Intrigued by the CEO: Paranoid Obsessions

Harper pretended to twist her ankle, naturally falling into Blaze’s arms. “Ouch… that hurts.”

Blaze furrowed his brow, supporting her while his eyes scanned her ankle.

“Could you help me to the seating area over there?” Harper looked at Blaze.

“Are you pretending to hurt your ankle just because you don’t want to learn how to dance properly?”

“I’m not.”

Instead of assisting her, Blaze lifted her up and carried her out of the dance floor, heading towards Dylan’s direction. Dylan immediately stood up to make space.

“Miss Shaw, are you okay?” Dylan asked with concern.

“It’s nothing, maybe I really don’t have the talent for dancing,” Harper chuckled.

Blaze sat her down on his lap, taking off her high heels and examining her ankle closely, “No swelling,” he murmured.

“Uh… It’s not too serious,” Harper followed his lead, feeling uncomfortable with Blaze’s serious examination. He actually thought she had sprained her ankle.

“Mr. Wychwood is so kind to Miss Shaw,” James interjected, taking the opportunity to approach them.

Blaze looked up, his gaze icy.

Harper seized the moment and quickly said to Blaze, “Blaze, I happened to run into my college friend on the cruise ship. Let me introduce you. This is my friend Lena, and her boyfriend James.”

“Mr. Wychwood, I’m James,” James nodded respectfully. Lena stood beside him, her face pale as she glanced between Blaze and Harper.

“Lena? That name sounds familiar.”

Harper felt a surge of nerves, “She’s the college friend I asked you to find before. Didn’t expect to run into her here.”

At her words, Blaze immediately turned a dark gaze towards her.

Harper held her breath. She wasn’t sure what Blaze would do next – berate her or throw her out?

Harper remained seated on his lap, feeling as if everything around them had frozen. There was no sound, no one else; her eyes were fixed only on Blaze’s brooding face.

Suddenly, Blaze chuckled, a chilling laugh.

“Is this your last move? Finding a witness?” Blaze smirked at her, as if amused by a child.

Harper didn’t understand his meaning.

Blaze turned his head, his eyes cold as he glanced at Lena, who paled even further.

Blaze suddenly grasped Harper’s chin, forcibly turning her face towards Lena, then smirked, “Woman, there’s something I forgot to tell you. The most crucial part of the investigation three years ago was the testimony from this college friend of yours. She confirmed that you’re a suspect.”

Harper was stunned, “What are you saying?”

She stared blankly at Lena, who took a step back…

In a vintage European-style reception room, Blaze sat alone on the sofa, leaning slightly forward, holding a glass of champagne and gently swaying it, his eyes fixed on Harper. Lena stood beside James, her face pale.

Harper looked at Lena in disbelief, “Why?” She had thought Lena might be her last hope, only to find out that everything she had endured was because of Lena.

“I…” Lena looked up at her, taking two steps back, “It wasn’t me. They kept asking me where I was at that time, and where you were.”

“But we were together the whole time, weren’t we?” Harper said.

“But that night you said you weren’t feeling well, and you rested in the restroom for an hour, didn’t you? They asked me, and I could only tell the truth,”

Harper was stunned, “I did feel a bit unwell that night and rested for a while. Could it be that during that hour, Blaze was…”

As if to confirm her suspicions, Dylan emerged, saying, “It was during that hour when Master was alone in his room, he drank water and was drugged, losing consciousness. A female attendant sneaked into Master’s room, avoiding the guards’ sight.”

Harper looked at Dylan in shock.

Blaze sat there, watching Harper’s expression, lifting the glass in his hand and taking a sip.

After a while, Harper heard her own voice, “Did you only investigate the attendants? What if someone disguised themselves?”

“Master also considered that,” Dylan said. “So we conducted a thorough search. During that hour, everyone except you had at least one witness, and none of them could have had the opportunity to approach Master’s room.”Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

“Everyone had a witness, except me? How could this be?” Harper took a few steps back. She kept backing away until she reached the wall, leaning against it in despair.

