Billionaire’s Wicked Obsession

Silence.

That was all that remained between us.

Pierce stood before me, his face tense despite his efforts to hide it. His dark eyes bore into mine, searching for an answer I had yet to find within myself.

I had chosen him.

But that choice wasn't the end of everything. If anything, it was the beginning of something much bigger—something I wasn't sure I fully understood.

I clenched the hem of my shirt, trying to steady myself. "Pierce…" My voice was barely audible.

He didn't respond right away, simply waiting with an unusual patience, as if afraid of pushing too hard. But his expression said enough—he wanted to know what was on my mind.

"What happens after this?" I finally asked.

Pierce exhaled slowly. "I'll prove that I'm worthy of being your choice."

His answer was straightforward, without hesitation. Yet, beneath the calmness of his tone, I knew there was something deeper—something he wasn't saying outright.

I took a small step back, giving us space. "And what if I still doubt you?"

"That's fine." He shrugged slightly, as if it didn't bother him. "You can doubt me. You can question everything. But I'll still be here, Elsie."

Our eyes locked. There was certainty in his voice, in his stance, in the way he looked at me—as if he truly believed I was the only one he wanted.

"But what if I choose to leave?" I asked again, softer this time.

Pierce clenched his jaw. It took him a few seconds to respond. "Then I'll let you."

His answer startled me. "Really?"

His smile was faint, almost melancholic. "Yes."

A simple word, yet it carried something more than just a promise.

Pierce's gaze dropped to my hand, which was still gripping the contract tightly. "But I know you won't."

I stiffened.

He stepped closer, making me lose my balance for a brief second. "Do you know why, Elsie?" he whispered, his voice dangerously close, his breath warm against my skin.

I shook my head slightly, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Because you've chosen me too, with or without this contract."

His fingers brushed against mine, carefully, as if giving me time to pull away—but I didn't.

I remained still, letting him.

Letting him touch me.

Letting him sink deeper into my thoughts, further than he should.

I knew.

I had chosen him.

But the real question now was…

Was I truly ready for the consequences?

The air between us thickened, charged with unspoken words and the weight of decisions that could no longer be undone.

Pierce's fingers lingered over mine, his touch light yet impossibly firm, like he was grounding me to this moment. I should have pulled away—I knew that. But I didn't. Because despite my doubts, despite the war waging inside my chest, I wasn't ready to sever this connection.

Not yet.

His dark eyes bore into me, searching, reading me like an open book I wished I could shut.

"You're afraid," he murmured.

I swallowed. "Of what?"

His lips curled into a knowing smirk, but there was no amusement in it. "Of how much you want this."

My breath hitched.

He wasn't wrong.

Pierce had always had this way of pulling me in, of making me question things I thought I was certain about. And right now, standing this close to him, with the contract still crumpled in my grasp, I realized the real battle wasn't about choosing him.

It was about accepting what that choice meant.

Pierce stepped forward, closing the distance so subtly that I barely noticed until he was right there—so close that his warmth bled into mine, his scent clouding my thoughts.

"Tell me I'm wrong," he challenged, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.

I opened my mouth.

No words came out.

His fingers skimmed the edge of my wrist, tracing slow, deliberate patterns that sent shivers up my spine. "You won't," he said, his tone laced with certainty. "Because you can't."

I clenched my jaw, willing my body to step back, to breathe, to think. But Pierce was relentless, his presence a force I couldn't ignore.

"Elsie," he whispered, my name slipping from his lips like a secret.

Something in me shattered.

I exhaled sharply. "This isn't fair."

He tilted his head slightly, amusement flickering in his eyes. "No, it's not."

I glared at him. "Then why—"

"Because you're mine," he interrupted, his voice turning rough. "And I'm yours."

The sheer conviction in his words sent a tremor through me.

Pierce wasn't asking.

He was stating a fact.

My heartbeat pounded against my ribs as I stared at him, as I tried to find a way out of this tangled mess I had willingly walked into. But the truth was, there was no escape.

Not from him.

Not from us.

Because he was right.

I had already chosen him.

And maybe… just maybe…

I had never truly wanted to choose otherwise.

The silence between us grew thicker, only broken by our uneven breaths.

Pierce still stood there, his gaze unwavering, as though he knew I was struggling against something that was already clear. He knew I was searching for an escape, but he also knew that I wouldn't find one.

Because I had trapped myself here.

His fingers finally pulled away from my skin, but the warmth of his touch lingered. It was as though he deliberately left a mark, a reminder that he had been so close… that he could be closer still.

"I'm not forcing you," he said suddenly, his voice softer this time.

I nodded, though there was a small lie hidden within it.

Pierce had never forced me with words. But his presence, the way he looked at me as if he could read every doubt in my mind, that was what made me feel like there was no other choice.

He sighed softly, then took a small step back. "But you know I won't give up."

I clenched my jaw, refusing to answer.

He smiled faintly, but that smile wasn't fully triumphant—there was something deeper in it, something I couldn't fully grasp.

"Wanna know something, Elsie?" His voice lowered, almost a whisper.

I simply looked at him, waiting.

"I don't want to win." His eyes searched mine, and something in his gaze made my chest tighten. "I just want you to stop hiding."

I swallowed hard.

He saw me more clearly than anyone ever had. That's what made him dangerous.

Because I was never ready for someone who could see me for who I really was.

Before I could say anything, Pierce took another step back.

"I'll leave for now."

I blinked, a little surprised by his decision to back off so quickly.

"But, Elsie?"

I raised my head, meeting his eyes cautiously.

He smiled faintly, but this time there was something sharp in that smile. "I hope that when I return, you'll be ready to face the truth."

And with that, he turned and walked away without looking back.

I stood there, letting his words echo in my mind.

Maybe he was right.

Maybe I was hiding.

But the real question was—what exactly was I hiding from?

Or more precisely... who?