Ruthless 23_The Billionaire’s Dangerous Obsession

The Elton family home was the very definition of grandeur–white stone, towering columns, sprawlingwns trimmed to perfection,

 The house was beautiful but that was it. Inside, it was cold and nothing like home. It was a prison, one meant to stifle her dreams and cut her wings on

 The car had barely reached a stop before two staff

 “Miss Elton,” one of them greeted with

 a

 fmember

 approached to open her car door.

 curing

 back to let her out.

 She exhaled slowly and stepped out onto th

 There was no escaping this though.

 path. The house loomed before her like a grave she’d already crawled out of once.

 She walked through the double doors and into the vast, echoing foyer. The chandeliers glittered overhead, the marble floors gleaming beneath her shoes.

 Every inch of the house screamed perfection. Just like her sister.

 And sure enough, there she was.

 Vivian Elton stood at the top of the staircase like some ice–crowned queen, her cream suit pressed and pristine, her honey–blonde hair twisted into a bun not a single strand dared escape from.

 Her expression was unreadable–but her eyes, sharp and calcting, raked over Nivera with disgust.

 “Well,” she said, descending the stairs. “You’re finally here.”

 Nivera didn’t reply as she wasn’t keen on getting into more trouble.

 Vivian reached the final step and folded her arms, taking in the sight of her younger sister like she was evaluating damage.

 “You look like shit.”

 “I am tired,” Nivera shot back.

 Vivian’s lip twitched in the faintest ghost of a smirk. “I wonder why.”

 There it was. The passive–aggression. The veiled digs. Just like old times.

 Nivera stood her ground.

 “I’m not staying long. Just tell me what he wants.”

 “You don’t get to set the terms,” Vivian said smoothly. “You’re the one who embarrassed the family. Again.”

 Nivera’s jaw clenched. “All I did was exist.”

 “Exist loudly,” Vivian replied, each word dipped in venom.

 “With a man our father despises. Do you have any idea what it looks like? The media’s having a field day. They’re calling you his mistress, Nivera. Not even a girlfriend. A mistress.”

 The word cracked across Nivera’s face like a p. She flinched before she could stop herself.

 Vivian noticed, of course. She always noticed..

 “And you didn’t even have the decency to rify it wasn’t true,” she added, voice sharp like ss.

 17:00 Wed 23 Jul 

 “I didn’t ask for any of this,” Nivera snapped. “I didn’t pose for those photos. They were taken without my

 “It doesn’t matter,” Vivian cut in. “Perception is everything. And now, Father thinks you’re farnishing our name. He wants to see you.”

 That old, familiar ice flooded her veins. It never ended well when he “wanted to see” her.

 “Where is he?” she asked, her voice thinner than she liked.

 Vivian turned, already walking toward the hallway. “In his study.”

 Nivera hesitated again. Just one more second. One more heartbeat of defiance.

 She turned her head, as if she could see back through time–to Alejandro’s office. To that moment when the begging for him toe back and stop her..

 call ended and she stood there, silently 

 But that didn’t happen and she had to stop wishing it did. So she squared her shoulders and followed her sister down the hallway, past the rows of portraits of her family.

 There wasn’t any portrait of her there and it reminded her of just how different she was from the rest of them.

 Each step forward felt like another chain around her ankle.

 She didn’t need to walk into that study to know how it would go.

 There would be disappointment.

 usations.

 Control.

 And worst of all–decisions made for her, but she still walked because not walking? That was never an option.

 The hallway to her father’s study felt longer than it used to. The floor was still the same-

 door.

 -polished mahogany with a red velvet runner leading to that

 That cursed door. She remembered all the times she’d been summoned behind it. Never for anything good.

 Vivian didn’t bother knocking. She pushed the door open and stepped aside with the practiced grace of someone who knew her ce–and was proud of <ol><li>it. </li></ol>

 Nivera walked in and her sister shut the door behind him and there he was.

