Chapter 1 Prologue

When an unhealthy, unstoppable desire for someone or something is created, even the most charming and kind-hearted ones get consumed by its destructive flames.

…Let him, her, and everyone be shattered by the intensity of his obsession. He no longer cares. She had become necessary for him to breathe.

At this point, if he won’t have her, he won’t be himself.

His younger brother, Luke’s girlfriend, his sister’s best friend, a ‘very’ close one.

Arabella Dew.

“William, 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, Helena, 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 thirty years old handsome man’s lips.

“Promise?”

“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 ‘date’, 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,”

Panting, his grip on the alcohol’s glass tightened.

“Facing her is.”

His lips quivered, finishing another shot mindlessly.

And in that drunk 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.

TWO YEARS AGO,

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, 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.”

“We will always pray for you,”

“Hmmm. Anyway, gather everyone, I will make a toast, I have big news,”

“Sure,”

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

It was his victory, his success and a perfect moment and change to settle down, to confess and be all hers.

The merest thought of saying ‘Will you marry me?’ made him grin unstoppably.

He rushed only to find her with his younger brother.

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, “Of course, Luke! I would love to!”

His eyes widened in horror, 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 with heartbreak, ‘How could you get into a relationship with him when ‘I’ am here?’

And carrying the weight of unspoken words, he walked away agonizingly 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.

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

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, back to the present, he forced himself to stand.

“Fuck.”

Refusing to let go of the drink in his hands and entering his room, uncaring of his condition and posture.

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 this picture of her.

Smiling, he approached her, tracing his fingers on the frame, over her body, desperately, bringing a hysterical glow on his face.

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

His lips pressed against the cold frame, kissing her picture, imagining he was kissing her.

Oh, how beautiful her body in reality would feel.

“And even if I do will- will you understand?”

He chuckled, taking a step back, reducing his ability to think to zero as he blabbered.

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

In a heartbeat, all of his fondness blazed to ashes, his mind lost its senses as he threw the glass away outrageously, shattering it to pieces.

“BECAUSE YOU FUCKING LOVE HIM!”

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

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?!”

“Why him but not me!?”

Pressing his teeth, he sniffed, “But, but, but–”

Refusing to shed a tear, he flashed a burning, passionate glance at the beautiful picture, at the one his soul desires endlessly. Giving it a crazy look.

“I swear, I fucking swear on my life, I will return to have what’s MINE back, 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,”