Chapter 99 Belong To Him

Chapter 99 Belong To Him
ALYSSA’S POV:
The way Vince had caught my neck, pulling me into that deep, fiercely possessive kiss... It was intoxicating. 
I had never seen him so untamed, so unapologetically public about his desire for me.
And God help me, I swayed right along with it, falling deeper into his world.
“What was that, Vince?!” I slapped his forearm when he returned from the bathroom in his immaculate form.
“What was what?” He shrugged, linking his arm with mine along with a joyous smile playing on his thick lips.
“The kiss!” I blushed from embarrassment, “What were you trying to do?”
“Grab the headline, I guess. Maybe that’s why your ex was jealous." He teased, pinching my cheeks.
“He wasn’t my ex. Just first love. One-sided that too.” I whined, pulling his hand away, muttering to myself, “And God knows how he started feeling this way for me.”
“Whatever it is. I am extremely glad its too late.” He chuckled, bringing me closer, a mischievous glint crossing his sapphire gaze.
“That's what I told him, the reason he got furious.” He chuckled, leading me forward but his statement baffled me.
Why?
What exactly happened to Arden?
What changed him so much?
Worried about his hysterical state, I tried to confront Vince about it later, hoping to receive an answer.
Maybe it had something to do when he left for Germany. What incident changed him, made him so impulsive and desperate?
"Vince, are you even listening to me?" I asked with a frown, setting down my tea glass.
We were sitting on the couch in his study. Vince was supposed to be reading a report, but his eyes hadn't left my face since I sat down.
“I'm listening, My dearest missus,” he raised his brows, using a dangerously smooth tone.
“I'm serious. I'm worried about Arden. He has changed so much.” I sighed, pulling my knees up to my chest. 
“He did or your perspective about him? Maybe you are seeing him as a normal person and flaws are now visible.” He explained, picking a biscuit from my tray and began to eat it.
“I get it but he is actually different.”
“How so?”
CWhat happened to him? He looked so hollow, so bitter. What changed him so much over the years? He used to be so gentle.”
“Once again. Your perspective.” He replied calmly, picking the last biscuit as well and ate without offering me a bite.
“No, I didn’t–”
Vince slid his report onto the coffee table and shifted closer, taking my ankles and gently pulling my legs across his lap. 
“Does it matter, Alyssa?”
"Of course it matters. He was a part of my past, Vince. Seeing him accuse you of such horrible things... It was unsettling.” I confessed my distress.
“I just want to understand where that resentment is coming from.”
“It comes from envy, Alyssa,” Vince gave a clear-cut response. 
He began to trace circles up my calf, his touch burning through my trousers, sending tingles all over my body.
“He looks at you, and he sees the most beautiful woman he stupidly rejected. And then he looks at me, the man who gets to hold her.”
“Vince, I'm trying to have a serious conversation,” I breathed out though his words made sense.
My voice was already losing its worry when his hand slid higher, gripping my knee, suggesting other intentions.
“I am being entirely serious.” He leaned, hovering over my space until his dark eyes locked me in place. 
“Why waste your thoughts on the past when your husband is right here, starving for your attention?” He growled huskily.
“You… you are impossible, Mr. Lysander.” I chuckled, losing my composure at this point.
“I am merely devoted, Mrs. Lysander.” he whispered, his lips brushing against my jawline, effectively erasing every thought of Arden from my mind. 
“Now, tell me again whose attention ‘you’ want.”
“Yours,” I gasped, tangling my fingers in his hair. “Always yours.”
Letting him press me down on the couch and take me to the deepest depth of pleasure.
Later, I had a meeting in a hotel. It was bustling, but the moment the meeting ended, Arden intercepted me in the main hallway before I could reach the elevators.1
“Arden? What the fuck?”
“Alyssa, please. Just give me five minutes,” Arden pleaded, blocking my path. 
He looked frantic, his eyes darting around the crowded corridor. 
“You don't understand what he's doing. You're living in a meticulously crafted lie.”
I stopped, taking a step back to maintain a professional distance. 
“Arden, stop this. This behavior is entirely beneath you.”
“He's using you!” Arden hissed, reaching out to grab my wrist. 
“He told me himself! He's using you to get to me—”
“Don't touch me,” I said, my voice dropping into a cold, firm register as I pulled my hand away. 
“I told you before, and I will say it one last time. I willingly, happily chose Vince. Whatever obsession or rivalry you have with my husband, leave me out of it. Please, back away.”
“Alyssa—”
“Goodbye, Arden.”
I turned and walked toward the grand lobby. The glass doors opened, and my breath caught.
Standing right by the entrance, looking devastatingly handsome in a pristine charcoal suit, was Vince. 
In his arms, he held a massive, vibrant bouquet of red roses. 
A bright, triumphant smile broke across my face. I walked past the murmuring crowd, leaving a stunned Arden standing in the shadows behind me, and walked straight into my husband’s arms.
“What is all this?” I giggled, accepting the bouquet as he wrapped a possessive arm around my waist.
“I noticed my wife had a long, exhausting meeting,” Vince enunciated, loudly enough for the surrounding crowd—and Arden—to hear. 
He leaned down and pressed a slow, lingering kiss to my cheek. “I wanted to remind you who is waiting to take you home.”
“You're making a scene,” I whispered, resting my head against his shoulder, utterly captivated by his devotion.
“Let them look,” Vince smirked, his eyes flashing with a victorious darkness when he glanced over my head toward the lobby. 
“I want the whole world to see exactly who you belong to.”