The Billionaire's Dangerous Obsession (Nivera) novel Chapter 198

Chapter 198

863

85 Youchers.

The corridor outside Nivera’s private hospital room was thick with tension, even in silence. Alejandro leaned against the wall, arms folded across his chest, his presence looming like a storm waiting to break.

Beside him, just a few feet away, Liam leaned against the opposite wall, arms folded, his jaw locked in place, his fists clenching and unclenching as though itching for another fight.

Neither man spoke; they hadn’t since Aria sent them out of the room.

But they didn’t need to. Their silence was loaded, their eyes occasionally colliding in sharp glares like blades crossing in the dark. Even without words, they were still battling, each gaze saying the things their tongues were biting back.

Alejandro’s jaw ticked, every muscle strung taut. He hated standing out here, and he hated the idea of being separated from Nivera when she’d been in danger. His body itched to be inside, watching over her, guarding her. Yet he was forced to stay put because of Aria.

There was something annoying about mothers. He wasn’t scared of her, but he didn’t dare go back into the room until Aria came out.

Liam, on the other hand, kept stealing glances at Alejandro with burning eyes. He saw the self–proclaimed king standing there with all his calm, predatory arrogance, and it only made his stomach twist harder. Alejandro wasn’t family. Alejandro wasn’t blood. And yet Nivera looked at him with a softness Liam hadn’t seen in years.

The quiet dragged, brittle and ready to snap, until the door creaked open. Both men’s eyes snapped toward it.

Aria stepped out, her poise carefully stitched back together, though her red–rimmed eyes betrayed the storm she’d just weathered inside. She shut the door softly behind her, then turned to face the two men.

“Liam,” she said, her voice firm but gentle, “you can go in to see your sister now.”

Liam straightened immediately, but Aria held up a hand, her gaze sharp. “But listen to me. You are not to raise your voice or upset her. She’s already been through enough tonight. If you upset her, I’ll be the one to put you out of that room. Do you understand?”

For a moment, Liam bristled, as though he wanted to argue, but at his mother’s piercing look, he finally gave a stiff nod. Without another glance at Alejandro, he pushed past and slipped inside the room.

That left Aria and Alejandro.

For a long moment, she simply studied him. He stood there, shoulders squared, his expression carved in stone as he waited for her to break the silence, as it was obvious she had something to say.

“Come, let’s talk,” Aria said at last.

Alejandro blinked, but he obliged, following her to the seats. She sat, motioning for him to do the same, and

he did.

“I want to thank you,” Aria began quietly. “For being there for my daughter. For protecting her when the rest

14:35 Mon, Oct 6

Chapter 198

of us couldn’t,”

20

55 vouchers

Alejandro inclined his head slightly. “You don’t need to thank me. Protecting her isn’t something I do for gratitude. It’s…non–negotiable.”

Aria’s lips curved faintly, but her eyes stayed sharp. “And yet, no matter how devoted you are, Alejandro, she was still shot today. Thankfully, it wasn’t fatal.”

Alejandro’s jaw tightened. He expected this, and he couldn’t blame her for her words.”

“And that’s exactly what terrifies me,” Aria said, her voice laced with quiet steel. “Do you see why I worry? You’ve tied her fate to your world. A world where guns, enemies, and blood are constants. What happens tomorrow, when you can’t intercept the bullet? What happens when your enemies decide she’s the perfect way to break you?”

Alejandro’s chest tightened, but his gaze didn’t waver. “Then they’ll have to go through me first. And I’ll die before I let that happen.”

Aria studied him, her expression unreadable. “You say that as though dying would solve anything. It wouldn’t. It would only leave her more vulnerable, more broken.”

Something raw flickered in Alejandro’s eyes. He raked a hand through his disheveled hair, his voice lower, harsher. “You think I don’t know that? You think I haven’t spent every second since meeting her imagining what would happen if I lost her? It eats me alive, Aria. Every goddamn day. But keeping her away from me won’t make her safer. If anything, it will leave her more exposed. I know my enemies, and they know me. As long as she’s mine, they’ll try to touch her–but as long as she’s mine, I’ll bleed before they succeed.”

“You love her,” Aria said softly, almost reluctantly.

Alejandro’s lips curved, humorless but certain. “More than I ever thought I could love anyone. She’s it for me. She’s the reason I breathe.”

“I see the way she looks at you, Alejandro. I see the way you look at her. There’s love there, I won’t deny it. But love doesn’t change the fact that your life is surrounded by violence, by danger. And Nivera has already suffered too much.”

Alejandro leaned forward slightly, his eyes dark and steady. “Do you think she’d be safer without me? That I’d simply let her walk away while my enemies know her face, her name, and her importance to me? No. They’d come for her even faster if she wasn’t under my protection. The only reason she’s alive is because I stand between her and them.”

Aria studied him for a long moment, her gaze unwavering. “You sound so certain. So unshakable. But even you can’t control everything. You can’t always stop the bullet before it reaches her.”

His expression flickered, just barely, but it was enough for her to see the truth beneath his mask. He hated that reality. He hated it with every fiber of his being.

Aria softened then, though her voice remained steady. “I don’t doubt your devotion to her. I believe you love her, perhaps more than you’ve ever loved anyone. But I am her mother. And it’s my duty to look past the fire in your eyes and see the world around you for what it is. A battlefield. And I fear my daughter is standing in the middle of it.”

14:35 Mon, Oct 6

Chapter 198

220

Alejandro exhaled slowly, his eyes hard. “Then trust me when I say I’ll burn that battlefield to the ground before I let it touch her again.“.

Silence stretched between them. Finally, Aria nodded, as if she had expected no other answer from him.

“I won’t ask her to leave you; it’d kill me to ask her to do such when she loves you,” Aria stated, and relief washed over Alejandro.

Not like he was going to allow it if she did, but knowing he wouldn’t have to fight Nivera’s mother made him calm; her brother, he didn’t care for.

“I only ask one thing,” she said softly. “Don’t fail her, Alejandro. Because if you do–if she ends up broken or worse, dead, because of you–know that I won’t forgive you, and I’ll kill you myself.”

Alejandro’s gaze softened slightly. He’d kill himself if Nivera ended up dead. “I won’t let that happen.”

****

Inside, Nivera looked up as the door opened. Her face immediately softened when she saw her brother.

“Liam.”

He crossed the room in two strides, sitting heavily on the edge of her bed. His hands, rough with tension, reached for hers almost instinctively. He squeezed them gently, as though afraid she might crumble beneath

his touch.

“You scared the hell out of me,” he muttered, his voice low but thick with emotion. “When I got the call- when I heard you’d been shot–I thought…” He broke off, his jaw tightening.

Nivera’s eyes shimmered, and she squeezed his hand. “I’m okay. I swear. It wasn’t serious.”

Her smile wavered, her thumb brushing the back of his hand in quiet reassurance. “I’m fine. It was just a graze, nothing more. The doctors said I was lucky.”

“That doesn’t matter!” Liam’s voice cracked before he caught himself, remembering Aria’s warning. He exhaled, softer now. “You’re lying in a hospital bed. That’s serious enough.”

“Lucky?” He scoffed, his jaw tightening. “Lucky would’ve been you staying home, safe. Not here–not with him.” His eyes darted briefly toward the door, bitterness clear in his tone.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify