The Billionaire's Dangerous Obsession (Nivera) novel Chapter 161

Chapter 161

The city came to life just as the sun set.

Alejandro drove the wheel with one hand, his other resting lazily against the armrest.

One might have thought he was a man driving home after a long day of work.

In truth, every turn of the wheel showed that it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Instead of driving back home, he turned instead into a darker part of the city, which was cloaked in darkness and where the streets were ruled by shadows.

Graffiti covered the wall, and trash littered the cracked sidewalks. Somewhere in the distance, a woman screamed–high, piercing, and then cut short. No one rushed to help.

It was the kind of neighbourhood that breathed crime into the night air, where men created empires on street corners with drugs and cheap violence.

Exactly what he needed.

He slowed as his headlights caught what he had been searching for: a cluster of men loitering on the

corner.

Smoke curled from their lips as they passed a joint between them, laughter sharp and reckless. The kind of men who didn’t need a reason to destroy something–or someone.

He killed the engine and stepped out of the car, the polished soles of his shoes clicking against the

cracked road.

Their heads turned while their eyes sharpened. He was a wolf walking into a pack of dogs.

They looked at him as though a god had wandered into their slum. His tailored jacket, his polished shoes, the gleam of his watch–everything about him screamed money, arrogance, and power.

The tallest of the men spat to the side and stepped forward, eyes gleaming with the thrill of easy prey. “Well, well. Look what we’ve got here, boys.”

Laughter rippled through the group.

“You lost, pretty boy?” Another sneered. “Or did you come to make a donation? ‘Cause you just stepped into the lion’s den.”

They immediately spread out, surrounding him and trapping him in the middle. He could see them already imagining how his watch, his wallet, maybe even his car would look in their hands.

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Chapter 161

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Any other man would have been trembling. Any other man would have been calculating an escape route. Alejandro? He looked bored.

What was there to be afraid of? When he was the one who had come to them? Plus, he could take on

the bastards who looked high as fuck.

His gaze slid lazily over them before he tucked his hands into his pockets. “I’m exactly where I

intended to be.”

That earned a pause, then more laughter. “Is that so?” the tall man drawled, baring his yellow teeth. “And what exactly do you want, rich boy?”

Alejandro tilted his head, his voice even, unhurried. “I have a proposition for you.”

The men erupted into cackles.

“A proposition?” one repeated. “You hear that? This guy thinks we’re running some kind of business.”

Alejandro’s lips twitched, though it never quite reached his eyes. “In a way, you are.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” the leader asked, his tone sharp now.

“I need you to beat me,” Alejandro said plainly. “And make it look good.”

The silence that followed was instant and deafening–then broke with an explosion of howls and

laughter.

“You’re outta your goddamn mind!” Someone howled, clutching his stomach.

“What is this, some kinky rich–boy shit?” another jeered.

One man bent over, wheezing, while another clutched his chest. “You–you serious? This guy’s fucking insane.”

“I don’t think he’s joking,” another muttered, studying Alejandro with a wary squint.

This made others stop laughing, and they turned to look at him, and they saw seriousness etched over his face. “Man, are you serious? You want us to knock you around?”

The leader’s grin faded, suspicion creeping into his eyes. “Why?”

“That,” Alejandro said, “is none of your concern. All you need to know is that I’ll pay you well. Very well. All I require is that you make it convincing.”

The leader stepped closer, his expression turning into one of confusion as people begged not to be

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beaten and not to be beaten. “You some kinda freak, man? You get off on that?”

Alejandro’s gaze didn’t waver. “Something like that.‘

A few exchanged looks, torn between disbelief and curiosity.

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Then one of them, a shorter man with twitching hands, squinted harder. His mouth dropped open. “Wait. Wait, wait. I know that face. Shit.” His voice cracked with sudden fear. “That’s a Garcia. Alejandro Garcia.”

The name sliced through the group like a knife.

The air shifted. Shoulders stiffened. Laughter died.

Everyone knew the Garcias. Everyone knew what crossing them meant. They were the kind of family whispered about in bars, their empire soaked in power and blood, but they were untouchable.

The leader’s eyes widened as he spat to the side. “Holy fuck. He’s right.” He took a step back, his features now morphed into one of fear.

“You’re telling me you want us to beat you?” one asked, his voice hushed now.

