CHAPTER 446: CHAPTER 446: OBSESSIVE TANYA

Tanya understood exactly what her father was hinting at, and the knowledge sent a subtle thrill through her chest.

She lowered her lashes and offered him a sweet, almost serene smile, one that completely hid the storm swirling behind her eyes.

"I’ll make sure Adeline understands, Father. I’ll inform her personally if needed."

Her father finally relaxed, a satisfied expression settling over his face. His shoulders softened, and he allowed himself a small, approving smile.

"Good. Very good. If you manage this well, Tanya, you won’t need to worry about anything. I’ll support you fully. And when you finally achieve your goal..." He paused dramatically.

"I will throw a grand party, a celebration the entire city will remember."

Tanya nodded obediently, bowing her head slightly. "Thank you, Father. I won’t disappoint you."

After exchanging a few more words, she turned toward the hallway and quietly made her way to her own room.

The moment the door clicked shut behind her, the air shifted.

Her polite expression melted away, replaced by a raw excitement that sparkled almost feverishly in her eyes.

The bedroom lights flickered softly, illuminating the vast wall before her, a wall covered in dozens of photographs.

Alex’s photographs.

If Alex were ever to step into this room, he wouldn’t have known whether to be frightened or horrified. Photos of him at different ages, in different expressions, from public events, candidly taken moments, and even some that looked like they were captured without his knowledge, all were pinned neatly across the wall, forming an obsessive collage.

Each picture glowed faintly under the ceiling lights.

Tanya walked toward them slowly, almost reverently, as if approaching an altar. Her fingertips brushed across the glossy surface of one picture, Alex at around eighteen, smiling faintly during what appeared to be a school event.

Her breath hitched. Her eyes softened, turning hazy.

"Finally..." she whispered, her voice trembling with exhilaration. "I’ll get to be close to you. After so many years. My long-time crush... finally within reach."

She lifted the picture gently, holding it like something precious.

’I waited. I waited all this time.’

Her mind drifted back, back to a time long before Alex ever knew she existed in this form.

Back to high school.

Tanya had been seventeen, fragile, and drowning under the weight of humiliation. Her father’s business was on the brink of collapse, and her cruel classmates took advantage of her vulnerability.

They tormented her relentlessly, mocking her, whispering behind her back, sabotaging her belongings, and spreading rumors that chipped away at her sanity.

Every day, she collapsed a little more.

Everyone kept their distance, unwilling to associate with someone labeled as a sinking ship.

Everyone except Alex.

Alex had quietly stood by her side. He never sought attention, never demanded gratitude.

Instead, he gently protected her from the shadows, stepping in when others mocked her, walking with her when she was isolated, and offering comfort when her world felt unbearable.

His warmth had been the only light in her bleak existence.

Until his father noticed.

The moment Alex’s father learned about their friendship, he tore them apart. He believed Tanya would drag his son down(at least that’s what she believed), so he ordered Alex to cut ties. And Alex, pressured and vulnerable, obeyed.

Suddenly, Tanya found herself alone again, but by then, her father’s business had risen from the ashes, turning her into a young heiress.

Meanwhile, Alex’s life took a dark turn.

After his father openly belittled him, Alex’s image shattered. The bullies who once feared him now targeted him ruthlessly. Tanya had watched helplessly as the once strong and confident Alex withdrew into himself.

She had tried to reach out multiple times, again and again, but Alex only pushed her away with cold indifference, as if shielding her from his downward spiral.

Time passed. Tanya waited for a chance to confess her feelings, but before she could, Alex transferred to a different school and disappeared from her life altogether.

Tanya had been furious.

She poured her anger into action, single-handedly destroying the bullies who harassed Alex. One by one, she crushed them, financially, socially, emotionally.

But Alex never returned.

For years afterward, Tanya searched for any trace of him, any news, any rumor, any sighting. She clung to hope until she finally located him at the age of twenty-two.

By then, Alex was quietly starting his own company.

Tanya had invested obsessively, even though she only had $100,000 of her own savings, her father refusing to invest for her.

She watched from afar as Alex rose from obscurity to a promising entrepreneur, so brilliant that even the legendary Ms. Dawn chose to invest in him.

Tanya had been ecstatic.

