Chapter 17 Trap Me
The call was declined.
Her heart jumped.
She dialed again.
Declined.
Again.
Declined.
After the fourth rejection, her eyebrows pulled together tightly, panic rising in her chest.
“Why is this happening…?” she whispered shakily. “He never avoided my calls before. Why is he not answering now? Why are my calls not getting through?”
She tried again and again, but every time, the call was immediately declined. Not even a ring.
“What the hell is happening? Why is he not picking up?” she burst out in a panicked, angry voice.
Without thinking, she jumped to her feet, stormed out of the hospital, and walked straight outside. She waved her hand desperately at the first cab she saw.
When the driver rolled down the window, she leaned toward him with urgency.
“Please drive to the Empire Realty Group office,” she said breathlessly.
The driver nodded, and Janet quickly got in, her hands shaking as she clutched her phone, her heart pounding.
Almost an hour later, the car stopped in front of Alexander’s company. Janet threw some money at the driver without waiting for the change, stepped out, and rushed straight inside. Her steps were fast, almost frantic, as she headed directly toward the CEO’s office.
Reaching the glass entrance, she pulled out her old ID card, swiped it against the machine, and—
BEEP.
A loud red light flashed.
She froze for a second, eyes widening. She tried again.
BEEP.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Every time, the same loud red beep. The card didn’t work.
Her chest tightened. Panic shot through her. She looked around quickly, and when she saw a man entering with his ID, she immediately rushed behind him, trying to slip in before the door closed.
But before she could step through, a firm hand grabbed her arm and yanked her back.
“Madam! What are you doing?” the security guard snapped, pulling her away from the door. “You can’t enter without an ID. You’re not allowed to enter this building without permission!”
“I work here!” Janet burst out frantically, struggling against his grip. “Let go of me! I need to talk to Alexander!”
The security guard frowned at her. “If you work here, where is your ID? Why aren’t you using it to get in?”
“I am using it!” she cried as she shoved the card toward him.
The guard took her ID, checked the number, and typed something into his tablet. His brows pulled together. After a few seconds, he slipped the ID into his pocket and looked at her sharply.
“You’ve already resigned, Miss. You don’t work here anymore. Why are you trying to get in? You’re not allowed inside without a special permission now.”
Janet shook her head desperately, her voice trembling. “I’m telling you—I know Alexander personally! He knows me! I want to meet him. Let me go inside. I need to talk to him right now!”
“You’re not allowed to go in!” the guard snapped, losing patience. “You don’t work here anymore!”
“I need to see him—please—”
“And Mr. Graves isn’t even here today!” the guard cut her off, annoyed. “He’s at home with his wife. He hasn’t come to work for the past two days. The entire company knows this!”
Janet’s heart stopped for a moment.
“He… he’s not here?” she whispered.
“No!” the guard repeated sharply. “He didn’t come to work today.”
“When will he come back?” Janet asked, her voice shaky, eyes stinging with panic. “I need to talk to him.”
The security guard looked at her like she had lost her mind.
“How the hell would I know?” he scoffed.
“Maybe he won’t come to work for a week.
Maybe a year. It’s his company. He can take off anytime he wants—spend all day with his wife if he feels like it.
” He waved her away. “ They’re enjoying their honeymoon phase right now.
They’re newly married. Stop disturbing them and go home. ”
Janet scrambled and took one step back, her body going rigid as if someone had poured ice-cold water down her spine. Her breath shook, and her eyes widened in disbelief.
“H-How… how is that possible?” she muttered, her voice thin and trembling. “He is really living a married life… with that woman?”
The words slipped out of her mouth like a broken whisper as the security guard grabbed her arm again and pushed her completely out of the company’s entrance.
She stumbled into the open space outside, almost losing her balance. Her chest tightened painfully. Her trembling hand shot up to her hair, fingers digging in as she dragged her hand through it roughly.
Her voice cracked as she muttered under her breath, “How can he get married? Didn’t he stay with me for five years? Didn’t he keep me by his side? Didn’t he love me all this time?”
Her lips shook uncontrollably. “He was so madly in love with me… he never let any other woman get close to him? He kept me by his side for five years? He wouldn’t even look at any other woman. Then how… how can he marry another woman?”
