Part 1His Erased Obsession

For four years, I threw myself at Grayson Vance with absolutely no shame.

He was less than thrilled.

With a single word of pressure from him, my family packed me up and shipped me overseas.

“I don’t care what it takes,” he’d said. “Just make her stop.”

“Or you’ll all regret it.”

The drugs, the hypnosis, the electroshock treatments…

It worked. It really worked.

I forgot what it felt like to love him. My memory of his face even blurred around the edges, like a photograph left out in the sun.

Finally, he gave the word, and I was allowed to come home.

Now, I make a point to disappear whenever he’s around. My mother taught me that much: the man with the face of a fallen angel was not someone I could afford to cross.

So when I saw him kissing my sister, my first instinct was to hide, to pull out my phone and secretly take a picture.

His eyes, when they found me, were frigid and sharp with fury.

I shrank into the corner, the words tumbling out of my mouth in a terrified mess.

“I’m sorry, I just… you two look so perfect together. Like something out of a story…”

I don’t know why it happened.

But for a man who never showed a flicker of emotion, his gaze trembled violently.

* * *

Ever since I got back from Europe, I’ve felt like my brain is moving through sludge. Most days, I just sleep.

I think there might be something wrong with me.

Mom tells me not to worry.

“You’ve always been my sleepy little girl, Nina,” she’d say, smoothing my hair. “Not driven like your sister. It’s fine. Everyone’s different. If you’re tired, go sleep.”

I poured myself a large mug of black coffee, hoping to jolt my system awake, but it had no effect. I was tapping at my temples in frustration when the front doorbell chimed.

Our housekeeper, Maria, announced, “Miss Olivia is home. Mr. Vance is with her.”

A wave of pure joy washed over my parents’ faces. Dad practically ran to the door to greet them. Mom started to follow, then paused, remembering me.

Her expression soured with conflict. “Nina, you should…”

I nodded, already getting it. “I know. Grayson doesn’t like me.” I forced a small smile. “Olivia’s engagement is what’s important. I’ll just go upstairs. I could use a nap anyway.”

She looked at me, her relief palpable as I faked a yawn.

I was halfway up the grand staircase when I remembered I’d left my coffee mug behind. I wanted to give it one more try.

As I turned, my eyes met a glacial stare from the doorway.

It was pure instinct.

I forgot the coffee. I forgot everything. I just ran. It felt like if I didn’t move, I would die. I didn’t stop until I was in my room with the door locked, a heavy desk shoved against it for good measure.

Only then did the heart that had leaped into my throat finally drop back into my chest.

I could never explain it, but the sight of Grayson Vance triggered a single, overwhelming emotion in me: terror.

Mom said it was because Grayson was a natural-born leader, that anyone would feel crushed by his presence.

“Especially a little mouse like you,” she’d added. She told me to stay out of his sight. “Grayson… he doesn’t have time for girls who look sweet but have nothing going on upstairs. His attention is for exceptional women, like your sister.”

“Do you have any idea what the Vance family represents?” she’d continued, her voice urgent. “Marrying into that family would save us generations of struggle. Nina, you need to be smart about this.”

And I was smart. I was dutiful.

So every time Grayson came over, I made myself scarce. Mom was always pleased, sometimes rewarding me with a gentle pat on the head. I treasured those small moments of approval.

That’s why I never told her the real reason I hid. I would have avoided him even without her warnings.

His presence was suffocating. It felt like a physical weight on my chest, like a fist squeezing my heart. It left an aching hollowness behind, a strange sorrow I couldn’t name.

Downstairs, the house filled with laughter.

And wrapped in the sound of their joy, I drifted into a heavy, dreamless sleep.