Chapter 55 - Chapter 54

# Chapter 54
AYANDA

Of course, he couldn't stay away and just leave me alone. He's obsessed.

We both are.

Obsession has us both in its grip, a disease that pulls us closer like magnets.

Seated on the bench by the river that runs near my house, the same river where he first overpowered me and made me feel a sense of relief only he can bring, I hear the crunch of his heavy boots in the snow. I don't turn my head to look at him. If I do, I'll fold.

Bathed in the dim glow of a nearby lamppost, I stare at the dark water and the ripples across the still surface.

It's peaceful. Quiet.

I should shout at him and ask why he withheld the truth from me. Instead, I ask the question on the tip of my tongue, which demands an answer before any of the other countless questions that push for a chance to slip from my lips.

In the quiet of night, accompanied by the hooting owl in the thicket of trees behind us, my heart speaks louder. "Where were you last night?"

His dark shape pauses in my periphery, sensing the tension in the air. "Where were you?" I ask, fighting to control the maelstrom of emotions inside me.

"I had to stay away. The police kept a close eye on your house."

A bitter smile plays on my lips, and I scoff before finally swinging my eyes in his direction. My breath catches in my chest at seeing him shrouded in darkness and barely restrained control.

His hood is pulled low over his eyes, and his face is cast in shadows. But I notice every heavy breath that escapes him, a visible cloud of frustration in the air.