The Billionaire's Dangerous Obsession (Nivera) novel Chapter 197

Chapter 197

Nivera’s heart pounded as she watched, torn, her throat tight. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words choked in her chest. She could only look between them, the two men she loved in different ways, colliding like fire and stone.

Alejandro’s lip curled. “You think you can protect her better? Where were you when she was alone? Where were you when she was clawing her way through life, with your father breathing down her neck? You weren’t there. I was.”

“Enough,” Nivera said sharply, her voice breaking under strain. “This isn’t helping-” Neither man heard her.

Liam took a step closer to Alejandro, his chest nearly colliding with his. “You think this is about him? No. This is about you. You play god with her life, and the moment she bleeds, you still want to twist it to your advantage. What are you, Alejandro? A savior? Or the reason she needs saving at all?”

Alejandro’s lips curved into a cold smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I am the reason she’s still breathing.”

“ENOUGH!”

The word ripped from Nivera’s throat, raw and desperate. She pushed herself upright despite the pain, clutching at her bandaged side. Her chest heaved as tears threatened her eyes. “Both of you, stop! Please!”

For a moment, the room went still. Both men froze, their fury interrupted by her voice.

But just as quickly, their glares reignited, ready to clash again.

And then another voice cut through, sharp but calm, heavy with authority.

“Enough.”

The single word cracked through the room like a whip, sharp and commanding. Both men froze.

Aria had risen to her full height, her usually soft voice now firm, carrying the authority only a mother could wield. Her eyes were ablaze with fury, her hands clenched tight.

“Not another word. Both of you, out. Now.”

Liam opened his mouth. “Mom-”

“I will not have you two tearing each other apart in front of my daughter’s hospital bed,” she snapped. “Alejandro, Liam, both of you–out. Now.”

They both tried to protest at once, but she cut them off with one deadly glare.

“OUT!”

“Out,” she repeated, her tone like iron wrapped in velvet.

Alejandro hesitated, his eyes still locked on Liam’s, but after a long beat, he exhaled sharply, muttering under

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Chapter 197

his breath as he stepped back. He moved to Nivera, brushing his hand briefly over hers before straightening. “I’ll be outside.”

Liam lingered, bristling with unspoken rage, but under Aria’s unyielding stare, he finally relented, storming toward the door.

When the door shut behind them, silence settled, though the air was still thick with the remnants of the

storm.

Aria turned back to her daughter, her face softening instantly as she returned to the bedside. She took Nivera’s hand, pressing it against her check, as if reassuring herself that her child was truly there, alive.

Nivera slumped against her pillows, exhausted, her hand trembling faintly.

For a moment, neither spoke. Then Aria sighed, her fingers reaching out to tuck a strand of hair from Nivera’s face.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Nivera blinked, stunned. “For what?”

“For everything,” Aria said softly, her voice laced with years of unspoken regret. “For not being the mother you deserved. For not fighting harder for you. For letting you grow up in a house that felt like a cage. I let him -your father–decide too much. I let his rules become chains around us all.”

Nivera’s throat tightened, her chest aching. “Mom…”

Aria’s eyes glistened. “When you left, it broke me. But I didn’t stop you because, for the first time, I saw you breathing freely. You were happier out there, even if it meant I had to miss you every single day, and I was so proud of you for taking a decision I couldn’t bring myself to take.”

Tears stung Nivera’s eyes. She reached out, her fingers brushing against her mother’s hand. “I thought you didn’t care. That you let me go because… because I wasn’t worth fighting for.”

“Oh, my sweet girl,” Aria whispered, her voice breaking. “No. Never. You were worth everything. You are worth everything. I wanted to fight Nivera. God, I wanted to. But I was weak. I let fear and duty tie my hands, and I thought… Maybe letting you go was the only way I could love you properly–from afar. Because keeping you would have meant crushing you under the same weight I’ve carried for years.”

Nivera’s tears spilled, her voice trembling. “Then why haven’t you left him? If you’re so unhappy with Father, why stay?”

Aria’s gaze faltered, her shoulders sagging under invisible weight. She looked older in that moment, fragile yet strong in a way Nivera had never noticed before.

“Because sometimes leaving isn’t as simple as it sounds, Because I thought I could shield you and your brother by staying. Because I was afraid of what would happen if I left. And because…” She trailed off, her eyes distant. “Because I forgot what it meant to be happy, and by the time I remembered, it was too late.”

“I convinced myself that sacrifice is love. That staying, enduring, is what made me a good wife and a good mother. I thought my silence was protecting you, protecting Liam. But all it did was teach you to suffer quietly. And I am so sorry for that.”

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Chapter 197

The admission cracked something open in Nivera’s chest. She had always seen her mother as poised, distant, and resigned to her role. But now–now she saw the woman beneath the mask, fragile and aching.

“You didn’t mention Vivian,” she pointed out.

“It pains me to say this, but I’ve lost all hope for Vivian. She is just like her father.”

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