bChapter /bb12 /b

Alejandro looked at the woman who seemed ready to kill him, and oddly enough, the sight made him smile,

It was cute to see her like that because, as fierce as her re was, they both knew it

Eshe could do, but if

Ides’t change anything.

She was trapped in his web. He had made sure of that.

He had taken her passport and her cash, not out of crurity–well, maybe a hit out of cruelty- but mostly because he had no intention of letting her disappear again.

His men had already informed him that she lived in a rundown apartment on the far side of the city. A ce so small and dpidated it was almostughable.

She wouldn’t be applying for ba /bnew passport anytime soon. And the three thousand dors he’d taken from her? That was probably a shed to her

bname/bb. /b

And if it wasn’t, he would make sure he stripped her of everything

Meanwhileb, /bNivera took a deep breath, trying bto /bcalm herself down before she said something that would make her situation worse.

She could feel the anger bubbling in her chest, itching toe out in the form of insults and curses.

But one look bat /bhis rxed posture, the way he leaned against the wall with casual dominance, and she knew better. He’d strike back ten times harder

Why was she so afraid of him, when not even her father could control her fully? She was always quick to rebel against him, but her tongue seemed to bbe /b

ted when it came to the man.

St something burned in her throat. A need to break the silence.

Ian apology for all this?” she asked bfinally/b, her voice tight. It was a long shot, but if it would, she was bprepared /bto kneel and apologize so he would just leave her alone.

Alejandro tilted his bhead /bslightly, as if considering it. “Yes,” he said after a few seconds.

Her eyes Et up for a split second, hope blooming in her chest, but then he spoke again.

“But only if it makes me bfeel /bgood.”

She blinked in confusion, “What?”

“You heard me.” His lips curled into a slow, mocking smirk. “Apologize in a way that massages my ego. Maybe then consider being merciful. If you’re

lucky.”

“You’re unbelievable,” she muttered bunder /bher breath.

“That’s what they say.”

Nivers was about to retort, not caring about the consequences, when her stomach growled loudly

The sound echoed in the room, followed by an awkward silence.

Alejandro raised an eyebrow, clearly having heard it. “Hungry!”

Nivera hesitated. Pride wed at her throat. But her stomach answered for her again with another angry brumble/b.

“I’ll take that as a yes, Alejandro said dryly. “How dignified Well, unless you can make food appear out of thin air, you’re on your bown /b

Chapter b12 /b

Nivera’s face immediately bared with embarrassment. What a fucking ru man! “Tuck you!”

“Tuck your

If he was going to kill

well let him have a piece of her mind

Howeverb, /bhe didn’t respond. He just turned and walked away, leaving her alone in the living room

She stared after him, teeth clenched. The urge to run hit her like a wave. But then the remembered how long the war from the gated to the pr mansion–they were practically in the middle of nowhere, as she didn’t see any other houses on their way there

Not to mention, no passport and no cash. Her n died before it could take cont

Left with nothing else to do, she slumped back on the couch and pulled her phone from the duffel bag

Surprisingly, it still had some battery. She tapped into her browser and searched the name that had been loothing our her

began.

Garcia

It was only one name, but within seconds, dozens of articles popped up as well as names rted to the Garcias.

She scrolled until she found whom she was looking for. ‘Alejandro Garcia, Nivera muttered under her breath

Images flooded the screen–a younger Alejandro in tailored suits, shing dimples at paparazzi Alejandro at charity gs,ughing with politicians and supermodels alike, Alejandro lounging on yachts with sunsses and too many shirtless friends.

The captions painted him as the golden boy of the Garcia family. The fun one. The charming one. The one who could get away with anything because everyone adored him. Even the bones /bwho should hate him..

“Alejandro Garcia, youngest heir to the Garcia fortune (by just an hour, insiders say, to his cousin Antonio), continues to prove he is both the life of the party and the heart of the family”

“Known bfor /bhis boyish grin and effortless charm, Alejandro is the kind of man who lights cheeky social media captions, the world can’t seem to get enough of him.”

Nivera’s mouth dropped open as she continued to read.

bsup /bevery room. Whether it’s his flirty banter

reporters or his

She stared at the image of a smiling Alejandro holding a ss of champagne, his arm slung casually over a model’s shoulder.

This was him? The same man who had dragged her into his car, taken her passport, and insulted her within an inch of her patience?

Where the hell was the “jovial” personality? There was no way they were describing the man she knew

He was nothing short of an arrogant, rude, insufferable, spoiled brat. She could go on, but she would run out of adjectives to describe just how terrible

bhe /bwas

Just as she scrolled down further, she remembered his words to Nathaniel back in the asshole’s penthouse.

“Lassume you

didn’t think I was going to shoot because of my yful reputationTM

“Big mistake… That reputation? it’s a farce. I am just as much bof /bba /bdevil.”

Nivera sat back slowly, chills skating across her skin.

Back when he had said bso/b, she didn’t understand what he meant by that. However, it all made sense now.

The duality. The facade.

The public got the charming, smiling version of him. The man in the photos whoughed too loud and danced too much. But behind closed doors, when no cameras were watching, he was something else entirely. Calcted Cold. Deadly

He let the world think he was harmless. That wayb, /bno one ever saw himing.

That reputation? It’s a farce.

She stared down at the phone, breath caught in her throat.

Now she fully understood what kind of man she had messed with.

I’m fucking doomed, was all she could say.

E