Chapter 135
er’s POV
Alexander’s
Earlier…
The previous night, as I sat in my office, tying up loose ends on a project, James walked in with an unusual look on his face. His usual professionalism was slightly cracked, replaced by something bordering on discomfort.
“Sir.” he began, his voice steady but measured. There’s something you need to see.
He handed me a tablet, and I immediately saw a blurry photo of an elderly woman standing outside Christiana’s hotel suite. She looked distressed. her hand wiping at her face as though she had been crying. My brows furrowed.
“And who is this?” I asked sharply, my patience thinning.
“Mrs. Brooks, James answered. “She’s Daniel Brooks grandmother.”
The n
name hit me like a freight train. Daniel Brooks. The man Christiana had insisted was nothing to her. The man who had somehow wormed his way into her life, into moments that should’ve belonged to me. My jaw tightened as a surge of anger burned through me.
“What the hell does she want with Christiana?” I snapped, slamming the tablet on the desk.
James remained calm, “We’re not certain, sir. But our team followed up after the photograph was taken. We did some digging and confirmed her identity. She left not long after visiting Ms. Alistair.”
Chy? What as she hiding! And why
I leaned back in my chair, glaring at the ceiling as my mind raced. Christiana hadn’t mentioned this to me. Why? the hell was Daniel Brooks‘ grandmother even in the picture?
I didn’t sleep much that night. My thoughts were consumed by suspicion and anger. By morning, my resolve was clear, I needed answers.
After breakfast, I gave strict orders to my men to trail Christiana wherever she went. I didn’t want to confront her just yet; I needed to see for myself what she was up to. I wasn’t about to jump to conclusions, but my instinct told me something was wrong
Around mid morning, I got a call.
dropped the kids off at school,” my lead investigator informed me. “And now, she’s heading somewhere with only two bodyguards and a
-She’s dr
driver.”
I frowned. That wasn’t
like
Christiana rarely moved without a full security detail, especially after what happened with Roger Wilkes
“Where is she headed?” I asked, my voice cold.
“She’s on her way to a residential neighborhood,” he replied. “It looks like she’s stopping at a house”
I stood from my desk, grabbing my coat. “Send me the location. I’m on my way.”
The moment I arrived, I parked a short distance away and waited for confirmation. My team had eyes on her, watching discreetly from a neighboring house.
“She’s inside now,” one of my men reported over the phone. “The house belongs to Daniel Brooks and his family,”
Of course, it did. My fists clenched around the steering wheel as I stared at the modest home. What was she doing here! She had no business involving herself with him or his family.
“Keep watch.” I ordered before hanging up.
I stepped out of the car, moving closer, making sure to stay out of sight. Through one of the large front windows, I could see the living room clearly and there she was Christiana. My Christiana. The woman who had promised me she was mine.
She was standing next to the couch, her attention fully on Daniel Brooks. He looked disheveled and broken, his hair messy, his clothes wrinkled. But what set my blood boiling wasn’t his appearance..it was her.
She leaned toward him, her hands cradling the back of his head, her fingers running gently through his hair. He was sobbing into her shoulder, and she was holding him as though he was the most fragile thing in the world.
My chest tightened as I watched the scene unfold. It was the same Daniel I had walked in on weeks ago, the same man she had been comforting in her office. She had told me it was nothing. She had said they were just friends. But this? This wasn’t how you held a friend. This wasn’t the way you
Chapter 135
touched someone you claimed didn’t matter.
I felt a storm of emotions rising within me, anger, jealousy, betrayal. I clenched my jaw, fighting the urge to storm in there and demand answers. Instead, I stood frozen, staring through the glass like a spectator in some twisted play.
“She’s comforting him again.” I mustered under my breath, the words tasting bitter. “What the hell am I supposed to think?”
I had given her everything, my trust, my heart, my protection. And yet, here she was, with a man who had no place in her life, Or so I thought
My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I ignored it. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the scene inside. Christiana’s voice, though muffled, carried a soothing tone as she spoke to him. I couldn’t hear the words, but I could see the way she looked at him, with pity, with care,
My hands curled into fists at my sides.
Finally, I turned away, walking back to my car. I needed to think. I needed to process what I had just seen. But one thing was clear, Christiana had some explaining to do.
I waited. Two hours felt like two lifetimes. Sining in the car, gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white, I tried to make sense of it all. My mind kept replaying the image of her cradling Daniel Brooks like he was her lifeline. Like he mastered more to her than I did.
It was maddening
The phone buzzed endlessly in the cupholder, flashing names I couldn’t bother to read. Work, James, board members.they could all go to hell. How could I focus on anything else when the woman 1 loved was inside that house with him?
