Page 88 of Obsessing Over His Favorite

“For fuck’s sake! You just can’t stop badmouthing her, can you?” he growled. “Amelia warned me just minutes ago. Said you’d find a way to blame her again. Like you always do.”

"Lucas, please... please," she sobbed, voice breaking as tears streamed down her face. Her eyes darted around the dark street. Her fingers clutched the phone like a lifeline. "I’m begging you. Come here. Please. I’m so scared..."

“I told you I’ll pick you up after I’m done dropping off Amelia. Stop acting like a damn child and wait!”

Then the line went dead.

The fear that shot through her body was instant and paralyzing. It was like her veins turned to ice. She couldn’t feel her legs.

Her body felt frozen, yet every nerve was on fire. Her mind spun out of control, flashing back to the night she nearly died.

Memories slammed into her like a storm.

The night she was attacked, Lucas had left her for Amelia.

He had abandoned her when she was in danger. He didn’t even care that she was dying—because it was Amelia he believed, not her.

She remembered the hammer striking her head, the sickening crack as she fell to the ground. Then the sound of a car accelerating as it hit her. And then it drove backwards, only to accelerate again, coming straight toward her crumpled body.

She had sobbed, broken and bleeding, betrayed by the man she had loved blindly all her life.

But just before impact, footsteps thundered toward her. Someone ran. A blur of motion. The car swerved.

She caught a glimpse of boots. A man knelt in front of her, cradling her broken body in his arms. She didn’t recognize him—her vision was clouded by blood—but she reached for the only thing she had left.

The family ring her mother had given her. A family heirloom. With fading strength, she pressed it into the man’s palm.

If she died there, she wanted her body to be recognised by her family. She didn’t want to die nameless, forgotten.

Then—darkness.

And somewhere in that darkness, voices.

She remembered hearing everything he said while she lay on the operation table in the hospital, unconscious but alive. His words had echoed inside her, piercing the numbness.

‘Is she dead yet? If she’s not, then stop bothering me.’

And now… her eyes opened again.

But she wasn’t in a hospital.

She was standing outside Jacob’s office building—confused, shaken, breathless.

Lucas stood in front of her, holding her tightly. One of his hands cupped the back of her head protectively, pulling her close like he was trying to shield her from the world. His other arm wrapped around her waist, anchoring her to him.

His eyes—those familiar, dark eyes—were filled with desperate guilt. They searched her face like he was afraid of losing her all over again.

His lips were on hers. Kissing her. Moving roughly over her mouth. He licked her lower lip, tasting her like he’d been starved for this moment.

The rage exploded inside her like a dam breaking. Her chest heaved, eyes blazing as she shoved him back. Hard! Her fingers trembled with fury.

And in the very next second, her arm swung before she could stop herself.

She slapped him across the face.

Chapter 16 Losing Control

Lucas's head snapped to the side. His body recoiled slightly from the blow. For a heartbeat, he didn’t move. His hand slowly rose to his cheek, eyes wide, mouth slightly parted in stunned disbelief. His brows drew together, confused, as if trying to process what just happened.