Chapter 33
Alexander
Wednesday Night
The city glows beneath my window—sharp, glittering, indifferent.
But in my office, it’s dark enough to feel like I’m sitting inside my own ribcage. My phone buzzes. A secure message from my brother.
Aiden: “Got it. The original video. Pulled from her burner and every cloud backup she used. It’s gone. She’s got no leverage now.”
I stare at those words for a long, quiet beat. Then I exhale—slowly, heavily—like I’ve been holding that breath for years. The weight on my shoulders loosens. Not because I’m safe. Because she is safer now. “Did you find out what she and Vincent are planning?” I ask, voice low.
Aiden types for a moment.
Aiden: “Nothing concrete yet. But they’re definitely plotting something big. Stock manipulation? Merger sabotage? Not sure yet. I’ll keep digging.”
My jaw tics. Of course, Grace didn’t come back alone.
Of course, she didn’t come back for love.
Of course, she’s aligned herself with the one man who’d love to watch my life burn from the inside out.
I lean back in my chair, staring at the glossy reflection of the skyline on my office window.
But it isn’t the city I’m thinking about.
It’s Evelyn. Her silence has been louder than any threat. No messages. No glances. No soft smiles in the hallway. Only reports.
Only professionalism. Only the quiet, suffocating distance she uses like armor. And I deserve it.
I let Grace walk into this building. I let Evelyn see her touch me. I let that moment carve itself into her trust like a wound. But Grace is the one tightening the knife. Humiliating her. Correcting her. Talking down to her like she’s furniture.
I rub a hand across my mouth, fighting the urge to tear the building apart floor by floor until I find Grace and drag her out myself.
Evelyn’s breath shouldn’t hitch when that woman walks by.
Her hands shouldn’t tremble when she brings me a report.
She shouldn’t have to pretend she’s fine while she falls apart behind polite smiles.
That’s on me. And it ends now. My brother messages again:
Aiden: “You okay?”
I type:
Alexander: “No. And I won’t be until this is over.”
Aiden responds immediately.
Aiden: “Then end it. She’s already broken you once. Don’t let her get anywhere near the girl you care about.”
The girl. The one I care about. He says it plainly—without teasing, without mockery.
Because it’s obvious. Because it’s true.
Because I haven’t been subtle. Because everyone can see the way I watch her, except her.
I close my eyes. Evelyn’s smile. Evelyn’s laugh.
Evelyn in my shirt, humming in her kitchen.
Evelyn is trying to vanish this week, so I don’t see how badly she’s hurting.
I stand, grabbing my coat. I’m done being silent. Done playing along. Done letting Grace strut around here as if she owns anything but her own delusions.
She wanted a war? She just got one.