I leaned back. tilting my head against the headrest, staring at the ceiling of the car. Every rational part of me told me to wait, to let her explain, to not jump to conclusions. But I wasn’t feeling rational.
Could it be that she was still into him?
The thought alone made my chest tighten. She had sworn to me that there was nothing between them. That she had rejected him. That he didn’t matter. But after what I had just seen, how could I believe her! Was she lying to me? Were they together this whole time?
I cursed bitterly under my breath, slamming my hands against the steering wheel “Damn it”
on the
This wasn’t me. I didn’t lose control. I didn’t let anyone unnerve me. But with her, it was different. With Christiana, I was always teetering on edge, and now, I was losing my damn mind.
The thought of her being in there, in that house, with him, while I sat out here like some fool it burned me alive. I couldn’t take it anymore.
I shoved the car door open and stepped out, slamming it shut behind me. My heart was racing, my jaw clenched so tightly it ached.
to calm the storm inside me. But it didn’t work. Nothing worked.
I paced the sidewalk for a moment, running a hand through my hair, trying to
What if she was lying to me? What if Daniel Brooks wasn’t just some sad rejected guy? What if he was more? My stomach churned at the thought.
I let out a sharp, bitter hugh. “What the hell is wrong with me?
I glanced back at the house, my this clenched. Christiana, my Christiana, was in there, and I needed answers.
I watched the front door open, my pulse pounding like a war drum in my ears. And then, she stepped out, Christiana. My Christiana. Her face was flushed, her expression caught somewhere between guilt and shock as her eyes landed on me.
Sive froze. I could see her throat work as she swallowed hard, her lips parting slightly in disbelief.
“Alex,” she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. “What what are you doing here?”
I didn’t answer her right away. I couldn’t. My emotions were a storm inside me rage, betrayal, frustration, all swirling together, threatening to choke me. I leaned off the car, my arms dropping to my sides as I moved toward her
Each step I took felt deliberate, controlled, but inside 1 was anything but. My jaw was tight, my teeth clenched so hard it felt like they’d crack.
“Have you been out here all along?” she asked again, her voice shaky.
I stopped a few feet from her, lucking my eyes on hers. Her stunned expression, the guilt I thought I saw flicker there, only stoked the fire burning
my chest.
in
“Why are you still visiting him, Christiana?” My voice was calm, low, almost too controlled, I could see her tense at my words. “The man you claimed doesn’t matter. The man you said you had nothing with.”
She opened her mouth, but no words came out. I watched as her lips trembled slightly, her eyes darting away from mine like she couldn’t hold my
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12:17 PM
Chapter 135
That was it. That dny moment of hesitation was all it took to push me over the edge. I took another step forward, my voice rising.
“Are you fucking him?” The words were like venom, cutting through the air between us.
Her head snapped up, her eyes wide in shock. “What? God, no!” Her voice was incredulous, her tone defensive, but it wasn’t enough to stop the rage coursing through me.
“Then what the hell are you doing here?” I shouted, throwing my arms out in frustration. “I saw you, Christiana. Through the damn window. Hugging him. Cradling his head like he was the most important person in your world!”
Her mouth opened, then closed, her face pale as she stared at me. She looked… lost. As if she didn’t know what to say to calm me down.
“You don’t understand,” she finally said, her voice soft but shaky.
“Then make me understand!” I yelled, my voice cracking slightly under the weight of my frustration.
“You have no right to act this way!” she snapped, suddenly defensive, her eyes blazing with anger. “To stalk me like this. To follow me here!”
“I have every damn right!” I shot back, stepping closer to her. “It’s for your own protection, Christiana Do you have any idea what people are capable of? Or what that man is capable of?”
“Daniel is not a threat” she shouted, her voice trembling with emotion. “He’s hurting! He’s broken! And you… you’re acting like I’ve betrayed you when I haven’t done anything wrong!”
“Nothing wrong?” I laughed bitterly, shaking my head. “Do you know what it feels like to stand outside a house, watching the woman you love hold another man like that? Like he’s your world?
Her eyes softened for a moment, guilt flashing across her face. But then she steeled herself, her chin lifting defiantly.
“This isn’t the place for this,” she said firmly, her voice steady now. “Let’s leave. We can talk somewhere else.”
I didn’t move. My hands clenched into fists at my sides, the urge to hit something overwhelming. I wanted to smash my fist into a wall, into Daniel’s face.. anything to release the fury boiling inside me.
“Alex” she said again, her voice softer now, almost pleading “Please.”
I stared at her, my chest heaving as I fought to rein in my emotions. Slowly, I nodded, my jaw
tightening as I turned toward my car. But the anger, the hurt…it wasn’t going anywhere. It clung to me like a second skin, suffocating, unending.
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