After hanging up, Lucas looked at me with concern. "What''s wrong, Serena? Was that Mr. Hastings?"


    My face paled. I wanted to escape, but there was nowhere to run. "Yeah... He said he''sing over."


    A flicker of something unreadable shed through Lucas'' eyes before he let out a small chuckle. "Really?"


    I nodded.


    He patted my shoulder. "Are you afraid of him?"


    I froze for a second. Was I afraid of Alex? Not really. At least, not anymore. If anything, I wasn''t scared—I just felt guilty.


    Alex arrived quickly. Just as Lucas finalized his choice of tie, Alex stormed into the store.


    "Are you out shopping during work hours?" He stood in front of me with obvious anger on his handsome face.


    I avoided his gaze, feeling guilty. "I... I..."


    "Mr. Hastings, it was my idea to bring Serena here." Lucas stepped forward. "Don''t me her."


    "Mr. Schneider." Alex''s tone was cold. "On arger scale, this is regardingpany affairs. On a smaller scale, it''s my personal matter. Either way, I''d appreciate it if you didn''t interfere."


    "Personal matter?" Lucas'' lips curled into a faint smile. He nodded slowly. "You and your sister sure have a... close rtionship."


    For some reason, I sensed an undercurrent of hostility between them.


    "Mr. Schneider, our rtionship has nothing to do with our business dealings," Alex said firmly.


    "Serena and I are friends. I''m simply looking out for a friend." Lucas didn''t back down either.


    Without warning, Alex took my hand. "Then stay within the boundaries of friendship. Don''t disrupt her during work, and don''t meddle in our rtionship. Just focus on being a good friend."


    I stared at our joined hands and was caught off guard. His fingers were long and defined, his palm warm against mine. A sudden heat rushed to my face, and I instinctively lowered my head as I was too flustered to look up.


    "The partnership will be handled by someone else moving forward," Alex stated coolly. "Serena,e home with me."


    Like a puppet on strings, I let him


    pull me along. We had walked quite a distance before I suddenly realized I hadn''t said goodbye to Lucas. Just as I was about to turn back, Alex


    stopped me in a low and threatening tone.


    "I strongly suggest you don''t test my patience right now. Otherwise... for someone


    whose position is already unstable, he might not survive what''sing."


    We had already rounded the corner and were out of Lucas'' sight, but his words sent a chill down my spine.


    I hated being threatened-especially


    by Alex. The way he used my weaknesses against me made mez feel not only uneasy but also deeply humiliated. I tried to yank my hand away, but his grip was too strong. He wouldn''t budge.


    "Let go of me." I exerted more force and finally broke free.


    Alex turned back, his eyes burning with anger. "Are you sure you want to do this?"


    "I..." His fury made me falter for a second, but I forced myself to speak. "Are you threatening me? Are you using Lucas against me?"


    Something flickered in his gaze-surprise, maybe.


    "To you, is that what we are? Are Lucas and I just pawns for you to manipte?"


    For a moment, he looked taken aback. His voice softened slightly. "That''s not what I meant. I just want you to stay away from him. He... He isn''t as innocent as he seems."