Shades of Obsession

I was the woman Isaac Walton cherished above all, but I felt no love for him.

He pursued me with a fervor that bordered on madness, yet my heart remained unmoved.

In his frustration, Isaac confined me to his sprawling estate.

He began seeking women who resembled me to fill the void, parading them as lovers.

Every month, he replaced them without fail.

This time, however, his newest companion lingered for three months.

Convinced she was destined to become his true partner, she defied warnings and stormed into the forbidden estate.

Seeking solitude, I had dismissed all the staff around me.

Upon seeing me, her fury erupted. "I'm the rightful lady here! You, a surgically altered nobody, dare to hide and seduce Isaac?" she screamed.

She and her friend seized me, beating and tormenting me, before slashing my face with a blade.

Then she ran to Isaac, fawning. "Darling, I dealt with a scheming woman who altered her face to mimic your lost love."

1

I was Isaac Walton's cherished muse, yet I harbored no affection for him.

He was utterly deranged.

To claim my heart, he imprisoned me in his estate for years.

He sought women who mirrored my appearance for solace, but none lasted beyond a month.

Recently, I heard he found a woman strikingly similar to me, and she had stayed with him for three months.

As I sat lost in thought in the courtyard, a drone suddenly buzzed overhead.

Two female voices followed.

"Zoie, let's not go in. The butler said no one's allowed, and Isaac will be furious if he finds out," one cautioned.

"What's there to fear? It's just an abandoned estate. That drone holds footage of my first meeting with Isaac. I'm not leaving it behind!" Zoie retorted.

"True. Other women only lasted a month with Isaac, but you've been with him for three. You must be special," her friend flattered.

Zoie's tone swelled with pride. "Obviously."

It dawned on me.

The woman with the coy voice was Isaac's latest favorite.

But he despised intrusions here.

If he learned she had trespassed, she was in grave danger.

Isaac was unhinged.

The last intruder lost their eyes to his wrath, a horrific memory that haunted me.

I grabbed the crashed drone and rushed toward the door, hoping to save her.

Thankfully, my preference for quiet had left the estate empty of servants and guards, or I doubted I could protect her.

Just then, the door burst open.

A woman, eerily similar to me, stood before me.

Her eyes widened in disbelief upon seeing me.

I was used to such reactions.

Before I could explain, I thrust the drone toward her, urging, "Leave now! Don't let Isaac catch you!"

To my shock, she slapped me hard across the face.

"You surgically enhanced nobody, hiding here to lure Isaac!" she spat. "Confess! How did you sneak in?"

2

The unexpected slap left me dazed.

I clutched my stinging cheek, anger flaring, tempted to strike back.

A memory of the last intruder's gruesome fate flashed through my mind. Frowning, I said, "Fine. Just leave before Isaac sees you. You won't like what happens if he does."

I had witnessed Isaac's cruel methods.

Since high school, he pursued me relentlessly. When I refused, he threatened my family's lives.

After my parents passed, leaving him no leverage, I thought I was free in my grief.

Yet anyone who approached me, man or woman, faced his violent rage. They vanished soon after.

Isaac's wealth and power left me no choice but to stay by his side.

Since graduating college, I remained confined to this estate while he collected women who resembled me.

Zoie, standing before me, looked like my twin.

No wonder she lasted three months.

I tried to save her, but she sneered.

"Don't think your scare tactics fool me. We're all cunning here. You heard about Isaac's lost love and altered your face to seduce him, didn't you?"

Her friend chimed in. "Shameless! A lowlife like you, chasing Isaac?

I'll teach you a lesson for Zoie!" she declared, lunging for my hair.

I dodged, my voice hardening. "Do you know who I am?"

Before I could finish, Zoie kicked the back of my knee, forcing me to the ground in pain.

"Lilliana, show her who's boss. Let her know the true mistress of this estate!" Zoie ordered.

Lilliana slapped me, her sharp, gem-encrusted nails slicing my face, leaving a deep gash.

Half-fawning, half-envious, Lilliana said, "Do you know who she is? Zoie's the sole heiress of the Barnes Group.

Her father helped Isaac's father build their empire before stepping back. That's a debt the Waltons owe her. Got it?

Zoie's been with Isaac for three months. She's destined to be the Walton matriarch. How dare a desperate nobody like you ruin their bond?"

I swallowed the pain and warned, "Let me go now, and I'll pretend this never happened."

Zoie and Lilliana exchanged glances, bursting into laughter as if I had told a ridiculous joke.

Lilliana pinned my arms behind me, immobilizing me.

Zoie grabbed my hair, her face inches from mine. She studied me with a venomous smile. "Your face is impressively done. I almost couldn't tell."

I gritted my teeth. "This is my real face."

Zoie's expression twisted. "Oh, really? Let's test how real it is!"

Her sharp nails dug into my already wounded cheek, tearing skin as blood dripped down her fingers.

I curled in agony.

In cruelty, she and Isaac were a perfect match.

"Well, look at that. It's real. Now, let's check your eyes and nose. Are they as authentic as your face?"

Her nails neared my eyes. My forehead throbbed, my eyes stinging.

Unable to hold back, I shouted, "I'm Isaac's true love! You're just my replacement!"

3

Zoie's hand froze.

I collapsed, gasping. "Why else would I be kept in this estate? Harm me, and Isaac will end you."

Zoie laughed hysterically.

"You're a great storyteller! Everyone knows Isaac's true love died in a car crash years ago!"

Her friend added, "Exactly! Why else would Isaac seek women like her for years? If you're his true love, why aren't you the Walton matriarch?"

Zoie's gaze dripped with mockery.

