Seven
Their Obsession
Liv
M y black heels clicked across the kitchen tile as I headed toward the fridge for the ingredients I needed. A vodka tonic would help ease the tension and I’d unwind with the day. I created the easy to make alcoholic beverage in a tall crystal glass full of ice with a shot of vodka and a hint of lime juice. The tonic water adds a bitter, but refreshing taste.
Taking a sip, I was delighted that the drink coated my throat as I peered out of the floor to ceiling window and stared out at the city. My main floor condo apartment wasn’t my choice, but my fiancé’s. There were too many windows in this dang place for my liking. Too many ways for someone to see inside and know exactly what I was doing. But that was precisely why Sebastian had bought this condo for us .
He knew the openness of our home would encourage me to submit to him. The threat of anyone being able to peer inside would pressure me into being a good fiancée. And one day soon, a doting wife.
The sharp taste of my drink of choice snapped me out of the nightmare my phantom had plagued me in and back to reality. Back to the mess that needed my attention as I took another long swig of my drink and finished it. I tossed the ice cubes into the sink, and I discarded the glass inside of the dishwasher.
The day moved on without a single interruption. Not a peep from Sebastian, but the lack of communication wasn’t anything unusual. I’d get some sort of reminder of his existence soon.
Everything was back in order on the bookshelf; the bathroom was sparkling clean, and our bedroom no longer resembled a teenager’s unkempt room. I made the bed, cleared the floor of clothes, closed all drawers, and opened the blinds to let in the light. Our main living area had nothing overturned from my upheaval and everything was back in place.
Any remaining dishes in the sink, I rinsed out and started the dishwasher. The soft hum of the machine filled the room while I mixed up a batch of Sebastian’s favorite cookie mix. I wasn’t a baker at heart, but my mother had taught me my way around the kitchen. She knew I had to carry on the family legacy, and I needed to know how to please a husband. The outdated practice made me want to curse every man on this earth, but I had to do what needed to be done.
I had to save my family from ruin.
The Valencia namesake was a wealthy one. Big fortune meant high price tags and expensive everything. My family was one of the wealthiest in the city, but the fact of the matter was we were on the verge of bankruptcy.
Frank Valencia was a man made of money. My father had so much money, the notion went straight to his head. He figured there would never be an end to his limitless supply, but he was wrong. And my dad needed me to fix his problem.
As his only daughter, my mother had raised me for the position. Marry rich, become a trophy wife, and make our family richer. But in secret, save our status.
Status was everything to my mother. Gloria Valencia believed money held the key to happiness and love was for silly women. She married my father because he was rich, not out of affection. The same reason she had groomed me to marry Sebastian. Abusive or not, I couldn’t let her down. Especially since she had no clue her husband had gambled us into destruction.
My father’s gambling problem was our secret, and he didn’t want my mother to find out. I didn’t either, because the truth would destroy them. Somewhere along the way, my father grew to love my mother, and she was his entire world. I knew deep down she loved him too, but she was too proud to admit her affection. Too stubborn to even accept her heart belonged to my dad.
I loved my parents, and I’d do anything for them, but this was why I was in such a dire predicament: Marry Mr. Chamberlain and become his wife on Christmas Eve.
Suddenly, my phone rang. The loud, shrill ring was unwanted and had startled me. The wet batter from the peanut butter mixture splashed on my cheek and onto the countertop from the whisk. I swore out loud and cursed the person who called me. The last thing I needed was another mess to clean up.
Too late.
Quickly, I rinsed my hands and dried them on my dress. The caller was persistent, and I grew irritated. I reached into my pocket, pulled out my cell phone, and looked down at the screen. But my heart stopped cold.
Unknown caller.
I had almost forgotten about my stubborn stalker. Him and the unusual scar over his right cheek, with eyes as sooty as the ashes lingering around his soul. Those eyes would scare the crap out of an ordinary person, but me?
No .
I wasn’t normal. I was far from it. Instead, I gave into fear.
