CHAPTER 16: Chipped Armor

Victor Blackwood didn't just pursue.

He infiltrated.

And he had started infiltrating Isabella Lin's daily life with all the precision of a calculated business acquisition.

It started with simple gestures.

He arrived at her college gates with a thermos of black coffee—made exactly the way she liked it. No sugar. A splash of almond milk. Two degrees hotter than normal café machines could manage.

She hadn't told him that.

She hadn't told anyone that.

She stared at the thermos for a long moment before accepting it silently, muttering, "Stalker."

He smiled. "Efficient."

By the end of the week, the coffee turned into breakfast.

The breakfast turned into casual drives.

And one morning, when she stepped out of the lab building early, there he was—leaning against his Bentley like he'd been waiting hours.

"Victor," she said flatly. "What now?"

"I'm hungry," he replied. "And I don't like eating alone."

She arched an eyebrow. "That's not my problem."

"Today it is."

She huffed. "You're exhausting."

He grinned. "That means I'm getting to you."

She didn't want to admit it, but he was.

Victor wasn't just showing up randomly—he was paying attention. Noticing the little things. Like how she only touched green tea-flavored snacks. Or that she detested small talk but tolerated silence if it wasn't awkward.

And somehow… with him, the silence wasn't awkward.

It was charged.

Tense.

And deeply, deeply dangerous.

One night, she stepped out of the Lin mansion only to find her old scooter replaced by a sleek matte-black electric bike—with a note tucked under the seat:

"I noticed the brake was wearing out. I took the liberty of upgrading. No strings attached—except maybe your safety."

—V

She stared at the note.

And cursed softly under her breath.

Because this wasn't just manipulation. It was effort. Personal. Tactical. Intimate.

She didn't know how to fight it.

That night, her phone buzzed again.

[AshenWolf]: "Ever had someone learn you too well?"

She stared at the message and typed slowly.

[SkyeEcho]: "It's terrifying. Like losing parts of yourself you didn't know were yours."

[AshenWolf]: "But what if they give them back to you? One by one?"

She didn't respond.

Not because she didn't have an answer.

But because she already suspected that AshenWolf and Victor might be the same person—and that realization was starting to unnerve her.

Because whether it was through messages or in person—

He was beginning to make her feel.

And Isabella Lin had never allowed herself to feel anything for anyone before.

Next Chapter Teaser: Victor crosses a line—kissing Isabella without permission in a moment of heated tension. It's their first spark of physical contact… and it leaves them both shaken.