"Hilarious. Just admit you want to climb into Isaac's bed. Spreading lies like this? He'll skin you alive! Even I avoid mentioning his lost love in front of him. Yet you dare spin such a tale."

Back in college, Isaac tried to force me to drop out, unable to tolerate me interacting with other men, even classmates.

I threatened to end my life, and he relented, letting me finish my degree.

The year I graduated college, my parents died in a car accident.

I was lost in grief, too broken to resist Isaac any longer.

Seizing the opportunity, Isaac imprisoned me completely by his side.

To avoid suspicion, he spread a rumor that I had also perished in the crash.

At first, he kept me close to him.

Whenever he tried to approach me, I harmed myself with a knife, and fearing I might die, he relocated me to the estate.

Initially, servants tended to me, and he installed cameras to monitor me around the clock, worried I might take my own life.

Over time, he noticed I only tended flowers and painted, so his surveillance eased.

I craved solitude, and gradually, I dismissed the servants around me.

As a result, the outside world believed his true love was dead.

Even the Walton household staff were unaware someone lived in the estate, let alone the women he cycled through like seasonal coats.

Lilliana gripped my head, pressing my face into the dirt.

I choked, my nose and mouth filling with soil and grass, the wounds on my face burning as if swarmed by ants after touching the bacteria-laden ground.

Zoie watched, laughing triumphantly. "What nobody dares to scheme in front of me? Our Barnes family has plenty of ways to deal with people."

In a brief moment to catch my breath, I warned sharply, "You'll regret this!"

Isaac had confined me here for years, stripping me of family and dignity.

Even so, I endured this humiliation.

Why should I?

I vowed they would regret their actions, and I would make them pay one by one.

Zoie stomped on my hand, her high heel grinding into my fingers.

"Still defiant, are you? Looks like you haven't learned your lesson!"

"Lilliana, have the guards bring a pot of boiling water. Let's see how long this nobody stays stubborn!"

4

"Miss, here's the boiling water."

Tall, imposing guards surrounded me like a mountain, casting cold shadows over my body.

One held a steaming kettle.

Goosebumps covered my skin, and I screamed, scrambling back. "Zoie, you'll regret this!"

I barely moved before colliding with a guard behind me.

He grabbed my wrists with an icy expression, pulling out a rope and binding my hands until blood seeped from my skin.

The estate, under Isaac's orders, was usually deserted.

Despite my desperate cries for help, only hollow echoes answered.

I never imagined a face so similar to mine could wear such a terrifying expression.

Zoie, like a villain from a movie, approached with the kettle, her steps deliberate.

She seemed to relish my fear, prolonging my torment.

She waved the kettle near my face, the scalding steam burning my cheeks.

My legs trembled uncontrollably; if not for the guard holding me, I would have collapsed.

Zoie smirked, pleased with my reaction.

I glared at her fiercely. "If you don't believe me, go ask Isaac who I am!"

Zoie kicked my stomach, her heel leaving a dent, and sneered. "You think Isaac will defend you? You think that face will get you into his bed? Keep dreaming!"

Her anger flared, and she raised the kettle to splash my face.

I quickly kicked her knee, forcing her to stumble and spill the boiling water onto the ground, though some splashed my legs.

"Ah!" I screamed in agony as blisters swelled on my scalded skin.

Furious, Zoie slapped me repeatedly.

My face swelled, the pain numbing.

"You dare fight back, you nobody! You think I can't handle you? Karl, give me your knife! I'll make her face bloom with scars!

You love altering your face? I'll ruin it and see if you can fix it!"

The guard handed her a blade respectfully, and Zoie curled her lips. "What's your nose made of? Cartilage or silicone? It's so realistic. Not talking? Fine, I'll cut it open and find out myself."

My eyes burned with rage as I stared at her. "You're the crazy one. The more you lack something, the more you obsess over it. Maybe your face is the altered one, and that's why you're so paranoid!"

Her face flickered with panic, as if I had struck a nerve.

She touched her face instinctively. "What do you know? My face is natural!"

Bloodied but unyielding, I smirked mockingly.

That smirk shattered her composure.

She raised the knife high.

With a slash, the blade carved from my forehead to my mouth, leaving a deep, bleeding scar.

"Bitch! Whore! Go to hell!" She screamed, slashing wildly at my face, lips, and shoulders, leaving countless gashes.

When her rage subsided, I was barely conscious.

The guards released me, and I collapsed weakly.

The pain was excruciating.

Sweat seeped into my wounds, the salt stinging every inch of torn flesh. Was I going to die here?

Lilliana took the knife, wiping Zoie's hands. "Now you know what happens when you cross Zoie? You should thank us. If Isaac caught you, your fate would be worse."

Zoie looked down at me. "She won't last long. Bury her somewhere in the estate. Her corpse can fertilize the Walton grounds-a fitting honor. Don't forget to strip and burn her clothes to avoid detection."

The guards hesitated, and Zoie's tone sharpened. "What? The Barnes family pays you fortunes, and you won't even obey me? Make me happy, and I'll double your salary. Understood?"

At that, the cold men in black surged forward, grabbing at me.

I whispered weakly, "Don't... don't touch me..."

No one cared, their hands relentless.

I closed my eyes in despair, tears streaming down.

I thought to myself, "Isaac, is this what you wanted? You trapped me here to suffer this? You claimed to love me, so where are you now?"

Zoie crossed her arms, smirking coldly. "Hurry up. Don't let Isaac see and ruin his mood."

She tossed her used handkerchief onto my face and turned to leave.

When she turned, Isaac stood nearby.

His eyes curved with a smile as he looked at Zoie. "Zoie, what are you doing here?"