Her breathing turned frantic. Her hands were trembling so hard that even she noticed it. She pulled out her phone with shaky fingers and dialed Alexander’s number again.
This time—shockingly—the call went through.
“Hello?” Alexander’s voice came from the other end, deep and heavy with sleep.
Janet’s heart thudded so loud she could hear it in her ears. Her voice dropped, low and filled with a desperate kind of disbelief. “Alexander… you… you are really living together with that woman?”
***
On the other side of the city, Alexander, half-asleep, was holding Mia tightly in his arms. She was curled up against his chest, her face buried against him, his arm wrapped around her securely. The room was quiet and peaceful—until his phone buzzed again.
Annoyed, Alexander reached out lazily and grabbed the phone from the bedside table. He squinted at the screen. An unsaved number. There were several missed calls from the same number.
“Who the hell keeps calling me?” he frowned.
The phone buzzed again. Irritated, he finally picked it up.
“Hello?”
A woman’s voice came through:
“Alexander… you… you are really living together with that woman?”
Alexander’s face tightened instantly, his sleepy expression turning cold. He looked at the number one more time, trying to recall the number—but nothing clicked. No recognition. No memory.
His tone dropped, sharp and curt. “Who are you?”
Silence.
Alexander frowned and looked at the phone screen to check if the call was still connected. With zero interest and even less patience, he simply hung up—then blocked the number.
Beside him, Mia stirred slightly, her eyelashes fluttering as she woke up from the sound of him talking. Her sleepy little noises filled the room, and she sat up halfway, eyes still closed, and wrapped her arms around him from the side.
“Mr. Graves… who is it?” she mumbled, leaning her head weakly against his shoulder, still half-asleep.
Alexander immediately slid his arm around her waist, pulling her fully onto him. He lifted her gently, settling her against his chest. She relaxed instantly, melting into his warmth.
“Mr. Graves,” she whispered in a small, sleepy voice, “I don’t want to wake up yet. I just fell asleep… I want to sleep more.”
Alexander hid a small smile at her sleepy words, realising how deeply she had gotten accustomed to him not letting her sleep until he was satisfied, taking her again and again through the night.
Throughout the last two nights, he had made sure to erase every trace of James from her body. Every inch of her skin James had touched, every place he had held—Alexander had kissed, claimed, and marked as his own.
There wasn’t a single part of her left untouched by his lips.
And now, the only presence lingering on her skin and in her mind… was him. Not that bastard.
He held her even tighter, pulling her into his chest. Then he slid down onto the bed with her, settling beside her and wrapping both arms around her. Her face was buried in his neck as he hugged her close. His hand cupped the back of her head, his fingers slowly running through her hair.
“Go to sleep,” he murmured softly.
Mia smiled faintly, then wrapped her arms around him, her whole body curling into his.
***
Janet stumbled out of the office building. Cars passed by, horns blaring, people walking—but she didn’t see or hear any of it. Her body was shaking. Her eyes remained fixed on the phone screen, Alexander’s number still flashing as she whispered to herself in disbelief.
“I don’t believe his marriage is real,” she whispered shakily. “He’s definitely not really married. Is he pretending? To make me feel bad for leaving him?”
Her breath was ragged. She tightened her grip on the phone, staring at his number as confusion and fear tangled inside her.
“Was he avoiding my calls to make me feel something for him?” she muttered. “I have to ask him in person. I need to talk to him personally.”
Her voice dropped lower, uncertain, confused.
“I’m different to him. I have always been different to him.”
She shook her head firmly. “I don’t care if he’s married,” she said under her breath, her jaw tight. “I don’t care. Whether he is married or not has nothing to do with me.”
She repeated the words again and again, trying to steady her trembling voice.
“I will wait for him at his office. I just need to borrow money from him for mom’s operation. That’s it. I’ll pay it back. Whether he is married or not is none of my business.”
She repeated the words again and again, almost as if she needed them to hold her together. Then she slid her phone into her pocket and exhaled shakily.
“Yes! What am I even thinking?” she muttered. “I always wished he would leave me alone. I wish he is married so he won’t force me into another contract with him.”
Her voice cracked slightly, remembering. “Last time, he took advantage of my vulnerability when I desperately needed the money. I signed that contract because I needed that money.”
She clenched her jaw, fists tightening.