Dark Romance: A Cruel Obsession

“This is the truth,” Shelley set down the water glass. “I will keep an eye out for you. When Vilem comes back, I’ll talk to him.”

“Thank you,” Vivian said sincerely.

“No need to be formal with me,” Shelley waved her hand, leaned back on the sofa, “My mind has been filled with a lot of things these days, almost crashed.”

Vivian tidied up the coffee table, slipping several reports into a folder. “You should rest more at night instead of coming out to play.”

“Playing is relaxing. How about going to the bar in the next room for a drink?” Shelley invited Vivian.

“I don’t drink,” Vivian refused.

“You own a bar, not drinking is not an option,” Shelley imparted her wisdom to Vivian, “When you’re out, there are always one or two drinks you can’t refuse.”

Vivian ruthlessly refused again, “I can refuse you.”

Shelley clutched her chest, making a hurt expression, “I’m hurt, my heart hurts.”

Looking at Shelley, who was so relaxed and joking, Vivian felt a little dazed, as if she had seen Luzia.

“How about going dancing together? You know how to dance, right?”

Vivian shook her head, “Alajos is coming to pick me up. Maybe next time.”

Once Vivian mentioned Alajos, Shelley had no way to insist, only puffing her cheeks in complaint, “You’re no fun, Vivian. It would be great if Luzia were here.”

After that, both of them fell silent for a moment.

“I haven’t been in touch with Luzia for a long time,” Shelley said. Even though she and Luzia had a strained relationship, they both lived in Houston. They used to have many opportunities to meet at family gatherings and while out shopping. Unlike now, Luzia had married and moved to Los Angeles, now Shelley couldn’t even find someone to argue with.

Thinking about Bryson’s call last night, Vivian felt uneasy, but Luzia might fly back to Houston to celebrate Mrs. Yazmin’s birthday, which could be considered good news, at least.

“Mrs. Yazmin’s birthday party is in a few days, Luzia might come back,” along with her brother Joseph.

Just thinking about Joseph’s annoying face made Vivian feel a bit overwhelmed.

It wasn’t until Alajos confirmed that Joseph and Luzia would fly back to Houston for Mrs. Yazmin’s birthday that Vivian was half excited and half worried.

Alajos squeezed Vivian’s hand, “Luzia is coming back, you should be happy.”

“I am happy,” Vivian tried to smile for Alajos, but she struggled for a long time and couldn’t manage it. “I’m scared.”

Alajos patted her hand, “Scared of Joseph?”

“Yes, I’m often afraid of Joseph’s presence,” Vivian couldn’t understand why there was such a cruel antisocial figure like Joseph in the world, “But I’m more afraid of seeing the scars on Luzia. I will feel heartbroken for her, but I am powerless in her situation.”

Bringing up Luzia, Alajos couldn’t help but sigh. He regretted this decision, but Luzia’s sacrifice was worth it. Now, the only thing he could do was to quickly carry out their plan and kill Bryson.

Once Bryson was dead, Los Angeles would be in chaos, and Houston would be able to take advantage, just as they had once taken advantage of Los Angeles, weakening Joseph’s power. Then he would support Vilem, help him challenge Joseph, and vie for the position of Capo.

At that time, Luzia could get a divorce and return to Houston.

But this plan couldn’t be told to Vivian. She wasn’t strong enough yet, her fear and hatred of Bryson weren’t enough for her to watch him die. Maybe she would keep their secret, but she would also do something to make Bryson more cautious.

While Vivian cried for Luzia’s future, Alajos could only silently embrace her.

…

At 25 weeks pregnant, Vivian had two more check-ups without telling anyone. Hearing that their baby was safely growing in her womb, Vivian couldn’t help but grab Alajos’s hand, unable to hold back her tears.

Her belly was larger than it was at the last check-up. She had switched her usual home clothes to loose and comfortable styles, and her pants had changed from tight jeans to loose trousers. With the weather getting colder, she would reluctantly put on a coat, barely concealing her belly a little.

As her belly grew, Vivian became more and more distressed. This was the eleventh time tonight that she stood in front of the closet and sighed. Alajos put down his financial magazine and found it amusing, “If you don’t have the clothes you likein your closet, you can go shopping. There are many clothing stores in the mall where you can find what you like.”

“No, there are no clothes that fit me in the mall either,” Vivian said sadly, touching her protruding belly. “They fit slender girls, not me.”

“I should go to the maternity section,” Vivian lamented, “But there are no suitable dresses for attending a birthday party. I don’t want to be too disrespectful.”

Maybe she just shouldn’t go, which would conveniently avoid Joseph, keeping her from having her secret revealed.

Vivian bit her lip, contemplating how to persuade Alajos.

Seeing that Vivian was having second thoughts, Alajos shook his head and refused her, “If Joseph can’t see you, he will demand to come to the apartment to see you, Vivian.”

“And, don’t you want to see Luzia?”

Of course, Vivian wanted to see Luzia, “But…”This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

“You don’t have to worry about the dress,” Alajos said, prepared. “I have instructed Nirupama to customize a dress for you. She will bring it over for you to try on tomorrow, and if it doesn’t fit, she can make adjustments.”

“Nirupama? Doesn’t she only make wedding dresses?”

“No one can resist triple the price,” Alajos said confidently.

Nirupama’s custom dresses were expensive. Vivian didn’t dare to imagine how much triple the price would be in dollars, she didn’t dare to ask, but it didn’t stop her from feeling distressed.

“It’s too expensive,” Vivian said, “There’s no need.”

“Even for just a birthday party, my wife deserves the most beautiful things,” Alajos embraced Vivian’s waist, caressing her belly. “You deserve to have everything expensive and beautiful.”

His gaze was focused, containing emotions that Vivian didn’t dare to look at directly. She was afraid she might misinterpret, but also afraid of missing something.

She reached up to touch his handsome face, her fingertips brushing over the scar on his forehead. The ferocity and brutality she had seen when they first met had faded after spending days and nights together. The more she touched, the closer she got, the more her heart ached.

Vivian had never asked Alajos about the origin of this scar. She couldn’t imagine how dangerous it must have been at the time to leave such a deep mark.

There was more than just this particular scar.

During kisses, moments of passion, and lovemaking, Vivian had countless times touched the scars on Alajos’ body: cuts, burns, gunshot wounds, and even a horizontal scar across his chest, each one extremely dangerous, each one a narrow escape from death.

There was a new scar on his abdomen, one she had participated in.

The stitching at the time wasn’t very good, and the scar looked uglier than the others. Every time she touched or kissed it, she felt particularly sorry.

This always made Alajos unable to resist his emotions.

But besides feeling sorry, all Vivian could do was silently pray for Alajos. She prayed that every time he went on a mission, he would come back safe and sound. She didn’t dare hope that he would come back unscathed every time, she just prayed that his injuries would be lighter, and lighter.

When would these days end?

Vivian had painfully thought this more than once.

But deep down, she knew the answer to this question.

They wouldn’t end.

Neither Alajos nor she had a way back, especially Alajos, who couldn’t afford to stop. Stopping meant death.

The only way to be free was through death.