Alex scrolled through the latest company reports with tired eyes. Numbers blurred on the screen, but she forced herself to keep reading. One mistake and Zade would pounce. She couldn’t let that happen again. Not after what he did with the last deal—the one she nearly closed until Zade sabotaged it and had the audacity to gloat through someone else’s mouth.
She leaned back in the leather chair in her father’s home office, surrounded by old books, framed awards, and the faint scent of mahogany. Her fingers pinched the bridge of her nose. She’d spent the past few weeks tiptoeing around landmines: Zade’s cruelty disguised as charm, Luca’s coldness ever since she accused Zade, and her mother’s weakening state. The walls felt like they were closing in.
Alex visited Nova every day, reading reports beside her mother’s bed, sometimes holding her hand while she slept. The house felt empty when Nova was resting and Luca wasn’t talking. He barely looked at Alex anymore. Not with anger—just cold dismissal. Like she’d broken something sacred.
Her phone buzzed. She glanced at the caller ID: Brenda.
Alex hesitated. She’d told Brenda not to contact her. Things were too volatile. But Brenda had never called without reason.
“Brenda?”
“I know, I know—you said not to call,” Brenda blurted. “But I didn’t know who else to go to.”
Alex sat up straighter. “What happened?”
“It’s him,” Brenda said, voice cracking. “The jerk from last semester. He’s back at it. He found out you weren’t showing up at campus anymore and now—he’s been… pushing again. I tried ignoring him. I swear I did. But today, he took my bag. Said if I wanted it back, I had to pay. I—I thought maybe I could borrow money from you just this once. Just to get him to stop.”
Alex’s jaw tightened. “You think I’m giving that guy a cent?”
“No, I—”
“I’m coming over.”
“But—”
“Text me where you are. Don’t move.”
Alex ended the call without waiting. Anger boiled beneath her skin as she shoved her laptop shut and grabbed her coat. She didn’t need this on top of everything else—but no way in hell was she letting that guy corner Brenda again.
Within twenty minutes, she stood outside the university, the place where her life used to be simple. Where Zade wasn’t in her orbit, her mother wasn’t sick, and she wasn’t caught between family loyalty and instinctual fear.
She found Brenda near the library stairs, clutching a tattered backpack.
“Where is he?” Alex asked.
Brenda hesitated, then pointed.
He stood nearby, leaning against a tree, grinning when he spotted Alex. Still smug. Still sure he wouldn’t get caught.
Alex approached without hesitation. “You really think you’re invincible, huh?”
He shrugged. “Not my fault your little friend’s such easy prey. But if you’re willing to pay—”
She slapped the money from his hand before it even fully left his pocket.
“You think because I’m not here, I don’t see everything? I will end you,” she hissed.
The guy straightened. “Oh, big threats from daddy’s little princess.”
Before she could respond, another voice cut through the tension.
“Walk away.”
Michael.
Alex blinked, startled.
He stepped between her and the bully, voice low, but dangerous. “Now.”
The guy scoffed, but walked off. Alex didn’t know whether it was because of the threat or Michael’s unshaken presence.
Michael turned to her. “You okay?”
“I had it handled,” she said, softer than she meant.
He gave her a sad smile. “I know. But I still missed seeing you this pissed off.”
Her heart twinged. They hadn’t spoken in weeks, maybe months. Not since she walked out on their relationship with barely a goodbye.
“You want to talk?” he asked.
Alex looked back at Brenda, who nodded gently. She sighed. “Fine. Just for a little.”
They went to a nearby café, the silence between them more comfortable than she expected. It smelled like cinnamon and coffee beans. Familiar. Almost safe.
Michael stirred his drink slowly. “I didn’t come to make this awkward. I just… I miss us. I miss you.”
Alex didn’t respond. Her mind was spinning, too many things crashing together. Her mother’s treatment, her father’s silence, Zade’s threats—
Zade.
Her phone buzzed. She ignored it. Then it buzzed again. And again. Until finally, someone walked in.
Not someone. Zade.
He stood in the doorway, eyes scanning the café until they landed on her. Then on Michael. Then back to her.
His jaw clenched.
"Isn't this cozy, huh?"
He stormed over, slamming his phone on the table in front of her.
The screen showed a tabloid website. Photos of her and Michael walking into the café. Her hand brushing Michael’s shoulder.
The headline: “STEEL HEIRESS ON A SECRET DATE OUT.”
Alex’s blood ran cold.
“You’re unbelievable,” Zade snapped. “Do you even think? You two guys are such a joke.”
“Don’t talk to me like that,” she said, standing up.
“Like what? Like someone who just torpedoed her own name in public?”
“It’s just a café—”
Michael stood too. “Back off. She doesn’t owe you anything.”
Zade’s laugh was humorless. “Oh, that’s cute. Still playing hero?”
Michael’s fists curled. “You want to go outside and talk about it?”
Alex stepped between them. “Stop it. Both of you.”
Zade’s eyes didn’t leave hers. “You do know this guy is far beneath you, right? God, I hope you do.”
Then, without giving her a chance to reply, Zade grabbed her hand—tight but not painful—and pulled her toward the door.
“Zade, let go—”
“We’re done here.”
The bell above the door jingled as they stepped into the night, his grip firm, his silence louder than any insult.