it wasn’t just desire.
It was something much darker.
Something deeper.
Possession.
Because the moment I saw the way the others looked at him —
The way their eyes lingered, the way they leaned forward, hungry —
Something in me snapped.
No.
Absolutely fucking not.
They don’t get to look at him like that.
They don’t get to touch him with their disgusting hands.
It won’t happen.
Because he’s fucking mine.
Every inch of him belongs to me.
His breath. His thoughts. His wishes. His desires. I’m the only one who can make them happen. No one else.
Every fucking piece of him is mine.
Because even the idea of someone else bidding on him – and actually winning —
It wasn’t an option.
It was never an option.
So when the bidding started, I waited.
I let them play their little game.
Six hundred thousand. A million. A million and three hundred thousand.
It was all pointless numbers.
I let the host count.
“One… two–”
And then I ended it.
“Ten million dollars.”
Silence.
Exactly the kind of reaction I’ve expected.
Because that number?
That’s not a bid.
That was a sign. A sign that showed to whom he belongs. To whom he belonged from the start. And will. Forever.
Spending this amount of money isn’t something I’ll even notice. Ten million is nothing. Pennies.
I’ve spent more on things that meant far less.
Harley, though…
He’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted that actually matters.
And now —
He’s mine again.
In every way that counts.
The second dose of drug…
That, too, was necessary.
He’s disoriented, confused, frightened.
The last thing I need is him panicking, fighting and hurting himself.
Or worse —
Trying to escape.
So yes, I gave my men an order. Drug him for the last time. For his safety.
After this there will be no more distance. No more watching from afar.
This time…
I’m not letting him go.
Not ever again.
Don’ worry cupcake, I’ll never leave you again.