Chapter 141/He Was Always Mine

Chapter 141: 141/He Was Always Mine

Chapter 141

Stephanie’s Point of View

My limbs trembled visibly under the weight of his gaze as it traveled over me with an excruciating, provocative slowness, tracing his freezing eyes from the strands of my hair scattered by the frantic movement down to the hem of the baggy gray sweatpants.

The fabric draped over my high heels like a comically oversized tent. I felt my face erupting into a blistering heat. My hands automatically tightened around the elastic waistband with a nervous, intense grip, as if by clutching it firmly, I was desperately trying to hold onto the final shred of dignity that had vanished into the corners of this room.

I spoke in a fractured tone, fighting with every ounce of my being to cloak it in stability despite the frantic pounding drumming wildly in my chest. "I didn’t... I didn’t find any other alternative, Mr. Vincenti. My trousers are completely torn and no longer fit to walk a single step in, and this was the sole available option to cover myself."

He didn’t merely suffice with that calculating, parsing look; instead, he began to step toward me with slow, balanced, and dominant strides, deliberately consuming every single centimeter of the distance separating us. He ground to a halt at a suffocating proximity so much so that I could smell the scent of his premium tobacco blending with my own strong perfume. His dark eyes narrowed as he deeply contemplated the glaring contrast between my small frame and the massive, sagging folds of the sweatpants.

Then, the corner of his lips tilted into a tight smirk of that mocking disdain my soul utterly loathed, and he delivered in a rasped tone:

"So... you are actively resorting to wearing my clothes now? Is this not another definitive proof to be added to the desperate list of your desires to be closer to me, Miss Miller?"

I took a rapid, impulsive step backward away from that suffocating closeness until my spine collided with the hard wood of the wardrobe shelves. I snapped with a sharp emotion I was no longer capable of suppressing or hiding: "Cease this utter nonsense and your narcissistic deductions! I did not choose to wear this item out of desire for you or to get closer to you, but because I was in desperate need of fabric to cover my body after the scandal you caused with your blind insistence and forcing me to kneel down and search for your trivial pin!"

He let out a low, dry, and dark chuckle that failed to reach his unfeeling eyes. He bent his torso slightly until his face was positioned perfectly level with mine, whispering in a mocking hiss that sent a violent shiver racing straight down my spine: "A scandal? You are the one who ripped her trousers due to your hysterical, uncalculated antics, Miss Miller."

I glared straight back at him with a blatant defiance and equality despite the trembling of my limbs and the tightness in my chest. I stated in a rough, resentful voice: "And now... may I finally exit and be freed from this room, or are there alternative drawers you wish for me to open?"

He glanced at the closed door behind him, then returned his burning gaze back to me in a silent, meticulous scrutiny that lasted for seconds that felt like an eternity of torment to my exhausted mind, before stepping aside in a confident movement. "Exit... but do not expect me to forget the spectacle of this comically ridiculous attire anytime soon, Miss Miller."

I bolted out of that room with panting, stumbling steps, my hand frantically bunching up the heavy fabric of the gray sweatpants so I wouldn’t trip over the long hems in my high heels. My feet didn’t cease their terror-driven run until I was completely outside the massive iron gates of the mansion. I climbed into my car, rapidly locking the doors while breathing in heavy, warm pants, my mind continuously echoing his mocking words, screaming that what had just occurred inside the dressing room was a living, breathing nightmare. It was a seventh impossibility to return to my family home looking this explicitly ridiculous in a strange man’s trousers, so I slammed my foot onto the brakes and steered at maximum speed toward the commercial district to hunt for the nearest clothing store.

The stares of the pedestrians on the street and the employees inside the shop tracked my movements with absolute bewilderment and astonishment; the massive gray sweatpants were on the absolute verge of slipping off my hips in a manner that invited both suspicion and laughter due to my frantic movements and the bunched-up cuffs.

I bypassed their mocking stares with stiffened features and a manufactured detachment, rapidly purchasing a few clothes to use the shopping bags as a plausible alibi for my lengthy absence, then ducked into the tight fitting room with burning breaths.

I stripped out of Vincenti’s ridiculous sweatpants with pure violence, tossing them into my side bag in bitter malice, and slid into a new, comfortable pair of black trousers that accommodated my size perfectly. I adjusted my scattered hair and moved with quicker steps toward home to officially end this catastrophic day.

When I opened the wooden front door and stepped into the hallway, I was greeted by the sound of harmonious female laughter drifting from the main drawing room. I turned my body to find Valentina sitting in complete comfort across the velvet sofa, right next to Grandfather Victor, who was listening to her with a serene smile.

The exact millisecond Grandfather caught sight of me entering with the shopping bags, his kind face lit up with genuine warmth. "Welcome home, my dear Stephanie."

I forced my rigid lips into a tight smile, speaking in a faint voice: "Hello, Grandfather."

At that exact second, Valentina stood up from her spot with an exaggerated, theatrical enthusiasm. She approached me with wide strides to envelop my body within her arms in a warm yet completely fraudulent embrace, stating in a smooth tone that dripped with poisoned honey: "Welcome back, my beautiful sister! I have missed you so much."

She excelled at acting and displaying counterfeit affection right in front of him with a supreme mastery that turned my stomach in absolute disgust. I took a few steps backward to break free from her grip, stating briefly and dryly: "I am exhausted today, and I wish to head up to my room to rest... excuse me."

I climbed the stairs at maximum speed and entered my room, shutting the wooden door and leaning my back against it to collect the breaths I had lost in the chaos of this lengthy, humiliating day. Yet my psychological peace didn’t last for more than a single minute; the handle abruptly clicked open, and Valentina strode right in with a confident, preening gait, calmly turning the lock behind her as if she owned the space.

I crossed my arms over my chest, stating sharply in a resentful voice: "Valentina... get out of my room this instant. I have absolutely no energy for your games right now!"

She sauntered toward the bed, sitting on the edge of the sheets with a preening, narcissistic air as she inspected her fingernails, stating in a cold tone: "I merely wish to sit and converse with my dear sister in private. What is wrong with you, looking so tense as though you are harboring some massive secret?"

I screamed in an overflowing, frayed patience: "I do not wish to see your face or listen to a single syllable from your mouth! Get out!"

Her smooth features shifted with a sudden, shocking violence. She glared at the mattress with eyes that blazed with an absolute, burning hatred and jealousy, delivering in a venomous hiss: "So... here, on this exact bed and beneath these very sheets, you have the absolute audacity to fuck my boyfriend and my man?"

I lifted my head with a loftiness that shattered all her attempts to humiliate me, looking directly into the absolute depths of her eyes with firm stability: "Alexander is my husband, Valentina... accept this bitter reality and learn your true size to him. You are merely an intruder."

She lunged forward blindly, approaching my face with a glaring defiance and protruding eyes: "You know deep down in your soul that I will retrieve him from you sooner or later. He does not belong to a pathetic woman like you."

I stepped toward her with firm, solid steps until I was positioned directly in her face. A mocking, ridiculing smile carved its way onto my lips with a confidence and certainty she had absolutely never witnessed from me before, and I stated: "From the very beginning, Valentina... from the absolute beginning, he has been mine, and he was never truly yours for a single day. He has been mine since our high school days... Alexander is mine alone, and his body and mind belong to me!"