Chapter 162/Walking on Thin Ice

Chapter 162: 162/Walking on Thin Ice

Chapter 162

Stephanie’s point of view

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and wonder, saying: "Why should I come here in the morning?"

He replied as he adjusted the collar of his black coat with supreme confidence: "Because simply, you are the one who will take on the task of driving me to the company headquarters in this car of yours daily."

I said in a weak objection, fearing Alexander catching me off guard: "But you, for heaven’s sake, own an entire fleet of luxury cars and drivers!"

He replied in a decisive tone that settled the matter and the file completely: "You will come in the morning to drive me yourself... is this matter understood and well-stuck in your small head?"

I nodded my head in helplessness and extreme fatigue that exhausted my powers: "Fine... understood."

He said coldly and bluntly as he turned his body toward the gate of his palace with confident strides: "Now... you may leave."

I climbed into the driver’s seat with insane speed to avoid the rain, slamming the door violently to let out my fury, and drove off at maximum speed, moving away from the perimeter of Vincente’s cursed palace as if I were fleeing from a predatory monster that wanted to devour my soul. All along the long, dark road back, I began cursing, swearing, and the crying of oppression violently ripped through my stifled chest; for now I was indeed in a massive predicament between two brothers, and a dark trap whose labyrinths I could not easily exit without destroying everything around me.

I finally arrived at the mansion and entered the lobby with stealthy steps, sneaking like thieves in the darkness of the night. I climbed the stairs toward my room in utter exhaustion that almost made me lose consciousness from the sheer psychological pressure. I threw my heavy body over the wide bed with the weight of sadness and worry resting upon my chest, and I did not feel myself or how I fell asleep in my wrinkled dress and light coat from the intensity of extreme intellectual and physical fatigue.

I drifted into a heavy, turbulent sleep full of terrifying nightmares, until hours later I began to feel a warm hand touching my cheek with supreme tenderness, followed by a familiar voice: "My love, Steph... wake up."

I opened my eyes slowly, my eyelids feeling heavy as hell, as my pale eyes were met by the early morning light sneaking through the cracks of the wide velvet curtains.

My heart violently contracted with a sudden, devastating jolt the moment my panicked eyes locked onto Alexander’s stern, handsome face. He was sitting right next to me on the edge of the bed in all his imposing power, staring at me with deep looks full of pure love and intense anxiety.

The terrifying memories of last night rushed back into my head like a toxic, filthy slideshow: that bastard Vincente and his suffocating trap, the threat of scandal and destroying my entire existence, Keira’s horrifying voice note that exposed everything, and that shameful dildo thrown so clearly inside the car’s glove compartment... A sharp, sickening nausea twisted deep inside my gut, clawing at my stomach with ferocity. I wanted to scream from sheer horror, terrified that Alexander might have discovered something or tracked down my betrayal from yesterday.

Alexander stared at the wrinkled evening dress on my body, the leftover rain on it, and my light black coat that I hadn’t even had the strength to take off after getting back. He knitted his thick brows in confusion and anxious disapproval as he pressed his large, warm hand against my forehead to check the temperature of my shaking body. "Steph... my love, what the hell is wrong with you? Why did you sleep in your outdoor clothes, looking this exhausted?"

I swallowed a burning lump that almost choked my breath out, forcing a faint, shaky, fake smile onto my lips to hide my complete breakdown and scattered mind. I said in a hoarse, weak, and strained voice, "I’m... I’m fine. I was just so exhausted that I threw my body onto the bed and fell completely unconscious, without even changing my clothes."

His sharp, predatory eyes drilled into every single detail of my pale face for seconds that felt like a damn eternity, and his heavy, suffocating silence was mercilessly eating away at my wrecked nerves. He slowly dragged his rough, warm fingers from my forehead down to my cold cheek, then slid his thumb gently over my lower lip.

That single movement made my entire body instantly freeze and tense up in pure terror; that exact spot was still carrying the heat and violence of Vincente’s filthy kiss in the restaurant restroom.

Alexander let out a deep, heavy sigh, his stern features tightening with genuine regret. "Ah, my love... I blame myself so much for leaving you alone last night to go back to my business and my men. You looked completely exhausted since we were sitting at the restaurant table, and I should have stayed by your side to protect you and take care of your health."

He calmly took his hand off my face, stood up to his full, towering height, and walked firmly toward the en-suite bathroom to turn on the water. His powerful voice came through clearly over the loud rushing of the water: "I’ve prepped a warm bath for you to help your tense body relax... Take off this heavy coat and the dress, and let the water wash away the weight of this exhaustion from your soul."

He took two confident steps toward the door to leave and give me some space, but he suddenly froze in his tracks. The sudden halt turned the blood in my veins to ice. He turned back to me, his expression changing in a flash as if he had just remembered something dangerous.

His eyes narrowed with a sudden, sharp calculation that crushed my remaining heartbeats. "By the way, Stephanie... When I happened to come back to the mansion after wrapping up the issue of that cursed spy and executing him with Cedric in the warehouses, I noticed something strange downstairs. " He looked at me closely and continued "Your car wasn’t parked in the usual spot where I left it yesterday after we got back... Instead, it was parked carelessly at an angle near the massive outer gates, as if someone drove it after I left... Did you go out somewhere that late?"