<b>Chapter </b><b>133 </b>


    Steam still clung faintly to the air as Nivera pulled on the ck silk slip dress she’d left draped over the armchair earlier.


    The fabric cooled quickly against her skin, making her shiver. She towel–dried her hair one more time before letting it fall loose down her back.


    Her reflection in the mirror lookedposed enough– but her mind was still somewhere else entirely.


    However, she couldn’t ponder on that too much, as she had to go down to dinner before Alejandro woulde back up.


    Nivera took the stairs down slowly, the faint scent of roasted herbs and garlic drifting up from the dining room.


    The soft fabric of her dress brushed against her legs as she took in the scent of roasted meat, butter, and something faintly citrus drifting from the dining room.


    Alejandro was already seated at the head of the long dining table, his elbow proppedzily on the armrest, a ss of whiskey in front of him and a te untouched.


    His face was as unreadable as always as he went through his phone, but there was something off about him tonight. He looked paler than usual, with a faint tension around his jaw, and this was puzzling, as he had been fine before they got back to the mansion.


    “You’rete,” he said without looking up from the phone as he sipped the ss.


    “It’s barely been five minutes,” she replied, sliding into the seat opposite him.


    “Five minuteste is stillte,” he murmured.


    “Obnoxious!” She muttered under her breath.


    A helper stepped forward and served the food, after which she bowed and left the two alone at the table.


    They began eating. As much as she didn’t want to, Alejandro wasn’t going to let her starve herself, and so she picked up her cutlery and dug in, making sure to take small bites.


    But Nivera’s mind wasn’t on the food. Her thoughts kept drifting back to the phone call with Liam earlier. The warmth of his voice. The unexpected apology. The ache of nostalgia she hadn’t been prepared for.


    She was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice Alejandro’s gaze lingering on her until he spoke.


    “You’re quiet tonight.”


    She nced up. “Am I not allowed to be?”


    “Quiet, yes. Distracted, no.” His eyes narrowed slightly, studying her like he could peel away her silence and see whatever was underneath. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”


    “Nothing. I was eating.”


    “No,” he said, setting his knife down. “You were thinking. And it wasn’t about me.”


    She rolled her eyes at his words. “Not everything is about you.”


    “Most things are,” he countered smoothly. “Especially in this house.”


    She took a sip of water, deliberately ignoring the way his gaze pinned her in ce, after which she toyed with the fork in her hand, debating whether to bring it up.


    “You want to tell me something, so go on.” He tilted his head at her.


    Damn him for knowing her so much!


    She hesitated, then met his eyes. “It’s about my brother.”


    Alejandro leaned back slightly, his attention sharpening. “Your brother?”


    Now he was much more curious to know what Liam had told Nivera. If the man thought he would be able to somehow convince Nivera to leave him, then he was very much mistaken.


    “Yes.” She hesitated, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “You know we haven’t spoken in a long time. Not since I left. And I don’t know, it’s…plicated.”


    Alejandro’s voice was deceptively casual. “Complicated how?”


    She looked down at her te. “He’s never treated me like the rest of them do. Or… he didn’t used to. We actually got along. So when I was kicked out and he never reached out, it hurt. More than I wanted to admit.”


    She paused, picking her words before she continued.


    “Not once. Until today. He says he’s sorry. He says he wishes things were different. He sounded very remorseful and not only that, he sounded like he had a genuine reason for not reaching out. But it doesn’t make sense.”


    Alejandro studied her quietly for a long moment. “You’re wondering if he’s like the rest of your family after all.”


    “Yes. I don’t know if he’s really different from them, or if I was just too blind to see it back then.”


    She looked at him, her voice quiet but steady. “What do you think? Can someone grow up in a family like mine and still… not be like them?”


    The faintest smirk tugged at Alejandro’s mouth, though there was no real humor in it. “People can be better than the family theye from. But blood has a way of staining everything it touches. Even if they think they’ve escaped it.”


    Her brow furrowed at his words, her stomach tightening. “So you’re saying I might be just like them.”


    “Well of course no. Every family has the ck sheep and you’re the ck sheep.”


    “Is that apliment or an insult?” she squinted her eyes and him.


    “With the way your family is? Heck yes!” Alejandro said and she chuckled.


    She leaned forward slightly. “Will you help me? I mean, really help me find out what happened… why he never tried to contact me?”


    He didn’t even pause to think. “Sure.”


    Just like that. No hesitation, no questions. She almost asked him why he was agreeing so easily, but something about the way he said it–like it was already decided–made her let it go.


    What she didn’t know was that he’d been quietly digging into her family for weeks now, and Liam was already on his list.


    When he reached out to grab the bottle of whiskey so he could pay himself another ss, her face contorted into a frown. “Alejandro, are you okay?” She probed.


    “Sure, why do you ask?”


    “You’re drinking tonight,” she pointed out as her eyes zeroed in on the ss.