Chapter 248: Chapter 248
Robert’s own anger cooled, hardening into something sharper and clearer. He leaned forward, his palms flat on the polished wood of his desk, his eyes locked on Oliver’s. The office felt different now. This wasn’t just a business threat anymore. This was personal.
A slow, dawning understanding washed over his face, smoothing out the lines of fury. His voice, when he finally spoke again, was low and utterly certain, leaving no room for doubt.
"Now I get it. It all makes sense now. This whole thing... it’s about Cora. You have feelings for Cora, Am I right?"
The air in the office thickened, heavy with the unspoken truths that now hung between them. Robert watched Oliver’s face carefully, and for the first time, he saw a flicker of something raw—something unprotected—flash behind the other man’s eyes. It was all the confirmation he needed.
Then a slow, cold smile spread across Robert’s lips. He leaned back in his leather chair, the creak of it sounding unnaturally loud in the tense quiet.
"That’s it, isn’t it?" Robert’s voice was low, almost a purr of satisfaction. "All this talk about my sister, all this grandstanding... it’s just noise. You didn’t come here for Victoria. You came here for you."
Oliver’s jaw tightened. He didn’t speak, but a muscle feathered along his temple. His hands, which had been resting calmly on his knees, curled slowly into fists.
Robert saw it. He saw all of it. And it made him feel powerful.
"You’re scared," Robert continued, his tone dripping with a newfound, mocking confidence. "You found out I’m in the picture, and it rattled you. You thought you could walk in here and scare me off, didn’t you? Make some vague threats about my family so I’d back away from her."
He let out a short, harsh laugh that held no real humor.
"Let me be clear with you. I don’t know what your story is, and frankly, I don’t care. But you’re right about one thing. I do like Cora. I more than like her. And I’m not the kind of man who steps aside when something he wants is within reach."
Again Robert stood up then, planting his hands firmly on the polished wood of his desk. He leaned forward, his gaze locking onto Oliver’s, making sure every single word landed exactly as he meant it to.
"So you can take your warning and your shaky little threats, and you can get out of my office. I’m going to pursue Cora with everything I have. And there isn’t a single thing you can do to stop me."
The air in Robert’s office grew heavy, thick with the unspoken things hanging between them. Robert’s eyes were locked on Oliver, searching for any hint of weakness a flicker in his gaze, a nervous twitch of his hand, anything that would prove he had gotten under his skin. But Oliver was like stone. He didn’t flinch. He didn’t even blink. His face was calm, unreadable mask, and that... that unnerved Robert more than any outburst could have.
Robert had been so sure. He’d expected shouting, denial, maybe even a desperate confession tumbling out in a heated rush. But this quiet? This absolute stillness? It was all wrong. It made the threat feel real, solid, and far more dangerous than empty rage.
Then, movement, Slowly, deliberately, Oliver rose from the chair. The leather sighed as his weight left it. He took his time, his movements smooth and controlled. He straightened the cuffs of his jacket, a sharp, precise motion. Then he rolled his neck, a faint crack echoing in the tense silence, his eyes never leaving Robert’s.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low, a cold, hard thing that left no room for argument.
"You can say whatever you want to say," he stated, each word dropping like a pebble into still water. "I’ve said what I came to say." Then he took a single step closer, and the space between them seemed to shrink. "Tell your sister to back off. Don’t let her bother Cora anymore."
He let the words hang there for a heartbeat, his gaze boring into Robert’s even more.
"This is going to be your last warning."
At that moment, Oliver just turned and walked away without another word, not even a backward glance, like Robert’s presence was nothing to him. The door clicked shut softly behind him, a calm and deliberate sound that somehow made the silence in the office feel heavy and loud.
Robert stood frozen, his mind spinning. His hands, balled into fists, slowly unclenched as a sour kind of anger heated his neck and face. Who the hell did this guy think he was? To walk into his office, drop threats, and then just... leave? Like it was nothing.
But it was the name that kept ringing in his head, louder than his own thumping heartbeat. Cora. He said Cora’s name like he knew her. Like it mattered.
A cold knot tightened in Robert’s stomach. His first thought, his accusation that Oliver had feelings for Cora was it actually true? It wasn’t just some wild guess to get under his skin. The way Oliver’s voice changed when he said her name, the way his cool composure sharpened into something protective... it felt real.
Then his thoughts spun to his sister, Victoria, and the whole mess with Abigail and Cora from the other week. He’d heard about it, the drama. Was that it? Was all this bluster and threats from Oliver really just about some stupid girl fight? It didn’t make sense. The guy carried himself like he was used to being in charge, like his threats had real weight behind them. That kind of confidence didn’t come from nothing.
At that moment he ran a hand over his mouth, his skin feeling warm and tight. He could still see Oliver’s steady eyes, hear his final words ’This is going to be your last warning.’ A shiver, quick and unwanted, ran down his spine.
’Who was he?’
The question hammered inside his head. The silence of the office was suddenly suffocating. His eyes drifted to his phone sitting dark on the glossy desk.
Immediately a raw, impulsive need hit him to just call Cora. To hear her voice, to ask her straight out if she knew a man that this features.