The Email [Yandere Boss x Reader]

Chapter 40 - Breaking Point

Tension lingered in the air long after the meeting had ended. I tried to focus on my tasks, scribbling notes, filing reports, doing anything to keep my mind from replaying the awkward encounter with Hayes—Elliot.

But it was no use.

I felt him in every corner of the room, a presence I couldn't shake, and it gnawed at me, his gaze still fresh in my mind.

It wasn't the name that bothered me—at least not anymore. It was the way he had looked at me, the undercurrent of something far more dangerous simmering beneath his calm exterior. I felt like I had touched a live wire without meaning to, sparking something I couldn't control.

By the time I finished my work and headed toward the elevator, I had managed to calm myself, convincing my frayed nerves that it was all in my head.

Things between us aren't as complicated as they seem.

But as the doors opened and I stepped into the lobby, I saw him standing by the glass windows, staring out into the city. His figure was tall, imposing, and when he turned toward me, that same intense look was in his eyes.

My stomach flipped. There was no escaping it now.

"Heading home?" he asked, his voice smooth but carrying an edge of tension.

I nodded, clutching my bag tightly. "Yeah, long day."

He approached slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. "You seemed distant in the meeting earlier. Something on your mind?"

His words sounded innocent enough, but I could hear the subtext—he knew exactly what was on my mind. He always knew. It was part of the way he controlled things, the way he controlled me.

I bit my lip, unsure of how to respond. Part of me wanted to brush it off, but the weight of everything was pushing at my chest. Last night's intimacy, the new revelation about his name, the way he watched me like he was keeping track of every breath I took—it was all too much.

"I'm fine," I muttered, turning toward the door, hoping to avoid a confrontation.

"Fine?" His voice tightened, and I could feel him closing in behind me. "That's not how it looks."

I stopped walking and turned to face him. His expression was hard, his eyes narrowed in frustration. I sighed, knowing that this was inevitable.

"What do you want me to say, Hayes?" I snapped, deliberately using the name I was most comfortable with. "That I'm overwhelmed? That all of this is suffocating me? You—this whole thing—we're moving too fast."

His jaw clenched, and I could see the struggle in his eyes.

"Suffocating you?" His voice was low, almost hurt. "That's not my intention. I'm just—"

"Just what?" I interrupted, my frustration bubbling over. "Just watching me every second? Hovering over me like I'm going to disappear? You're always there, and it's too much!"

There was a flicker of pain in his eyes, but it quickly shifted into something darker. "I thought you said you understood why I'm like this. I thought we talked about this."

"We did." I crossed my arms, trying to keep my voice steady. "But that doesn't mean I'm okay with you being so possessive. I thought you said you were working on your jealousy issue."

His eyes hardened, and he took a step closer.

"I am working on it. But it's not something that just goes away overnight."

"Well, it doesn't feel like you're trying," I shot back. "Every time I talk to someone, every time I even look at someone else, you act like it's a personal attack."

He ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. "I'm trying, but being so in love with you physically hurts... I can't help it."

The intensity in his voice threw me off. For a moment, I was stunned, staring at him as the weight of his words settled in the space between us.

I had known he had feelings for me. Hell, I had felt it for a while now, but hearing it said so plainly—so vulnerably—was something else entirely. And yet, instead of softening, I felt the walls I had been holding up all day begin to harden.

"Then maybe you should find a way to deal with it," I said, my tone colder than I intended. "I'm not your solution. If being around me hurts, then go... get a hobby or something. Take your mind off of it."

His eyebrows shot up in disbelief, and for the first time, a hint of anger flashed in his eyes. "A hobby? I'm literally the CEO here. I can't just pick up a hobby to deal with... with—this."

"Well, then go work!" I threw my hands up in exasperation. "You run an entire company. Surely that can distract you from obsessing over me."

The words hung in the air between us, sharper than I had intended. His face darkened, his jaw set as he stared at me like he couldn't believe what I had just said. I had crossed a line, but in that moment, I couldn't bring myself to care. I was tired of walking on eggshells, tired of pretending his intensity didn't bother me.

His silence stretched on, making my chest feel tight. Finally, he spoke, his voice low and controlled, but there was no mistaking the hurt beneath it.

"You think I want to feel like this?" he said, stepping closer until there was barely any space between us. "You think I enjoy being so consumed by you that it's all I can think about? That every time you laugh with someone else, every time you pull away from me, it feels like a knife in my chest?"

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. "That's not what I meant."

"But it's what you said." His voice was dangerously calm now, his eyes searching mine for something, anything, that would make sense of the mess between us.

I took a step back, suddenly feeling cornered.

"I just... I need space, Hayes. I can't breathe when you're like this."

He flinched, the tension in his shoulders tightening, and for a second, I thought he might walk away. But then, he took a deep breath, his gaze softening just slightly.

"I don't know how to give you that," he admitted, his voice raw with vulnerability. "You're all I want, all I think about. How am I supposed to just turn that off?"

For a moment, neither of us said anything. His confession hung between us like a fragile thread, one wrong move and everything could shatter.

"I don't need you to turn it off," I whispered, feeling the weight of his love pressing down on me. "I just need you to trust me. Trust that I'm not going anywhere. Trust that I can be with you without feeling smothered."

His eyes searched mine, desperate, like he was grasping for something solid in the chaos. "I do trust you. But the idea of losing you... it terrifies me."

My heart clenched at the vulnerability in his voice, and for the first time in this conversation, I saw the man beneath the CEO. The man who was scared, who loved too deeply, too fiercely. I understood him, but that didn't make this any easier.

"I'm not asking you to stop caring," I said gently. "I just need you to let me breathe."

There was a long pause, and I could see the internal battle waging in his eyes. Finally, he nodded, his shoulders sagging as if the weight of our argument had taken all the fight out of him.

"I'll try," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know how, but I'll try."

I nodded, the tension between us loosening just a little. It wasn't a perfect resolution, but it was something.

A start.

As he turned to leave, I watched him go, my heart heavy with the knowledge that no matter how hard he tried, this was far from over. We were on the edge of something dangerous, and I wasn't sure either of us knew how to pull back.

But for now

maybe trying is enough.