<b>Chapter </b>174
<b>55 </b>
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The morning crept into the room like a thief–slow, hushed<b>, </b>deliberate. Pale light slipped through the curtains, casting a soft glow across the room.
Alejandroy awake, his eyes open long before the dawn.
He hadn’t slept properly after Martins left, though he had slipped under the covers beside her, his arm instinctively wrapping around her waist.
Normally her presence would calm him and make him get some sleep but he couldn’t this time as she wasn’t at peace for him to be at peace.
Nivera was still asleep, her breathing soft, uneven in ces, as though even her dreams were <b>restless</b>.
Strands of her dark hair spilled across the pillow, hershes resting delicately against skin that seemed too fragile after what she had endured.
Alejandro’s chest rose and fell with a quiet heaviness. He had seen blood, death, betrayal, cruelty in every shade–but nothing had unsettled him quite like watching her unravel in his armsst night, begging him to believe she wasn’t crazy.
And she wasn’t. He had proof now. Proof on her skin, proof in the way her phone had been tampered with and once Martins came back with the report, he’d have proof in the fact that he had been drugged
She had been telling the truth all along, not that he ever doubted it. Once he told her, she would be at peace.
His jaw flexed, a muscle ticking as his thoughts churned. Whoever had touched her, whoever had dared to put a hand on her within his walls… they had made a mistake they wouldn’t live to regret.
His gaze lingered on her parted lips, the faint crease between her brows, the way her fingers clutched at the sheet even in sleep. He reached out without thinking, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
She stirred faintly, pressing closer into his side, and something inside him ached.
“Cabezota,” he muttered under his breath, almost a whisper. “What am I going to do with you?”
She murmured something incoherent and settled again. He stilled, his chest tightening.
Alejandro wasn’t a man easily shaken, butst night had wed something open inside him. For the first time in years, maybe decades, he had felt something dangerously close to helplessness. He hated it.
Hated that she had the power to make him feel it. And yet, the thought of losing her–to madness, to fear, to whoever was ying this sick game–was unbearable.
She was evoking feelings he didn’t know he had in him. All he had ever cared about was getting more and more power to be untouchable.
He had been groomed to once day rule the family business alongside Antonio and so he never had time to enjoy the little things–that was until Nivera came along.
10:19 <b>Mon</b><b>, </b>Sep 15
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From wanting to rule the world to being content with seeing a smile on her face and seeing her happy, he would have never imagined it.
His arm tightened around her waist. Mine.
The thought was sharp, possessive, absolute.
A soft groan broke his storm of thoughts. Nivera stirred again, shifting against him, her eyes fluttering open. Hershes trembled as she blinked up at him, her gaze unfocused at first, then clearing.
“Morning, Cabezota,” Alejandro said softly, his voice unusually gentle.
She winced slightly at the light, then turned her face into his chest, mumbling something muffled.
“What was that?” he teased, brushing his thumb along her jaw.
“I said… I don’t want to wake up yet,” she muttered, her voice rough with sleep.
A chuckle rumbled in his chest. “You sound like a child.”
Her eyes narrowed faintly as she peeked up at him. “After the night I had, I think I’m allowed to sound however I want.”
The humor drained from his face instantly, and the weight of his stare pinned her in ce.
“Did you… did you rest at all?” she whispered to break the tension in the room.
His lips twitched faintly, not a smile, but something close. “I rested enough. You needed me more.”
The words struck Nivera harder than they should have. Her throat grew tight again, her heart stumbling against her ribs. He said it so easily, as though it were an obvious fact.
Her eyes searched his, and that was when she noticed it from the corner of her eyes.
Her heart jerked as she sat up slightly, rm sharpening her voice. “Alejandro… what happened to your wrist?”
He nced down at it as if it were nothing because it was. “It’s nothing.”
It was the ce where Martins had drawn blood from. He hadn’t even expected her to notice.
“That’s not nothing,” she snapped, reaching for his arm, her fingers brushing over his wrist. “Did this–did this happenst night? Did they hurt you too?”
He caught her wrist gently but firmly, stilling her frantic touch. His eyes darkened, something dangerous flickering in their depths. “No, it wasn’t them,” he assured her. “Don’t bother too much about it.”
She shook her head. “No. Tell me.”
He sighed, leaning back against the headboard, dragging her with him so she sat across hisp, unwilling to let her distance herself. “Martins was here,” he admitted finally. “We needed to make sure of something, so he took a sample.”
<b>10:19 </b>Mon, <b>Sep </b>15
Her brows knit. “A sample? You mean–blood?”
“Yes.”
:
Her lips parted in shock. “Alejandro–why? What are you not telling me?”
<b>54 </b>
55 vouchers
His jaw tightened. “Becausest night wasn’t just you, Nivera. I wasn’t myself either. I think I was drugged.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“I don’t remember falling asleep. And you know me—I don’t sleep that deeply. When you tried to wake me, I didn’t stir. That doesn’t happen to me.” His voice was hard now, edged with fury he was barely containing.
Nivera’s pulse quickened. “So… so I wasn’t imagining it. I wasn’t hallucinating.”
“No.” His grip on her waist tightened. “You weren’t.”
The words hit her harder than she expected. Tears stung her eyes, the weight of relief almost crushing her chest. She pressed a hand to her mouth, her body trembling. “You believed me,” she whispered.
AD
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