<b>Chapter </b>219
E
I had never seen that contract before in my entire life.
“Do you care to exin?” Alexander’s face was red with fury, green eyes so dark that they were nearly
ck.
Exin myself? What was there to exin?
“Alexander,” I said, handing the contract back to him, “I have no idea what this is. I’ve never seen it
before.”
He blinked at me like I’d just sprouted a second head or perhaps told him that the sky was purple instead of blue. “It’s got your signature on it.”
Indeed, the contract did have my signature on it. But it wasn’t mine. Not really. “It’s a forgery,” I said simply, frustration coiling low in my gut at the very notion–I wasn’t angry with Alexander, but rather with whoever had stolen my identity <i>to </i>use in this facade. “I swear to you, I never signed a contract like
this.”
Alexander snatched the contract away and studied it closely for a long time. I tried to keep my anxiety at bay, choosing instead to have faith that he would see it for what it was–a fake–and forgive me for the
crime I’d nevermitted.
But when he looked at me again, the distrust was so evident on his face that it made my hearte screeching to a halt in my chest.
No. No.
Alexander couldn’t seriously think that I’d signed that contract, could he? After everything we’d been through together, after all of the tenderness we had shared, after the fact that I was carrying his seven- month child in my belly…
He seriously thought that I was heinous enough to sign a contract to deceive him.
I ced my hand protectively on the swell of my stomach.
“Alexander-”
“I can’t trust you, E,” he cut me off. His voice was low, edged with barely contained anger–and a pain
so deep that it felt like my own rippling through the bond we shared.
“But I’ve done nothing but prove myself to you.”
“I know<i>.</i><i>” </i>Alexander’s jaw ticked. “But I also spent five years believing you were a spy for your father, and now to find this in his possession…” He shook his head. “I’m going to have to look into this myself.”
<b>“</b>I’ll help-”
“Without your interference.”
The words hung between us like a dark cloud, threatening to downpour in the very room we stood in. I
swore I could feel the temperature drop by several degrees.
“What are you saying?” I whispered. I hardly dared to want to hear his response, because I had a sinking feeling I knew what it would be.
Alexander hesitated for a long moment, and I could see the war of emotions on his face. Anger, pain,
resentment, confusion. I could feel them through the bond, too,ing in waves like the ocean crashing violently against the shore.
Finally, he managed, “I’m going to have to put you under house arrest until this is all sorted.”
“House arrest.” I lifted my chin. “So you’re going to keep your pregnant mate locked up over a forged
document.”
“I have no choice,” Alexander replied curtly.
My throat bobbed as the realization washed over me. I felt like I was caught in the middle of a witch hunt
-either I would be forced to drown to prove I wasn’t a witch, or I would float and wind up tied to a burning stake.
This felt like a situation that I couldn’t win. Alexander, my mate, husband, and father of my child, didn’t
trust me enough to listen to what I was saying.
He was going to keep me prisoner until he “decided” I was innocent.
“How long?” I blurted out.
Alexander shrugged and carefully folded the document, tucking it into the inner pocket of his suit jacket. “Until I’m certain I can trust you.”
I couldn’t help but scoff. That could mean anywhere from a week to… forever. “And what if you decide I’m guilty?<i>” </i>I asked.
Alexander didn’t respond <i>to </i>that, but the darkened look in his eyes told me all I needed to know. If he deemed me guilty for this crime that I didn’tmit, then I would likely be locked up in the Ashw prison.
Perhaps even for life.
I didn’t even want to think about what might happen to my baby. Would Alexander still name it his heir? Would he take it from my arms the moment I gave birth, never allowing me to see my child again?