Chapter 88 Theron’s growing obsession

Elowen stared at him, processing his words.

Soren’s emotion was plain to see. He was desperate. Beneath that desperation lay a fear he could barely conceal—the fear of losing her. For a moment, something akin to pity crossed her eyes. But she masked it quickly.

She didn’t know what had happened between the two men or why Soren was so convinced that Theron was trying to ruin their marriage. She wouldn’t start suspecting Theron just because Soren had said so.

To her, Theron was a kind man. He had been considerate toward her. He had helped her when she was unwell.

She couldn’t dismiss all of that because Soren was jealous. Yet she couldn’t ignore his words either.

Soren had been trying to make up for his past mistakes, and she had begun to trust him again. But his sudden outburst of jealousy frightened her. She didn’t want their relationship to return to the days when his temper and coldness had hurt her.

Perhaps there was some truth to his words. But she had no proof. And she wasn’t willing to accuse someone who had helped her simply because the two men disliked each other.

"Stop overthinking." Soren hugged her, his action drawing her out of her thoughts. "You are still weak. You should rest."

He led her to the bed. "Lie down. I’m here."

Once she settled against the pillow, he sat down on the chair beside the bed, his hands still holding hers.

"Soren," she started. Her voice lost the previous edge. "I don’t know what grudge you two have with each other, but I don’t want you to keep fighting him. It’s unhealthy."

Her fingers tightened around his hands. "Promise me you will not act recklessly again. You will not fight him."

Soren didn’t reply instantly. He couldn’t step back when Theron was challenging him to snatch his wife away.

"I can’t promise that," he said. "But I assure you... I won’t do anything to disappoint you. Whatever step I take will be to protect you and our family. You have to understand that."

Elowen knew there was no point continuing this conversation. "Sera is alone. You should go home. I’ll be fine here."

"Don’t worry about Sera," he said in a flat tone. "On the way, I called Mrs. Gable and asked her to stay with Sera. Our daughter is taken care of."

Elowen let out a sigh of relief.

"Stop running your brain," Soren warned. "Sleep now."

Outside the hospital...

Theron leaned back in the driver’s seat, smoking. His gaze remained fixed on the hospital building, his expression dark.

He hadn’t left yet. He couldn’t.

The thought of Soren being inside that hospital room with Elowen grated on his nerves.

The image of Soren hugging her and kissing her forehead kept replaying in the back of his mind. And now they were alone in that room.

He had no idea what they were doing.

Were they kissing? Was Soren holding her? Was he touching her?

With each passing second, his restlessness grew. He took a long drag of the cigarette, holding the smoke in his lungs before slowly exhaling. The burning sensation in his chest did little to numb the ache inside him.

For a moment, the urge to go back into the hospital overwhelmed him.

His phone rang.

It was his assistant.

"What is it, Antony?" he hissed impatiently.

"Where are you?" Antony asked, his voice unusually somber.

"Why? Can’t you handle the office for a while?" Theron muttered.

"It’s not about the work," Antony said. "It’s something else."

"Come to the point, Antony. Stop beating around the bush."

"It’s Daphne."

"Daphne?"

Theron frowned. His mind was still occupied with what Soren and Elowen might be doing in the closed hospital room. For a moment, he couldn’t even place the name.

Then the clarity returned. He remembered who Daphne was.

He had demoted her from a designer to a mere clerk. Later, Mara had demoted her further and assigned her to hand out flyers.

"What about her? Did she do something again?"

There was a brief pause. "She followed you to the café."

Theron stilled. His grey eyes narrowed as he processed the words.

"Shall I pick her up and interrogate?"

Theron’s grey eyes flashed with an uncanny light. "There is no need. Just leave her alone."

"But sir..."

"I said leave her alone for now. Understood?" Theron growled.

"Understood, sir."

Theron stared at the windshield. He knew Daphne was up to something.

She had probably taken photographs of him and Elowen.

Theron could already imagine the kind of trouble she intended to create. But he wasn’t interested in stopping her just yet. He wanted to see what she was planning to do. Perhaps her little game could prove useful.

A faint, calculating smile touched his lips. He tossed the cigarette out of the window and loosened his tie slightly.

"Move Elowen’s desk next to my office," he instructed. "She is pregnant. Make sure her workplace is comfortable. I want her close enough that I can take care of her whenever she needs anything."

He couldn’t bear the thought of spending another moment without being able to see Elowen. By moving her desk beside his office, he could keep her within his sight without her even knowing.

"Sure, sir. I’ll arrange everything."

"Also, I want her schedule sent directly to me every morning," Theron added. Make sure no one assigns her extra work without my approval."

He wanted to know when she arrived, when she took a break, and who came to speak with her.

"Of course, sir."

"Arrange for her meals to be delivered to her desk. Proper meals, not snacks and coffee."

Antony remained silent for a moment. He had never seen his boss taking care of an employee, let alone arranging meals.

Theron’s voice grew louder. "And she is not allowed to go out of the office without my permission. I don’t want to hear about something happening to her after the fact. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

Theron leaned back. He was building an entire system around her. He would make sure she had everything she needed and would remove every inconvenience from her working day and make her life easier.

And in return, he would be close enough to reach her whenever he wanted, close enough to watch over, close enough that she would gradually become accustomed to having him around.

"One more thing..." Theron paused for a moment. "Make the partition glass one way."

Antony grew silent on the other end. "Is it necessary?" he asked, finding the instruction excessive.

His question enraged Theron.

"You are paid to do whatever I tell you, not to question me."

"My apologies, sir," Antony apologized instantly. "I’ll change the glass."

"See that everything is done before she returns to the office."

"Of course, sir."

The call ended.

Theron looked at the dark screen. "Daphne." He quirked his lips. It was not a smile. The look that settled on his face was cold and unsettling. "I want to know what game you are going to play."

Daphne, unaware that someone else was also following her, sent the photographs to Tahlia.

Then she typed a message: ’Miss Tahlia, I’ve gathered proof of Elowen’s affairs with Mr. Knox. She is clearly seducing him. And Mr. Knox is completely smitten with her.

She is so shameless. Despite being married, she is having an affair with another man. She deserves to be exposed.

With these photographs, I’ll ruin her image in front of the whole company. She will never be able to show her face there again.

Just wait. Tomorrow you will get the good news.’

She hit the send button and smiled triumphantly.