Dark Romance: A Cruel Obsession

“I’ll cry if I want to cry, what’s it to you?” Shelley wiped her tears, a fierce look in her eyes.

Luzia, provoked by her tone, became irritable. With hands on her hips, she said, “I guess I should mind my own business, right? Cry, cry, cry, cry yourself to death.”

Shaking off Luzia’s hand, she angrily headed for the twenty-fourth floor.

Suddenly, Shelley called out, “Luzia!”

Annoyed, Luzia didn’t want to turn back, but Shelley looked so pitifully tearful that she couldn’t help herself, “What is it?”

“You…” Shelley hiccupped, she didn’t want to ask, but she had lost another brother.

“Do you still like John?”

Luzia was taken aback, then looked at her strangely, “Do you know I’m engaged to Joseph Jones from Los Angeles?”

It dawned on Shelley how inappropriate her question was. Joseph Jones was said to be extremely domineering and possessive. If he heard her asking his fiancee if she likes another man, he would undoubtedly go mad, perhaps even kill her and Luzia. Shelley silently rejoiced that Joseph was thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, and there were no members of the Jones family at tonight’s charity event, not even Joseph’s sister Vivian.

“So, do you still like John?” Shelley swallowed hard, insisting.

Luzia looked at Shelley in silence, her eyes conveying emotions like “you have some nerve” and “you must have never been beaten up,” but in reality, she was also a little dazed. Did she still like John?

The relationship between the Hargrave and Benoist families had always been very friendly. Shelley’s grandfather had been Uncle Kamden’s right-hand man from the start. Later, Charles took over his father’s position, continuing to serve Kamden. If all went as expected, John would continue to fight for the Hargrave family, just like Shelley’s brother, until the moment of his death.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

Alajos, Simpson, John, Shelley, and Luzia, they had all grown up together. Luzia and John’s mutual affection was no secret, and it seemed that their elders also had the intention of forming a union between the two families. Luzia had dreamed of being John’s bride.

But things changed. When Luzia was seventeen, six years ago, John suddenly applied to study in England. Then, at a large banquet, Uncle Kamden announced that a month later, she would marry Paavo – she was given to Paavo by the family, in exchange for the management rights of the Houston port.

Luzia had resisted, she had waited, she had even begged Alajos to help her find John, but he never came. Until Paavo tied her to the bed and took her virginity, she didn’t wait for her beloved.

Now six years had passed, her husband Paavo died in the war defending the honor of the Capos. She was a childless widow, handed over to Joseph in Los Angeles by Alajos… Her tumultuous fate had long eroded her love for John, she had resigned herself.

“I don’t like him anymore,” Luzia told Shelley. “It’s been too long, I’ve forgotten what it’s like to like John, it certainly wouldn’t be sweet.”

Shelley suddenly felt very sad, which puzzled Luzia, as if Shelley had lost her own lover. But Luzia didn’t pay any more attention to Shelley – for her, John was a past she had already passed, time couldn’t turn back, and she couldn’t turn back. Whoever she would be with in the future, it wouldn’t be John.

Arriving at the charity auction venue, Simpson arranged for her to sit in the front row – it was necessary, after all, she was Luzia Hargrave.

She hadn’t been sitting for long before someone came over to greet her. This was one of the annoyances of being Luzia Hargrave; she had to get up and socialize.

Luzia was used to this kind of socializing. Although the Hargrave family was the leader of the Houston Mafia, keen on various dark trades such as arms, drugs, and smuggling, both Uncle Kamden and Alajos were willing to use events like charity auctions to provide brief relief to suffering children in poverty.

Of course, Luzia also had to admit the real purpose behind their actions – money laundering and wooing leaders from various sectors in Houston.

She hoped Vivian wouldn’t tire of these activities, as she would certainly have many opportunities to attend them in the future. In fact, the socializing of the ladies was also very important.

Perhaps because of Shelley’s inexplicable question, Luzia found herself paying attention to the Benoist family’s side; she hadn’t seen John.

“What are you looking at?”Simpson tapped her on the head from behind, nearly disheveling her hair. “Didn’t you hear when Annie was talking to you?”

“I’m sorry, I might be a little intoxicated,” Luzia said, propping up her flushed face and apologizing to Annie.

Annie didn’t mind and after chatting for a bit, she returned to her mother’s side.

Luzia grabbed Simpson and asked, “Why haven’t I seen John?”

Simpson’s eyes flickered darkly. “Do you still have contact with John?”

“Not at all,” Luzia shrugged. “Shelley said something inexplicable to me, and it made me think of it for a moment.”

Simpson narrowed his eyes.

“Hasn’t John returned to Houston to serve Alajos again? Why isn’t he here for such an occasion?” Luzia asked.

“He’s gone back to England,” Simpson adjusted his tie, his expression unchanged. “He won’t be coming back.”

“What?” Luzia looked at Simpson in shock. “Are you kidding?”

“No, I’m not.” It was Alajos and Charles’s decision not to disclose news of John’s death, only stating that John had returned to live in England and would no longer meddle in Houston Mafia affairs.

“Shelley’s brother is already dead. Besides John, the Benoist family has no male heirs left. Why would Charles let John go back to England?”

“Because John is fundamentally a selfish bastard! He gave up his family for his freedom, just as he gave you up years ago.” Simpson’s angry gaze made Luzia apprehensive, even if that anger only lasted a second.

“Don’t be like this, Simpson,” Luzia wanted to give Simpson a hug, but there were too many people around. She pulled Simpson aside. “I know you’re upset for me, but this thing happened many years ago, and I’ve already forgotten about it.”

“Can you tell me the real reason John went back to England?” Luzia looked at Simpson, her brown eyes sparkling like glass. “I mean, now that John has left, what will the Benoist family do? They’ve lost their only heir, will they continue to serve Alajos?”

“Don’t worry,” Simpson said confidently. “Charles didn’t want John to return to Houston, and his relationship with his brother Richard is not harmonious. Perhaps you should know something.”

“What?”

“Hanson’s death wasn’t due to an accidental exposure; Richard leaked his secret to the Bratva. He was brutally executed by the Bratva.”

“What!” Luzia was extremely shocked.

Hanson Benoist, Shelley’s own brother, Charles’s son, was an outstanding and powerful undercover agent who had infiltrated the Bratva for many years without being exposed. Yet due to an unexpected exposure, Bratva killed him and sent his head to Charles.

Luzia had speculated on countless reasons for Hanson’s exposure, but she never expected that it was Richard who betrayed him. Richard was his own uncle!

“Goodness!”