Chapter 1 Prologue

When an unhealthy, unstoppable, ceaseless obsession is created, even the most charming and kind-hearted ones get consumed by its destructive flames.

Those who were once admired, willingly choose destruction for the one they are weak for. Once loved by all, now decides to trade heavenly luxuries just to get themselves ruined, in an irrecoverable way, not to mention.

An obsession that would bring nothing but ravage along yet to halt such a powerful force possible? Never.

Such a deadly fire had also gobbled the once irresistible and gentle man and converted him into a greedy devil who desires none but one.

Her.

Arabella Dew.

His younger brother’s girlfriend, their family friend, a ‘very’ close one yet he consented to risk it all for her.

…Let him, her, and everyone be shattered by the intensity of his obsession…

“Brother, please! I don’t want to hear your excuses! If you won’t come this week, I won’t walk down the aisle!”

A demanding resonance came from his beloved sister whose wishes he had never rejected and won’t this time either.

“If my princess is ordering then how can I object? You will find me home this week, Helena,”

A low, husky, chuckle escaped the handsome man’s lips.

Helena asked innocently, “Promise, Brother?”

“I promise,”

“Turn on your video, I want to see you. You don't sound good.”

“I am with someone, Helena, I can’t,” He lied, proficiently acting sheepish.

“Oh, I didn’t know. Sorry for disturbing you, enjoy your time. We will talk later,” She giggled.

Making an assumption under the label of a ‘girlfriend’, bringing a disappointing smile on his face.

“Hmm. Take care…. Bye,”

After lifting her spirits, he cut the call, throwing his phone away.

In his luxurious apartment, he was sitting at his personal bar, black hair scattered, flowing when he hung his head low.

“Of course I will come… I have to… I must,”

Repeating his words shakily, how could he possibly display the messed up state, revealing the raspiness in his tone, or the redness on his face.

“I have promised after all…”

The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled upward roughly, three buttons opened, revealing his toned and muscular chest wearing a black formal pants to complete his eye-catching attire.

“But, how can I ever tell you? Returning isn’t the problem,”

Only to ruin it to match it with his tainted heart’s condition. Panting, his grip on the alcohol’s glass tightened.

“Facing her is.”

Shutting his eyes, he gasped for air as in a desperate attempt to liberate himself from this loop of stinging feelings.

“I love you guys more than anything and I am afraid that I will become the villain of your lives… I can’t.”

His lips quivered, finishing another shot mindlessly, drunk to the point his words and mental state was imprisoned in a haze.

And in that blurry state- to reduce his ache- he rested his head over the counter with a beautiful smile eventually spread across his lips while remembering his last meeting…

Back when he was twenty-eight, he became the businessman of the year, a party was held only to celebrate his unbelievable success.

“I knew you could do this, Brother William, no one can match your level,” Helena beamed, hugging her brother tightly.

“That’s the result of you guys’ prayers. In all honesty, the only thought that pushed me forward to not give up is for your sake,” He murmured sincerely, pulling away from her little.

Becoming slightly sentimental.

This moment meant too much and to amplify the glee of it, he smiled widely, whispering to his sister.

“Anyway, gather everyone, I will make a toast,”

“Sure,”

She grinned as he moved back, turning to the corridor and asking about his success from the one his heart yearned for desperately.

“But- where are you going?”

“I will be back in a minute, just a second,”

It was his victory, his success and a perfect moment and change to settle down, to confess, to liberate the lock on his tongue.

The merest cognition of speaking ‘Will you marry me?’ made him grin unstoppably as he rushed only to find her with a glimmering felicity emitting from her.

Tears brimming in her exquisite eyes that halted his steps when he heard the next words.

“Will you be my girlfriend, Arabella?”

She beamed, hugging him wholeheartedly, “Of course, Luke! I would love to!”

His eyes widened in appall, praying for it to be a nightmare but it was not, the ring in his pocket was left unattended, the rose in his hand fell and was crushed under his own feet.

Sparing a glance at her, he forced a trembling smile and left with one question-

‘How could I possibly desire one painfully far away from me now?’

And carrying the weight of unspoken words, he walked away agonizingly, holding his unbreakable façade where everyone was eagerly waiting for him.

“So, what’s the big news?” Helena beamed.

He paused, she also came with her new boyfriend, inducing a pain he had never experienced before.

At that moment, he knew what he must do.

Suppressing the heftiness in his chest, his eyes fell on her, holding her beloved firmly and with a crushing sensation, he raised the toast.

He knew he wasn’t strong enough to bear it so he made the wisest choice.

“After my success in America, I have set a new target goal, I am shifting to England!”

His decision without a doubt displeased his siblings, they needed him with them and aware of his nature, he sheltered his heart.

He prioritized the peace of his mind and left for good…

‘When I left for good then why am I still at that spot from two years ago? Why can’t I move on? Why do I still die for her with every breath my worthless existence takes?’

Thinking dejectedly, unable to handle the bursting sensation, he forced himself to stand, refusing to let go of the drink in his hands and entered his room, uncaring of his condition and posture.

Who was there to hold or complain anyways?

The second he stepped into his luxurious room, his eyes fell on the large picture hanging on the wall.

On her eighteenth birthday, her twinkling gray eyes were lowered shyly, tugging her black hair behind her ear, to him, the most angelic sight he could possibly witness.

She didn’t even know he took his picture of her.

Smiling, he approached her, tracing his fingers on the glass desperately, a strange, hysterical glow on his face.

“How can I ever place what I feel for you in words, Bella?”

Which slowly faded, tingling his heart, “And even if I do… will- will you understand?”

He chuckled dryly, taking a step back like he did that time, reducing his ability to think to zero as he blabbered.

“Oh… What am I saying? No, you won’t… You never will…”

In a heartbeat, all of his fondness blazed to ashes, his mind lost its senses as he threw the glass away outrageously, yelling the deepest scar he was carrying.

“BECAUSE YOU FUCKING LOVE HIM!”

He growled breathlessly, “Him, him and only him existed in you,”

Resenting the merest idea of her latching her name with another man and it was his misfortune- She belonged to someone else.

Clutching his heart to express his anguish, he fell on his knees, gaze softening as he whispered wretchedly.

“And you, you and only you have existed in me, Arabella….”

Lowering his head, he punched the ground repeatedly until it made his knuckles bleed, shouting his wrath out

“How can you not see my feelings, but his?!”

“Why have I always been invisible to you?!”

Pressing his teeth, he sniffed, “But,”

Refusing to shed a tear and flashed a burning, passionate glance at the beautiful picture, at the one his soul desires endlessly.

“I swear, I fucking swear on my life, my darling Arabella…”

Panting with the unstoppable madness, a vile smirk spread across his lips, declaring his dark intentions.

“One day, I will make you mine, even if it kills me,”