Blaze kept staring at her, then signaled to Dylan with his eyes.

Dylan stepped forward to ask James and Lena to leave. James wanted to cozy up to Blaze, but Dylan firmly ushered them out.

The large reception room was now empty, leaving only Blaze and Harper.

“Harper, have you given up now? Can we wrap up this drama of yours?” Blaze set down his champagne, his voice low.

Harper leaned against the wall, slowly sliding down to the floor, feeling utterly drained, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? You knew Lena couldn’t be my alibi, yet you said nothing.”

“Because you yearn for freedom too much,” Blaze replied.

Harper fell silent.

“I had to give you a glimmer of hope so you’d stay by my side obediently,” Blaze continued, rising from the sofa and approaching her step by step.

Harper didn’t lift her head, her gaze fixed on his straight legs. She muttered, “Since you knew I craved freedom, you should understand that I don’t want to cling to you. So, why would I drug you, a big shot like you, three years ago?”

“You should understand that I don’t want to cling to you.”

“You should understand that I don’t want to cling to you.”

Her words echoed in his ears, once again clarifying her stance: she didn’t want to cling to him.

A dangerous glint flickered in Blaze’s eyes. Suddenly, he chuckled coldly, “Huh, things change over three years. Even if you only want to distance yourself from me now, back then, you did provoke me!”

“I didn’t. If I had intended to deceive you, I would have discussed with Lena first and let her help me!” she reiterated. But now, Harper understood that it was futile.

“Talking about this is pointless now,” Blaze slowly crouched in front of her, his index finger resting on her forehead, sliding down slowly until it lifted her chin.

She was forced to lift her face and meet his gaze.

“Harper, listen, I don’t care why you drugged me three years ago.” Blaze stared at her coldly, “It’s done, hand over the baby.”

He mentioned it again.

“There is no child.” Harper mumbled, “Why do you just refuse to believe me?”

Forced to meet his gaze, Harper’s eyes were filled with despair.

“Why don’t you believe me?” she whispered tearfully, her vision blurred by tears. Her tears dripped onto his fingers.

Blaze lowered his eyes to the shimmering droplet…

“Forget it, whatever,” Harper sighed bitterly, pushing away his hand and standing up, “I was too naive. How could I expect a paranoid like you to believe me? Love me or hate me, do whatever you want.”

She started walking towards the door.

“I believe you,” a voice suddenly echoed behind her.

Blaze was still half-crouching in the same spot.

Harper stiffened slightly, turning around to look at him in disbelief, “What did you say?”

He said he believed her? Really?

Blaze stood up from the ground.

After a moment, she heard him say, “I said I believe you. The lie detector test, hospital examination, sailing on the Serenity Sea again, finding alibis… Everything you’ve been doing. I had a psychologist analyze it. There are three reasons why you deny the truth of three years ago.”

“What?” Harper was taken aback.

“First, you wanted to attach yourself to me, intentionally leaving an impression on me. But that doesn’t hold true. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have pissed me off in the castle, and I wouldn’t have thrown you into the forest,” Blaze said, his voice low.

Harper stood in place, stunned. Hearing his analysis, she actually feel somewhat relieved.

“Second, you’re skilled at teasing men. Seeing my interest in you, you wanted more, like my attention, maybe even something bigger-my love. Of course, this reason doesn’t hold true either.”

Blaze slowly approached her, his eyes fixed deeply on her, his thumb rubbing against his index finger. There were still traces of her tears on his fingers. Cold.

“Why do you think I’m not the kind of woman?” Harper asked, puzzled.

At his words, Blaze’s gaze deepened, pausing for two seconds before he said, “If you were, you could end it now.”

‘Because you’ve got what you wanted. Because you’ve succeeded,’ Blaze thought to himself.

Harper looked at him, furrowing her eyebrows slightly, not understanding what he meant. She continued, “And what about the third reason?”

Was the third reason about admitting that everything was his mistake, that she was honest? Harper hoped for this answer.