His Wicked Obsession (Archer and Virginia) novel Chapter 83

Chloe Caldwell hadn't been sleeping well lately.

Specifically, ever since Archer began checking his phone with alarming frequency, she hadn't managed a single good night's rest.

The man she knew never used to care about messages; outside of work, his social life was virtually non-existent.

Yet over the past few weeks, even when his phone didn't buzz, he would randomly pick it up, scroll through the screen, and place it back down—always just a fraction closer to himself than before, his expression utterly unreadable.

Chloe had tried to sneak a peek.

But he always locked the screen too quickly for her to catch anything.

Only once had she managed to catch a glimpse of a notification popping up. The profile picture was a cartoonish orange bunny.

Watching Archer act so distracted, Chloe clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.

They had been together for five years. Even during the four years when her illness was at its worst, Archer had always treated her with polite, meticulous courtesy. She had never seen him act this invested in anyone.

A man as historically untouchable as him was actually waiting around for someone's text...

A few afternoons later.

Virginia wrapped up her shift for the day.

She swapped her white coat for a beige knit cardigan, tying her hair back in a loose ponytail, and slung her canvas tote over her shoulder before heading outside.

"Virginia!" Just as she reached the curb to hail a cab, someone called out from behind.

Virginia paused and looked back.

Standing on the edge of the sidewalk, wrapped in a light gray double-breasted coat and hiding behind large sunglasses, was Chloe.

Compared to their last meeting... she seemed significantly thinner.

Even from a distance, Virginia could clearly see the hollows in her cheeks.

Her cheekbones protruded sharply, and she looked thoroughly exhausted, radiating an almost shattered sense of fragility.

Virginia's hands tightened into fists at her sides. She didn't move. "What do you want?"

The eyes behind the dark lenses flickered. Then, Chloe crossed the crosswalk, stopped right in front of her, and pulled off her sunglasses.

Her eyes were red and swollen, with distinct dark circles bruising the skin beneath them.

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