<b>The </b><b>car </b>ride home was wrapped in silence, and it wasn’t the peaceful kind.
The kind that pressed heavy on the skin, like fog soaked in tension. Nivera sat rigidly beside Alejandro, her arms folded tight against her chest. <b>Her </b>cheek throbbed with dull pain from the p, the swelling sharp with every thump of her pulse.
She, however, refused to touch it, as she didn’t want to appear weak in front of Alejandro. He had already had a glimpse of how she was treated <b>by </b>her family, and it was embarrassing.
Alejandro didn’t say a word; his hands rxed on the steering wheel, but his face was carved in that same dangerous calm he always wore when something beneath his surface simmered.
Matthew Elton was lucky his priority was getting Nivera out of there, as if it wasn’t, he would have given the asshole a few more beatings.
The engine hummed, the road blurred past, and still, not a sound was exchanged between them.
He turned to face Nivera whose attention was focused on the window. She hadn’t said a single word since she got into the car.
Not a sound, not a look. Only silence–and it was suffocating, especially as she always had a lot to say, whether it was to curse him out or express her disapproval.
By the time they arrived at the mansion, the silence had thickened.
Why did he even care if she was silent or not? He nned on destroying her, notforting her.
With that thought in mind, Alejandro stepped out first, mming the door harder than necessary.
He didn’t bother to wait. His long strides led him through the mansion doors without even a nce in her direction.
Nivera followed a few secondster, wincing slightly as she walked. The cut at the corner of her lip stung with every breath.
She stepped into the cool interior of the mansion, the door clicking shut behind her.
She watched as Alejandro walked, and she sighed as she expected him to keep walking, to disappear into one of his countless rooms like he always did.
He proved her right when he made a turn and disappeared, and she sighed once again.
She remained standing, unsure of what to do. Was she supposed to go after him, and thank him for saving her, or was she supposed to leave him alone as it looked like he wasn’t in the mood to speak?
She broke out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps, and she was shocked to see Alejandro returning, and in his hands was something that appeared to <i>be </i>an ice pack wrapped in a soft towel.
He didn’t say a word. He just extended it toward her.
Nivera hesitated not because of pride, but because she didn’t know what game this was.
She eventually reached out and took it from him. Their fingers brushed. She immediately looked away, pressing the cold pack to her cheek, flinching from the sting.
Alejandro lingered, watching her from across the room. His jacket was still on, his posture deceptivelyzy, but his eyes were sharp–calcting,
Minutes passed, and he still said nothing. She shifted the ice pack, alternating pressure, still avoiding his <b>gaze</b>.
Then finally, his voice broke the silence.
“Why the hell did you leave my office?” He didn’t yell; rather, his voice was low, quiet–far more dangerous.
<b>Nivera </b><b>blinked </b><b>and </b>looked <b>up at </b>him, her <b>lips </b>parting slightly. She didn’t answer his question<b>. </b><b>Instead</b><b>, </b>she asked<b>, </b>“<b>How </b><b>did </b><b>you </b><b>even </b>find me?
<b>Alejandro </b>arched a brow<b>, </b>a scoff leaving his lips. He tilted his head slightly, like he couldn’t believe she was still trying to dodge <b>him</b>.
“I keep an eye on what belongs to me, especially when I want to destroy it,” he said, the words sliding out like they were simple facts.
“<b>You </b>think you can just walk out and not get noticed? You’re mine, Nivera. Mine to protect yet destroy.“.
Her breath hitched, a mix of fury and something else catching in her throat.
“You broke into a private property; he’s not going to be happy,” she pointed out, referring to her father.
“I don’t care if it’s a club, a parking lot, or the fucking moon; I’ll break into it if I have to.”
“Because I’m your prisoner?”
“Yes,” he didn’t bother to deny. “A very loud, disobedient one who keeps making my life harder.”
“Then why save me?” she whispered. “Why evene?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he stepped closer, not invading her space but close enough that she could smell the faint trace of his cologne–dark woods and something bitter.
“Now,” he continued, voice clipped, “Answer my damn question. Why did you leave?”
