His Wicked Obsession (Archer and Virginia) novel Chapter 373

"...Have dinner with me tonight?" Archer asked, holding her gaze. "We can go to Cloud Peak, or The Gilded Peony, since you like it there."

"No thanks, I have plans." Virginia sidestepped him and kept walking.

Refusing to give up, Archer reached out again, wrapping his fingers securely around her wrist.

He controlled his strength perfectly—firm enough to keep her from pulling away, but gentle enough not to bruise her.

"I've dealt with Chloe," he said, his Adam's apple bobbing, a hint of pleading lacing his voice. "She will never show her face in front of you again. The Vanderbilts have cut all ties with her. Can we just talk?"

Virginia lowered her eyes to his large, well-defined hand locked around her wrist, then slowly but deliberately slipped her arm free.

"Archer, handling Chloe was your basic responsibility, not a bargaining chip to use against me." She lifted her chin, meeting his stare. "Besides, deep down, I'm simply not that important to you."

Archer's face paled for a fraction of a second, the words spilling out instantly. "No, you mean everything to me."

Virginia looked down and smiled, though the amusement never reached her eyes.

"Whenever it comes to your duties, your morals, or even your lingering pity for Chloe, I am always the one who gets weighed on a scale and temporarily set aside. I'm exhausted, Archer. I don't want to play these guessing games with you anymore."

With that, she took a half-step back, putting physical space between them.

"Chloe's little act has been exposed. There's really nothing left for us to discuss."

Turning smoothly, she yanked open the door of a cab that had just pulled up, slid inside, and slammed the door shut in one fluid motion.

Archer stood frozen on the busy street, his jaw clenched tight enough to snap.

That profound wave of suffocating helplessness crashed over him once again.

...

Later that night at Riverside One.

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