napter 39

bChapter /bb39 /b

The smell of fresh bread and coffee reached her nose as they walked back into the mansion

Her stomach growled, making her realize just how hungry she was, especially as she had barely eaten at the wedding the previous day.

Alejandio, who had gone ahead, was already seated at the head of the table, casually scrolling through his phone with a steaming mug in one hand.

His face was unreadable, tooposed. Not even a flicker of guilt. “Sit. You must be hungry,” he said without looking up from his phone.

She didn’t move,

and this caused him to arch a brow

“You should get that checked out,” she pointed to his bruised lips. From the looks of things, her father’s punch wasn’t weak

“Sit!” He ordered once bagain/b.

Her eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms instead of obeying “You can’t keep doing this

“Doing what?” he asked, setting down his phone and giving her his undivided attention.

b“/bControlling me.”

Alejandro exhaled slowly, as though she were testing his patience. “Are wean this again? I’m the bdevil/bb; /byou’re my prey. Get over it and, for thest time,

A sharp silence stretched between them before she finally walked over band /bsat, if only to defy him by doing it on her own terms.

The te was warm, the food freshly made. She hated how her stomach growled.

“I don’t want your bfood/b.”

“And yet here you are, eating it.”

“I’m not yours,” she hissed, picking up har fork regardless.

“bNo/b,” he said slowly. “But you’re here. With me.”

There was something unspoken, and it unsettled her.

“By the way, did they use to feed you back when you were home, Niverab, /bbor /bdid you have to beg?” He asked out of the blue, immediately riling Nivers up.

-Go to hell”

Alejandro’s lips curved slightly, bbut /bit wasn’t amusement–it was a darker, quieter bthing/b. “You first, sweetheart.”

She would have walked away if she weren’t starving

They ate in silence for a few moments, the clink of bcutlery/b. While Alejandro went back to his phone, she was left focusing on her te.

However, that didn’t stop her from stealing nced at him, and of course, he caught it,

“You and the bride bare /bthe talk of the town,” he informed her.

“Huh?” She mumbled.

“You’re trending.”

Of course that was expected, and she already knew what they were saying about her. That had to be why her father hade.

It’s bad, right? She muttered under her breath,

“What do you think?” Alejandro shrugged nonchntly as he didn’t care.

“Are you at least going to try to stop them?” Nivera cried out.

“No, not really, I’d try if I actually cared,” he smiled, after which he returned to his phone.

She didn’t. Couldn’t. The tension between them was like a wire pulled tight–too thin to hold, too sharp to ignore.

“Hmmm, you leaked beautiful yesterday,” he hummed, and when she looked down at his phone, she noticed he was looking at a photo that someone at the party must bhave /btaken.

Even now, even after all he’d done, her body responded to his words, to the charm he carried like armour. And that made her hate herself a little.

“I want to leat She blurted it out.

He leaned back in his chair, quietly observing her, “You want to leave?”

“I’m guessing it’s not just the house,” he said. “You want to disappear. Start over, Run.”

Her throat opened, but no words came.

“I can make that happen,” Alejandro told her, shocking bher/b, as it was unexpected. “You bwant /byour passport, your cash, your freedom? bJust /bsay please.”

For a moment her heart raced out of excitement; it came, but it vanished just as quickly as it came, and it ruined bher /bmood. She shoved her te away. her appetite gone.

“There it is,” he muttered, standing and adjusting bhis /bcuffs. “That fire.”

“You think this is a game,”

she snapped, rising to her feet. “You break me, then offer to fix me, just to bfeel /bpowerful”

“No.” He walked over to her slowly, deliberately. “I’m not trying to fix you. I want you exactly as you are Angry. Proud. Reckless Makes the game much more enjoyable.”

He stood so close, she had to tilt her chin up to meet his gaze

Her heart mmed against her ribs and when he lowered his head to hers, she felt her breath leave her body bas /bvarious thoughts ran through her head; all of which ended with Alejandro pinning her against the wall and bkissing /bher.

However, to her disappointment, Alejandro didn’t kiss her. He didn’t touch her.

He simply walked away, picked up his jacket, and paused at the door.

I’ll be gone for a few hours,” he said without turning. “Don’t do anything funny, and with that, he left

田

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