There was no point evading, and she didn’t have any more energy to argue.
“I was suffocating,” Nivera said softly, the ice pack still held to her cheek.”
“Don’t piss me off further,” Alejandro warned.
“Fine, he called for me, and if I didn’t go, it wouldn’t have been good,<i>” </i>she came clean.
He didn’t reply right away. Just watched her with that same unreadable expression.
She nced down at the pack in her hands, her fingers trembling slightly.
“You’re lucky I found you when I did. You knew what would happen, yet you still left.”
“I didn’t think,” she admitted. “I just… left.”
Alejandro’s gaze lingered on her for a beat longer, like he was trying to peel her apartyer byyer. But then he shifted.
She could tell he wasn’t going to push any further–not about her reason, and certainly not about the past.
At least not tonight, and she was grateful for it, as she really didn’t want to talk about it.
When she finally dropped the ice pack onto the table, he motioned toward the hallway.
“Go eat,” he said.
“What?“She blinked in confusion.
“You heard me. You need to eat. And sleep. There’s a wedding tomorrow,” he said, reminding her, and just like that, her blood ran cold.
She hadn’t even allowed herself to think about it. But the mention of it–the reminder of what tomorrow would <b>bring</b><b>–</b><b>struck </b><b>her </b>like <b>a </b><b>de</b>.
Her lips parted, her voice a whisper, “Do … do I really have to go?”
<b>Her </b><b>hand </b>curled into <b>a </b><b>fist </b><b>by </b>her side <b>as </b>she added, “I don’t want <b>to </b><b>go</b>. Please<b>, </b>Alejandro<b>.” </b>
He looked at her for a moment, and for a split second, something flickered in his eyes. But then it vanished.
<b>“</b><b>You </b><b>don’t </b>want to go?” he repeated, mockingly. “Do you think I care what you want?”
<b>“</b>What, you think this is a vacation resort? You don’t get to want, Nivera. You do as you’re told. Wear what I give you. Stand where I <b>ce </b>you and <b>sinile</b>, when I need you,” he said.
“That’s the role you’re ying, Nivera. You chose it the moment you walked into my club that night. And I’m done entertaining your breakdowns.
His words cut like ss. Nivera’s face twisted, hurt shing
across her
expression before she turned sharply and stormed towards the stairs <b>toward </b><b>her </b>
room.
The echo of her footsteps lingered long after she disappeared around the
corner.
Alejandro watched her go, jaw clenched tight, but he didn’t follow because he didn’t care.
Instead, he turned and walked toward his study.
The light was already on when he entered. On the desk, ced neatly, was the file Martin had given him earlier.
Alejandro tossed his suit jacket onto the chair and loosened his tie. He picked up the file and flipped it open.
His eyes scanned over the information, each line another piece of the puzzle.
Nivera Elton.
Thest daughter of the Elton family. A family known for its traditional, old–money values and rigid public image.
The men ran businesses. The women made strategic marriages. Reputation was everything. Rules were absolute.
But Nivera had broken every one.
The file was thorough–academic records, public appearances, rumors, scandals. This was the thing about Martin; he could dig up dirt no matter how deep it was.
It didn’t paint her in the way the rest of her family was painted.
While her sister wasuded for their elegance and grace, Nivera had always been a little too reckless. Too loud. Too scandalous.
Fights in school. Sneaking out of gs. Disobedience. Rumors of an engagement she turned down without consulting her parents. A failed campaign with a modeling agency.
Elton’s ck sheep.
Two years ago, she’d walked out. No warning and disappeared from the estate, leaving behind the quiet whispers and frozen dinners and suffocating expectations.
She’d refused the arranged engagement to a business partner’s son–an in the family.
Alejandro leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled against his lips.
engagement her father had orchestrated without her consent<b>, </b><b>as </b><b>was </b><b>the </b><b>norm </b>
She’d taken a small apartment in the city, signed with a second–rate modeling agency, and tried <b>to </b><b>start </b><b>a </b>career on her <b>own</b><b>–</b><b>without </b><b>the </b><b>Elton </b><b>name </b>
However, she failed.
<b>3/4 </b>