Page 8 of Obsessed Mr. O’Brian

Every cell in my body shrivels.

“What’s your problem?” Summer accuses.

Her sharp tone slices through my sternum to the organs beneath. I swallow and apologize.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“Not you, Millie. You did nothing wrong,” Summer snaps. “I’m talking to him.” She tilts her chin toward Artur. “Your daughter ran to my friend, and if you knew anything about Millie, you know she’d never deny a child. She picked her up, said hello, and helped transfer her back into your arms without a fuss. It was your daughter who reached out and grabbed her dress.”

Dread and confusion slither into me as Artur’s expression only hardens further, but Summer continues.

“You’re being a—” With a glance at Lola, Summer pauses and starts over. “You’re being rude and mean for no reason.”

The disdain in Artur’s golden eyes as he shifts his attention to me cuts my soul to smithereens. He has every right to hate me. He almost died because of me.

I curl my fingers around Summer’s arm and tug her toward me.

“It’s okay, Summer. He has his reasons. We need to go before we miss sending off Karey and Declan.”

With obvious reluctance, she drops the discussion and lets me pull her toward the double doors.

A distinguished man with grey hair and broad shoulders stands at the far end of the atrium with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes glued on Summer. While not as cold as Artur’s, his glare holds the same violent edge. My stomach tightens in fear for my friend.

I lean over and whisper in Summer’s ear. “That man is staring at you.”

She stiffens, finds him through the crowd, scoffs, and rolls her eyes.

“Of course he is. That’s my dad’s best friend. He’s just following orders to keep an eye on me.”

“Really? He looks… mad.”

“Ignore him. He always looks like that when he’s looking at me. I’m used to it,” she quips.

A vice closes around my heart, not only because of my concern for my friend but also because I know I will never get used to Artur looking at me with so much anger and hatred.

I still miss him even after thirteen years of being apart, and now that I’ve met his daughter, I’ll never be free of the agony. My broken heart will never heal.

Artur O’Brian will always be my one and only. The love I can never have. The man of my dreams.

Now he’ll forever be the hope haunting my nights and the devil in my waking hours. Longing throbs through me.

The groomsman I walked down the aisle with shouts my name and holds up a bunch of pouches filled with rice. I shove my emotions aside and force my thoughts to the present.

The only time I’ll see Artur O’Brian and his beautiful daughter again will be in my sleep. Moroseness steals the joy from my bones.

Chapter 4

Artur O’Brian

Lola squirms as I watch Millie respond to the groomsman she walked down the aisle with. Red hazes my vision as Millie smiles and steps close enough to take a satchel from him.

With slicked-back black hair and an easygoing smile, his relaxed aura may confuse the prey, but a hunter recognizes a predator. He’s bad business. Millie should stay away from him. He’s a bit older than we are. Not as old as the man looming over her friend, but at least five or six years our senior.

Lola squeaks and presses her fist against my shoulder. I bite back a curse, rip my gaze away from Millie’s gorgeous backside, and loosen my arms around my daughter.

“Sorry, baby. I missed you,” I murmur into her hair.

She sighs, wiggles, and drops her head onto my shoulder.