Page 17 of Forced By an Obsessive Bratva Stalker

While getting into the car with Iris, I caught myself scanning the street without realizing it. It was almost like I was expecting to see someone watching. As the vehicle drove away, I caught sight of a manly figure across the road, lurking in a shadowy corner.

Was he my mystery man?

Was he watching me? Or was I just being paranoid?

Chapter 6 – Rodion

I watched her and her friend giggle out of the apartment, both dressed in fancy clothes. Aria wore a black gown that dipped low at the chest, revealing a glimpse of her cleavage.

The fabric hugged her in all the right places, accentuating her curves and contours.

The heels she walked so perfectly in made her look inches taller than she was. Her makeup was light and natural, blending seamlessly with the tone of her skin.

Her blond hair fell in effortless waves over her shoulders, and her striking blue eyes sparkled.

I should’ve stayed back at my place, being productive with my time. But here I was, stalking a twenty-two-year-old girl for reasons I’d yet to understand. The two friends had planned to go out to the club, and I thought it was a great opportunity to get involved with Aria directly.

However, I hadn’t come up with any plans yet. I wasn’t sure how to get involved, when to get involved, or what to expect from her after getting involved. I just felt the aching need to be close to her.

I watched her from the other side of the street, drinking in the curves of her body that her regular, practical jeans and oversized jackets often concealed. A cold shiver ran down my spine as my gaze followed her into the car.

Once inside, she began glancing out the window, her eyes scanning the streets like she could sense that someone was observing her. The girl was hyper-aware of her surroundings, and I liked that about her.

She looked in my direction, and from the shadows that shrouded my identity, we locked eyes. I could tell that she knew something or someone was lurking in the darkness. Perhaps she just couldn’t prove it.

It wasn’t until her friend’s voice caught her attention that she looked away, and the vehicle drove into the night.

I went after them in my black SUV, making sure that I maintained a safe distance from them. Aria was already way too sensitive and observant—I didn’t want her noticing my car behind them.

They said they were going to a club, but I traced them to the university, which was buzzing with activity at that time of evening.

The campus’s central lawn had been transformed into a sea of color.

Rows of white tents lined the pathways. Student organizations occupied booths decorated with banners and balloons.

Music blasted from a stage erected near the center of the grounds, where a local band played to a crowd of dancing students. The scent of grilled food, popcorn, and cotton candy drifted through the warm air.

Strings of lights had already been hung overhead, their golden glow draped over the space.

I parked by the curb and looked out the window for a moment. My gaze followed the two girls as they met up with a group of friends. They exchanged pleasantries, hugged one another, and laughed at something one of them had said.

They blended into the crowd, hands in the air while grooving to the loud music. A couple of shirtless young boys walked past the pavement, wolf-whistling at the small group of girls approaching them.

College life was fun when all you had to worry about was good grades. A good number of these young adults didn’t have the slightest clue how harsh the real world was. Some of the most popular boys and girls on campus might end up working menial jobs to survive years from now.

The best couples in the university would most likely not end up together. Only a tiny percentage of them ever did. The brightest of these students might end up working a nine-to-five with little or no time to chase their own dreams.

The most unserious students on campus—those whom people thought wouldn’t amount to anything—were the ones who would actually build something meaningful.

The most famous would be forgotten.

The proudest would be humbled.

The most popular would end up alone.

The prettiest girl would settle for a regular guy and start a family after realizing that reality was different from the fantasy world in her head.

These young adults would soon come to understand that life was unfair in all ramifications. And only those who rebelled against the system would actually succeed in building something for themselves.