“Yes.” Alejandro’s calm never wavered. “Hard. Until I look like I’ve been through hell.”

The men froze, their fear mixed with disbelief.

“No way,” the leader muttered. “You–you think we’re stupid enough to lay hands on you? If we touch you, we’re dead men walking. Your family would string us up.”

Alejandro’s gaze sharpened, lethal even in it’s restraint. “If you don’t, you’re already dead men walking. I chose you tonight. You think I didn’t plan for this? You think I don’t know who runs this block, whose names I could erase with a single call?”

The silence was suffocating. He let it stretch, to let the weight of his words sink in.

Finally, one of them swallowed hard, “He’s not bluffing.”

The men exchanged uneasy glances.

“Go on,” Alejandro drawled, voice soft but razor–sharp. “Show me what you’ve got.”

The leader cursed under his breath, dragging a hand down his face. He looked at Alejandro again,

trying to gauge him, but what he found only unsettled him more.

“Alright,” he muttered reluctantly. “But if this comes back to bite us

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Chapter 161

“It won’t,” Alejandro cut in smoothly.

A tense moment passed. Then one of the men, bolder than the rest, stepped forward and swung a fist at his jaw.

Alejandro’s head snapped to the side with the impact. Blood blossomed against his lip.

He licked it away slowly, then turned back, frowning. “You’re going to need to hit harder than that.”

The man faltered, but the look in Alejandro’s eyes–cold, unflinching–left no room for argument.

This man was crazy!

Alejandro’s lip curled in annoyance. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

The storm then began as the man hit again, this time harder.

And Alejandro laughed.

The sound was low, rough, and unsettling. It wasn’t the laugh of a man breaking under pain. It was the laugh of a man who fed on it.

The gang exchanged uneasy glances, but once the first line was crossed, there was no going back. One after another, fists and boots connected with his body. His ribs, his stomach, his face. Each blow landed with a sickening thud.

And through it all, Alejandro absorbed the punishment, even tilting his head as if to invite more. His laughter bubbled again, ragged but genuine, and it chilled the men to their bones.

He was supposed to beg, to groan, to collapse, but here he was laughing like a maniac.

One of them whispered to another, “He’s insane. He likes it.”

The words reached him, and Alejandro’s grin widened through the blood.

Apart from the crazy plan, he deserved the beating for what he had put Nivera through. He was supposed to be her safe space; instead, he had made her cry.

Her tear–streaked face immediately came to his mind, and he welcomed the pain some more.

When his body screamed enough, when the swelling was visible and blood dampened his shirt, Alejandro finally lifted a hand. That’s enough.”

Breathless, the men stepped back, staring at him like he was a ghost. How was he able to stand?

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Alejandro straightened slowly, wiping blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. His eyes, sharp and commanding even through the swelling, locked on the leader.

“You did well,” he said hoarsely. “Consider it a job completed.”

He unbuckled the watch from his wrist–a timepiece worth more than any of them would make in a

lifetime–and tossed it into the leader’s hand.

The man caught it, staring in shock as Alejandro turned away, walking casually as though he hadn’t just been brutalized.

He didn’t slide into the driver’s seat. Instead, he opened the passenger door and sank into it, his movements sluggish but deliberate.

The driver’s seat was already occupied.

Martins glanced at him, expression halfway between disbelief and irritation. He had been there all along, watching everything unfold as per Alejandro’s order.

He was there to make sure things didn’t go overboard. “You’re fucking crazy.”

Alejandro chuckled, wincing as the motion pulled at his split lip. “You’re only realizing that now?”

Martins shook his head, muttering curses as he started the engine.

“Make sure you dismiss the guards before I get home,” Alejandro said, his voice rough but steady.

Martins shot him a look. “Why the hell would you-”

“Just do it,” Alejandro interrupted, eyes closing briefly as his head tilted back against the seat. A faint smirk curved his bruised mouth.

He wasn’t going to give Nivera an alternative to staying away from him.

Martins said nothing more, but the muscle in his jaw ticked as the car rolled forward.

Alejandro let the silence settle. The sting of his bruises throbbed in rhythm with his heartbeat, but he welcomed it. The pain was his penance—and his weapon.

Because when he walked through that front door, when Nivera saw him bloodied and broken, she wouldn’t be able to turn away.

Exactly as he planned.

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