The frightening scare that went bump in the night didn’t bother me. I let fear corrupt me, terrify me, and I received a thrill from it. I stared horror right in its insidious face, and I wouldn’t make a peep. And that’s why this complete stranger who lurked in the shadows allured me to his darkness. He intrigued me in the most fucked up way, and my panties grew wet at the idea of him watching me get off with someone else.
Bastard.
Deep down, I was as sick as him. Distorted and messed up. But I wasn’t weak. This sick fuck wouldn’t win easily.
Ignorance was bliss, and I disregarded Sin’s phone call. I pressed the red button, and he wouldn’t even get to my voicemail. I wanted to send a message loud and clear. Don’t fuck with me, asshole.
But as tenacious as he was, a call turned into another text.
Unknown:
My obsession is being a very bad girl.
His obsession?
No shit!
Me:
Leave me alone, you freak !
Sin held his grip on me to the truest of forms, almost as tightly as he wound his hands around my dainty neck. In his eyes, I bet I was his delicate flower. A primed rose ready for him to trim the way he wanted, but I wasn’t. I was a weed bound to wrap around his precious rose and ruin the garden. I cursed the day Sin Cruz ever thought he could rule the rose bed.
Unknown:
I’m only a freak for you, sweetheart.
I punched my fingers into each letter as I typed and cursed ever going to the business party. I regretted my decision to lure a man into the darkness and attract a phantom right along with him.
Me:
LEAVE. ME. ALONE.
Unknown:
Don’t take your aggression out on your phone, Liv. Take it out on me. God, I love watching you.
My eyes widened as I reread his message, and my hands trembled. The phone shook as I slowly raised my head and glanced over at the window. The glass was clear as fucking day because Sebastian hired window cleaners to keep it spotless. A job I wished he had left untouched, allowing the windows to smudge up. I wished a hurricane would blow through and splash mud all over the glass. Hell, even an unexpected Amazon delivery with curtains, for Christ’s sake!
Instead, the sun shone through because it was a sunny, warm day. Cold fall temperatures never happened here. But the leaves had changed color.
Outside my condo apartment, across the street, a light breeze blew through the trees. The leaves fell to the ground and dusted the grass. The mass amount of tall trees mixed in with evergreens made it the perfect hiding place for my phantom.
Sin Cruz could lurk, watch, and wait. I was easy prey and had no way of shutting him out. He could eye me up in a single bite and I’d be a goner.
This asshole was too cowardly to face me as he hid in the shadows, standing behind a tree trunk and texting me threateningly. To hell with him.
With a sly smirk, I ambled my way toward the window and boldly stuck up my middle finger. If Sin was there, I wanted him to understand my message, and I wanted it to hurt. He needed to be as exposed as I was, and I wished I could see his face. I wanted to see the rejection from my stubborn will not to give in.
Sin played with me. He pulled on my strings. The same as a master would form his puppet. But I wasn’t his pawn .
I was his worst nightmare. His greatest sin. A creepy doll who’d haunt him within his darkness until he left me the hell alone.
I shook my head, and I didn’t believe a word he spoke. There was no way Sin was outside my apartment. He was trying to get under my skin, and I’d prove it.
Me:
Screw you, asshole.
Unknown:
Fuck. I’d love to watch you take that middle finger and come all over it.
Immediately, I gasped and dropped my hand from the window. My cell phone tumbled to the ground as shock rode through me and a chill as bitter as death shivered down my spine. My confidence flew right out the window, and I regretted my decision to question this lunatic.
Sin saw me. He lurked outside my front door. And he watched my every move.
I jumped to the side, away from my open window, and I heard my cell phone chime. Once. Twice. Three times. Each sound made me jump. My body quaked between fear and anger. I hated how scared Sin made me feel, and I loathed him for it. This wasn’t me. Some silly woman getting the heebie-jeebies over some guy who gets his rocks off on it. But there was no escaping him.
My stalker, my crazed fan, wasn’t going anywhere. I was forced all over again to entertain him. I had to play along with my masked psychopath.