But she had also been terrified.

’What if Ms. Dawn likes him?’

’What if she takes him from me?’

Her fears made her insecure, jealous, and restless. But eventually, she was relieved to learn that Ms. Dawn had no romantic interest in Alex.

She thought everything would progress as fate intended.

Even if Alex didn’t know she existed, Tanya believed that one day, he would.

That someday... someday... he would notice the girl who had always watched him, always cared for him, always loved him.

The flashback dissolved, and Tanya returned to the present, standing before her wall of memories.

Her voice softened, intoxicated with longing:

"Now... now I can finally chase you openly."

She smiled dreamily.

"Are you excited, Alex? Will you be touched when you hear how long I’ve waited? Will you fall in love at first sight?"

Silence. Only the stillness of the photos stared back at her.

Tanya chuckled softly at the lack of response.

She leaned closer, whispering, "If you don’t answer... I’ll take it as a yes."

Still no response, obviously.

"And what about that Adeline? Who is she to you?" Her chilling voice was filled with threat. "Was she a mistake, or is she the one you want to love, huh? If you stay silent, I will take it as if... it was a mistake from your end."

Her eyes darkened with intensity.

"If you make one mistake... I’ll forgive you. Because I love you."

She pressed a kiss onto one of the photos, a strangely tender yet unsettling gesture.

Then she reached for her phone.

With practiced ease, she dialed a number.

The moment the call connected, her voice shifted into a cold, calculating tone.

"Is the manufacturing process disrupted?"

"Yes, Miss Tanya. Everything has gone according to plan."

A thrill ran through her.

"Good. Then proceed to the next phase."

She ended the call, exhaled with satisfaction, and turned back to Alex’s picture.

"Now you’ll have no choice, Alex. You’ll come to me yourself. And when you do..." Her smile twisted. "I’ll make you mine. Completely."

The obsessiveness in her gaze was unmistakable.

But with no one to guide her, no one to correct her path, Tanya had allowed her infatuation to rot into obsession.

It clung to her thoughts, warped her desires, and fueled a dangerous flame that could consume not just herself... but Alex too.

............................

Far away from Tanya’s mansion, Aurora stood in a quiet corridor of her high school, staring at Diana, the girl glaring defiantly at her.

Diana’s posture screamed hostility. Her arms were crossed tightly, jaw clenched, eyes spitting venom.

"Did you spread rumors about me?" Diana snapped.

Aurora blinked slowly, genuinely bored. She rolled her eyes and responded dryly, "Please. I don’t even have time for your nonsense."

Diana’s eyes narrowed into slits. "Who else would do it? Who besides you hates me enough to spread something like this?!"

Aurora folded her arms calmly, expression unbothered.

"Try asking the hundreds of people in this school who want to see you fall. There’s no shortage of them."

Diana’s face twisted.

"You’re lying!"

Aurora stepped past her, lifting one hand dismissively.

"If you think I have the time or interest to deal with you, then you’re delusional. Instead of accusing me, maybe think about who you’ve offended. That list is much longer."

Diana’s teeth ground together as she watched Aurora walk away, the back of her crisp uniform swaying slightly.

"Arrogant witch," she hissed under her breath.

Shelly, Diana’s closest friend, stepped forward, brimming with fury.

"She’s acting so high and mighty, even after ruining your reputation! What gives her the right?!"

Diana’s expression darkened.

Rumors had exploded across the school recently. People whispered that Diana had mercilessly driven her own crony’s family into bankruptcy.

They said she only cared about using others for her benefit... abandoning them the moment they became useless.

Her once-powerful reputation had collapsed overnight.

Students avoided her. Some openly mocked her. Others even threw trash near her locker.

Diana had been livid.

She had confronted everyone, her friends, her enemies, the girl whose family had gone bankrupt. But no one admitted to spreading the news.

That girl had kept her mouth shut because she still hoped for financial help from Diana’s circle. So she definitely wouldn’t have exposed it.

So who did?

Diana’s first suspect had been Aurora, but Aurora’s indifferent attitude made it obvious she wasn’t involved.

Then who?

As Diana tried to piece it together, Shelly leaned closer and whispered, "Should we... attack Aurora secretly? Teach her a lesson?"