Page 106 of Obsession (Dark Revenge)
Perhaps it was my imagination, but it appeared that Alison's eyes filled with an icy fear as I brought it up. However, she promptly averted her gaze and regained her composure. When she looked back at me, her demeanor had returned to its former calm state.
“Then just make sure you don’t lose the war,” she told me.
“Easier said than done.”
“Jared, let’s face it. You’ve won between us. I thought I had the upper hand, and then one day you walked into my office, revealing just how little power I actually had. I thought I could endure this month and pay you back twofold, but I don’t want to fight anymore. I just want to put it all behind me and admit defeat.”
“You don’t admit defeat, Alison,” I said.
She smiled a small, genuine smile and then raised her hand to rest it on my neck. “This time, I do, because you deserve the win.”
“I deserve it?”
“You do. After everything I’ve done, after everything you’ve gone through and will go through, you do deserve it.”
I groaned and grabbed her wrist somewhat roughly, causing her to gasp in surprise.
“I don’t want you to hand me the win. That makes it too easy! I need to earn it.”
“And you have,” she assured me. “I’m tired, Jared.”
I looked at her in shock, not fully comprehending her words. I could see that she was on the verge of tears again, though she managed to hold them back.
“You’ll be free soon,” I reminded her.
“It’s not you that I’m tired of. It’s everything! I’m tired of pretending. I’m tired of the games. I’m tired of the fake smiles I have to put on every day just to make everyone think my life is wonderful,” she confessed. “You’ve made me finally admit it to myself. None of it is real. I don’t even know why I fight so hard for it, but I’m done. I may go back to my home, but at least I’ll see it for what it is—a lifeless façade.”
She sniffled a little, but no tears fell. It seemed that Alison had genuinely changed, perhaps not before I reentered her life, but this month had transformed her more than I could have imagined. However, she wasn’t the only one who had experienced a revelation. There was no longer a war to win between us because we were both wounded, and no victory could heal the turmoil within us.
Alison’s ability to simply say “stop” was something Vince had pleaded with me to do, but I had been unable to comply. The fact that she would return home soon without seeking retaliation or trying to find me again would finally bring an end to it all. However, for me, it didn’t feel satisfying. I knew it was the right thing, but I had come to realize that I was obsessed—obsessed with revenge, obsessed with the need to make things right. A month would never be enough. Vince was correct. I needed a lifetime. That’s what I felt Alison owed me, but I understood that it would never happen.
“At least you see it now,” I remarked.
“I do,” she agreed, nodding slightly.
“Yet it surprises me that you’re not tired of me.”
She chuckled a little, and the atmosphere lightened. Then she moved closer to me.
“Of course I’m not. My long-lost dog has come back to me,” she teased, catching me off guard with her comeback.
“Has he now?” I replied.
Her smile changed from sweet to wicked, and then she pulled me toward her, kissing me fiercely before biting down on my lip, sending a sharp pang of warmth through me. I didn’t pull back, instead waiting for her to release her grip, and when she did, she slid her tongue over the mark, sending shivers down my spine.
Alison shifted back, changing her position and pulling her dress up slightly so she could straddle me. I grabbed her hips, pulling her close while she rested her hands on my neck as she slowly lowered herself onto me.
“I did miss him,” she admitted.
“You missed having power over him.”
“I always had power over him. Why else would he come back to me? He knows where he belongs.”
Her words were fueling a fire within me, making my blood rush in the most exhilarating way. I knew what she was doing—distracting us both from the harsh reality awaiting us once the contract expired—but I welcomed it. I didn’t want to think about the future. I only wanted to focus on the present.
“He knows, but it isn’t with you.”
“Then why did he come back?” she asked.