 Matthew Elton stood with his back to her, hands sped behind him as he stared out the tall window.

 Thete afternoon sun poured into the room, casting long shadows across the walls lined with leather–bound books and awards he proudly disyed.

 He didn’t turn nor did he say her name.

 “You finally arrived,” he started in that gravelled voice that still sent a shiver down her spine.

 Nivera didn’t speak. She didn’t trust herself to. Hey throat was tight, her jaw clenched. She could feel her fingernails digging into her palms.

 He turned, his gray eyes raking over her like she was some insect he’d stepped on.

 Still, no warmth. No flicker of recognition, of longing, of regret.

 Fuck him! He hadn’t seen her for two years and this was how he weed her!

 He had kicked her out of his house with nothing, no money, heck, he didn’t even allow her to take her clothes and not once did he try to see if she was 

 2/4 

 wed, 23 Ju

 okay. 

 “You didn’t even try to hide it,” he said, walking toward her and it took everything in her not to move back. “You paraded around with him like amon

 whore.” 

 “I didn’t-” she started.

 “Don’t you dare interrupt me.” His voice cracked through the room like a whip.

 “You think I don’t know what’s been happening? You think I don’t see the headlines? They are calling you histest conquest. You’ve embarrassed this family yet again.”

 How was she embarrassing the family when no one even knew she was a part of it?!

 Tears welled in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Not in front of him..

 “Is this the wee I get?” she said quietly.

 “You gave me two years to make it without your help–and you never once checked if I was alive. You didn’t even let me take my clothes, my car and you only called because your ego got bruised?”

 He moved faster than she expected.

 The pnded hard across her cheek, sending her head to the side. The burn bloomed instantly. Her hair fell into her face, hiding the tears that finally

 broke free.

 “You ungrateful little girl,” he hissed. “I gave you a lesson. I taught you what the real world was like.”

 Nivera clutched the edge of the chair to steady herself, her whole body trembling.

 “You failed that lesson. And now youe crawling back with nothing but scandal and shame, dragging this family’s name through filth for a man whose entire bloodline reeks of corruption.”

 “I didn’t-” she tried again, voice shaking.

 “I said enough!” he roared and she flinched again.

 “Don’t you know Alejandro Garcia is? His family hides behind their wealth, their empire, thinking thew doesn’t apply to them. And the bastard, the one who changes women like his underwear,” he hissed.

 “And you? You threw yourself at him like some desperate nobody.”

 “I didn’t throw myself at anyone,” Nivera choked out. “We are not involved in a rtionship, dad.”

 You’re no daughter of mine,” Matthew snapped.

 Those words cut deeper than anything else.

 She stood frozen, tears sliding down her cheeks, her chest heaving silently as the room blurred around her. The chandelier, the books, even her father’s twisted face–they all melted into a haze of pain.

 “I should’ve married you off when I had the chance,” he muttered, pacing now. “I should’ve handed you to someone who would control you.

 “Well that’s too bad,” Nivera retorted.

 “Not quite, your time is almost up and from what I gathered, your modeling career is non–existent. You will be married off.” 

 Before Nivera could respond, there was a knock, a sharp, urgent one.

 A guard stepped inside without waiting for permission, clearly rattled. “Sir,” he said, hesitating. “Alejandro García is at the gates.”

 Matthew straightened while Nivera’s eyes went wide with shock. “What?”

 “He’s demanding to see Miss Elton. Says he won’t leave without her. He’s… threatening to break down the gate if we don’t open it

 Silence.

 Nivera lifted her head slowly, stunned, her breath catching. Alejandro?

 Matthew’s jaw clenched so tight the muscles twitched. His voice dropped to a deadly whisper.

 “How dare he? Do not allow him to enter. Let’s see what he’ll do,” Matthew hissed.

 Nivera, who knew better, shook her head inwardly.

 Alejandro was crazy and defying him wasn’t a good idea..

 He was the storm and he’d just arrived to wreak havoc. 

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Ruthless 23