<b>Chapter </b><b>49 </b>


    The drive back to Alejandro’s mansion was without


    any hitch.


    The city rolled past, but all Niver could he was the soft echo of Nathaniel’s voice in that recording, repeating the truth she had waited so long to har


    She had expected to feel liberated. And she did.


    But as happy as she was, she was also scared, as she didn’t know if that would mean the would start getting deals or if brands would not want to work with her.


    As the iron gates of the mansion swung opens, and she drove the car into the long driwway, liver turned <b>to </b>face Alejandre


    He looked


    d peaceful. No scowl. No leasing, smick. No growl of a warning hanging from his lips.


    Just…calm and gorgeous, damn it!


    She parked the car right outside the mansion entrance and let the engine die into silence.


    For a second, she sat still, fingers tightening around the steering wheel.


    She turned to face him once again. He <b>hadn’t </b>moved at all. His chest rose and fell in a quiet rhythin,shes casting light shadows across his cheekbones


    “Alejandro,” she called softly, but there was no response.


    “Alejandro?” she tried again, voice stronger, hesitant


    Still nothing.


    She reached out, hesitant at first, then she leaned over the console to tap him lightly on the arm


    But the moment her fingers touched him, everything happened at once.


    Alejandro’s eyes snapped open–<b>dark</b>, alert, and zing with raw instinct. His hand shot up, wrapping around her wrist in a sh <b>as </b>he yanked her forward<b>, </b>and suddenly-


    They were nose to nose and her breath caught.


    Their <b>faces </b>were so close, she could feel the heat of his exhale brushing against her lips. One slight movement and their mouths would collide.


    Her heart stumbled and then pounded. The space between them thickened, charged, and dangerous


    <b>She </b>could smell him–earthy, clean, sharp with the faintest <b>trace </b>of his cologne: Her eyes darted to his mouth without permission, <b>and </b>she cursed herself inwardly<b>, </b>No. No, no, no. Don’t even think about it-


    But <b>God</b><b>, </b>she was thinking about it.


    About how his <b>lips </b>would feel


    About whether he’d kiss her hard or slow. Whetheghe’d say something cocky before doing it. Or say nothing at all.


    His grip <b>was </b>firm but not painful, and for a second–just a second–she didn’t want him to let go.


    Please don’t let go. Just <b>kiss </b>me!


    But then, as quickly <b>as </b><b>it </b><b>had </b>happened, the fire in his eyes dimmed. His expression shifted from instinct to recognition. His hold loosened.


    “it’s just you,” he muttered, blinking the remnants of sleep from his eyes.


    His <b>voice </b>


    <b>voice </b>was gravelly, and the way it brushed across her ears made her feel as though her whole body had been set on fire.


    He released her wrist and leaned back, the space between them returning too fast and too soon.


    Nivera straightened herself in the diver’s seat, her throat tight, and pulse thrumming against her skin be it was trying to crawl out of <b>her </b>ches


    Her wrist still tingled from where he’d held it.


    “We’re back,” she mumbled, clearing her throat, trying desperately to push away the swarm of thoughts now flooding her head, all that had to do with Alejandro kissing her


    He hummed, running his hand through his tousled <b>halt </b>with a casualness that only made her want to kes him. “Hmm.


    Realizing that if she stayed in there for another second, she would do something she would regret, Nivera fumbled for the door handle and stepped out, gripping the keys tighter than necessary.


    Her legs felt strange, wobbly, like she had just run a marathon while holding her breath,


    Alejandro climbed outzily and stretched, spine cracking as he rolled his shoulders. “Not bad,” he said, ncing at the car. “You didn’t kill us. I’m mildly impressed.”


    She shot him a re over the hood of the car. “Gee, thanks. I’ll be sure to add that to my resume.”


    “You should, I should hire you as my driver. There’s only one other person I slept peacefully while he was driving,” he stated absentmindedly


    “Who?” Nivera couldn’t control her curiosity nor the warm fuzzy feeling that hit her to know Alejandro felt peaceful enough to sleep while she was driving.


    “Antonio,” Alejandro responded.


    “Oh,” she mumbled. Antonio and Alejandro were close so that made a lot of sense,


    The cool air of the mansion greeted them with eerie stillness. Nivera kicked off her shoes, ignoring the way her heart still hadn’t returned to its normal


    rhythm.


    She knew she shouldn’t. She knew she should just let it go. But the question itched at her lips, wing its way to the surface.


    “Was it you?” she asked suddenly, turning to face him.


    Alejandro <b>paused </b>in the middle of tugging off his jacket. “<b>What</b>?”


    <b>“</b>Nathaniel’s confession,” she said, her voice lower now, “<b>Was </b>it you? Did you


    ou make him do it?”


    He blinked, expression nking for the briefest second. Then, he tilted his head, brow arching in mild amusement.


    “You think I forced a suicidal man to out himself on social media?” he asked, voice light, skeptical.


    “You’re intimidating. You have the power-


    “Good to know you think I’m intimidating, Nivera,<b>” </b>He said <b>with </b>a smirk, “But that doesn’t mean I puppet them into spilling their dirty secrets before conveniently dying.”


    She frowned, crossing her arms. “He wouldn’t just confess. Not Nathaniel. That man had more ego than sense. Something <b>changed</b>. Someone made him do it.”


    Alejandro stepped closer. “So your first thought is m


    She held her ground. “You threatened to do something after what happened. You said <b>he’d </b>regret it.”


    <b>He </bughed softly, shaking his head. “Sweetheart, I say a lot of things when I’m angry. Doesn’t mean I follow through


    “But


    “Look,” he cut her off, voice dipping to something more serious now. “I get it. You want answers. You want to know why the monster finally fell. But sometimes people break. Maybe the guilt ate him alive. Maybe he lost control. Or maybe, just ma He stepped even closer couldn’t win.”


    His tone wasced with just enough sincerity, just enough smooth logic, to cast a haze over her doubt because now he wasn’t sure


    Alejandro didn’t look like someone who would lie about doing such a thing. He was someone who thrived on bragging about his evilness


    She searched his face for cracks–any tells, any flickers of the truth hiding behind his words–but he was unreadable Perfectly, maddeningly unreada


    Her jaw clenched as she looked away. “Right. Maybe”


    Alejandro smiled faintly and walked past her toward the stairs. “You overthink too much,” he called over his shoulder “Just enjoy the fact that you’re free. Not from me, though.”


    Patting her head, he walked away, leaving Nivera standing alone, uncertainty swirling in her <b>gut</b>.


    She wanted to believe he had done it, but in a way, she was happy he was.


    She had already started giving him the benefit of the doubt, but with him not being behind Nathaniel’s actions, she was reminded of how big of a dev


    ho was


    Besides, why would he make Nathaniel confess? He thrived on making her suffer, and Nathaniel confessing and exonerating her didn’t fit into that.


    Just as she took a step, she was hit with memories of his grip on her wrist, the heat of his breath, the way her whole body had leaned into that almost- kiss–it was all still there. Still Engering.


    Her fingers brushed her lips unconsciously, and she cursed under her breath.


    She was actually crazy.


    God help her, she couldn’t believe she was thinking about kissing the devil


    And the worst part? She didn’t want to stop those thoughts.