<b>Chapter </b><b>225 </b>
Alexander
I stormed into my office and mmed the door hard enough behind me to splinter the wood <b>in </b><b>the </b>frame<b>. </b>
The <bst </b>thing I wanted to do was lock E up. After everything we had been through together, <b>I </b>had <b>truly </b>begun <b>to </b>trust her… and more.
I wanted to tell her how I truly felt about her. Today, I was going <b>to </be home and tell her <b>that </b>I wanted <b>to </b>make our rtionship real–that I…
Goddess, I couldn’t even think that four–letter word anymore. I was so hurt and angry <b>by </b>this whole debacle that even the mere thought of love made me want to be sick.
If this contract was real and not forged, if it was true that E had signed a legal document outlining her n to get pregnant with my child and manipte me emotionally, <b>I </b>wasn’t sure what I would do next.
Lock E up for life?
<b>No. </b>No matter what she had done, I couldn’t do that to the mother of my child. I couldn’t let her rot <b>away </b>
in a cell.
And yet I couldn’t think of another option. But for now, I tried to push the thought away<b>, </b>focusing instead on discovering whether the evidence was real or not first.
<b>“</b><b>You </b>won’t find me guilty,” she had said with so much conviction that it had almost made my heart crack right then and there. “You will trust me.”
Little did she know just how badly I wanted to trust her. All I had hoped for was a bright future with her and our child, but right now, I wasn’t sure if that future would evere.
For now, E was a prisoner in her own home.
I spent hours that night trying to figure out what to do. With no Beta–I still hadn’t appointed a new one since Gabriel betrayed me, although now I was beginning to wonder if firing him was a mistake after all- I waspletely alone in my investigation.
I had no one to <b>turn </b>to. No one to guide me.
By the time morning rolled around, the first rays of sunlight beginning to peek over the distant horizon, I hadn’t slept a wink. And how could I? I had to decide what to do with my seven–months pregnant wife, who was a spy all along for all I knew.
At that point, my mind had begun to grow addled from theck of sleep. Every time I began to nod off for a brief moment, I would think of her. I could almost smell her hair, could almost feel her delicate fingers intertwining with mine.
I even began to think foolishly that if she were truly a spy all this time, if my five–year hunch was correct, all I wanted now was for her to be honest about it.
My foolish heart decided that if she could at least tell me the truth, I might be able to forgive her.
<b>Not </b>today<b>. </b>Not tomorrow. Not for a very<b>, </b>very long time.
But eventually, in some capacity, <b>I </b>could see myself moving on from this. Chalk <b>it </b>up to being groomed by her father. Realize that maybe she had changed since she had signed her name <b>at </b>the bottom of that
page.
Damn me and that fucking mate bond making me lovesick. Here I <b>was</b>, genuinely considering giving <b>a </b>traitor a second chance, and yet… I couldn’t seem to see the problem with <b>it</b>.
<b>I </b>was still trying to snap myself out of it when a knock came on my door<b>. </b><b>“</b>Come in,” I called out, rubbing my eyes. A momentter, the door opened to reveal one of my subordinates holding a newspaper in his
hands.
“This just arrived, Sir,” the young male in his twenties said, bowing sharply at the waist and handing me the newspaper. <b>“</b>I thought you might want to see it right away.<b>” </b>
Frowning, I snatched the newspaper away, wondering what kind of breaking news could be important enough to interrupt me at this hour.
But when I saw the text on the page, my stomach dropped.
E’s family’s mansion… It had been burned to the ground in the middle of the night.
It really was of little consequence to me whether her traitorous family’s home was destroyed, but unbidden, my mind flickered back to the day I had told her the truth about everything. E had immediately offered to stand by my side throughout my investigation into her family.