Found Obsession

Chapter 62: 3 times 3 gifts

"You're mine...you belong to me."

Rose jolted awake, her chest rising and falling with rapid breaths, a thin sheen of sweat clinging to her forehead. The room was bathed in soft morning light; she was in her own bed.

She scanned her surroundings, trying to ground herself. It had to have been a dream, she thought, but the soreness in her body told a different story. She shifted under the sheets, feeling every ache, every reminder of what had happened. Fragments as if she'd been drunk.

Her gaze dropped to her attire-her usual pajama shorts and t-shirt, he changed her?- her body ached in a way that made her bite her lip, a few memories flooding back, vivid and unrelenting: the way he touched her, his possessive whispers filling her ears.

How did he get her home? In here? A shiver crawled up her spine.

Her thoughts went back to them. The intensity of it all frightened her, the raw possessiveness that he had consumed her with...and the strange, undeniable pull she'd felt in return.

Her head throbbed, the aftermath of a hazy, dreamlike state, almost like she'd been trapped in a daze. She peeled back the sheets, the blankets slipping to the floor, and as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, she picked up her foot. There it was-a mark, freshly inked on her skin-a sword entwined with a rose.

Just how many marks could she have?

It hadn't been a dream.

She felt a strange, unsettling disorientation, as if she'd slept for ages. She reached for her phone, her pulse quickening as she read the date.

December 15, 2004. 7:14 a.m.

She had been suspended from her job on the 29th, right? Technically, she was supposed to return today.

Rose reviewed her messages, her pulse quickening as she realized someone had been responding on her behalf.

Her parents and Lucas had left for some business negotiations a week ago. There was several replies from "her," saying she was fine, just feeling sleepy.

She scrolled through a few messages from Mira and others-messages she had supposedly sent, assuring them she was alright, staying at her parents' house while they were away.

There were missed calls, but none from Riley, Raven or Teresa.

A sense of dread settled over her. What had happened?

And...the children?

Rose stood up, wincing at the soreness in her body, each ache a reminder of them. She grimaced as memories resurfaced-not with regret, exactly, but with a pang of guilt that unsettled her. Somehow, she felt as if she'd taken advantage of him, as if she had been the villain in this twisted encounter. Hopefully, his obsession had been satisfied. After all, they barely knew each other. Surely, he couldn't have meant the possessive words he'd whispered.

Maybe it was best to treat it as a one-night stand-a strange exchange where, ironically, she'd given him her virginity, and she had taken his. They were even.

With a sigh, she moved through her room, searching for any signs that might feel out of place. But everything was as it had been before, untouched and unchanged.

Rose finally changed into fresh clothes. Underclothes-she'd missed those more than she realized. She slipped into a pair of jeans, a blue long-sleeve shirt, and her favorite shoes. She'd never been happier to wear real shoes again.

The familiar scent of her home filled her senses, offering a comfort she'd almost forgotten. For a fleeting moment, she felt the urge to sit down and cry, to release everything she'd been through in the past days, but she took a deep breath instead.