Chapter 163/The Weight of Guilt

Chapter 163: 163/The Weight of Guilt

Chapter 163

Stephanie’s point of view

My blood froze completely, and the coldness of death and fear hit my stomach with crushing force. His abrupt, clever question was like a sharp blade threatening to cut the final lifeline I was foolishly trying to hold onto.

I said through a tight, dry throat, "I... I forgot my phone outside."

The trembling words fell out of my mouth like a heavy weight, a desperate move to quickly free myself from the noose tightening around my neck. I looked straight into his eyes with a forced, rigid steadiness, trying my best to make my voice sound completely normal and calm to keep the truth buried.

Alexander frowned with even deeper confusion, taking a wide step forward toward the bed while staring at me with a sharp, piercing focus. "Your phone? And where exactly did you forget it to make you go out at that hour?"

I swallowed my spit, which had dried up like ash in my throat. I spoke with agitation, rubbing my hands in a tense anxiety that I tried to hide by shifting my position on the bedsheets: "At... at the restaurant... I suddenly remembered right after you left and got into the car that I had left it on the table next to my glass... And you know how I am, Alexander, I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving it there until morning in the hands of waiters, strangers, or customers."

I took a sharp, rapid breath, continuing frantically to kill any doubt inside his mind: "That’s exactly why I jumped into my car in a massive rush and drove straight back to the restaurant alone to get it quickly... And as soon as I found it, I came back. I was lethally exhausted, so I parked the car carelessly without even focusing on the right spot, and I came upstairs and fell asleep in my dress."

He stared at my face with a long, motionless gaze during a heavy silence that trapped the air inside my chest, making my heart beat against my ribs like crazy. My biggest fear right then was that he would see the lie in my eyes, along with the details of my night with that piece of trash Vincente.

But, to my luck, his stern face suddenly relaxed. Expressions of reproach and worry replaced the suspicion on his face, and he walked back to sit beside me on the edge of the bed, speaking in a low voice thick with genuine fear for me: "Steph... my love, you could have just told me, or we could have waited until morning instead of risking your safety and the safety of our two children in that bitter cold and heavy rain, all by yourself so late at night."

His large, warm hand extended again to caress my hair with immense tenderness, and he smiled gently. "The important thing is that you’re safe now in my arms... and that you have your phone. Come on then, don’t waste time, and let the warm water melt away the exhaustion and tension from your beautiful body so you can rest."

I retreated into the bathroom, my steps heavy, dragging with a weight that felt entirely too physical. I shut the door quietly behind me, desperate to seal myself off, to completely lock out the rest of the world. With trembling fingers, I stripped off the heavy coat and my wrinkled dress, my hands shaking so badly the fabric caught against my skin. I stepped slowly into the bathtub.

The moment the warm water engulfed my tight, aching muscles, a wave of pure misery crashed over me. I squeezed my eyes shut against the sting of hot tears. Under the rushing stream, I began to scrub my arms and my lips violently, using my fingernails to claw at my own flesh, desperately trying to scrape away the lingering touch of Vincente’s filthy fingers and the sickening memory of his disgusting kiss.

Only a few minutes passed before the doorknob turned with a soft, subtle click. Alexander stepped inside, carrying a warm white towel in his hands. He leaned his back against the edge of the sink directly opposite the tub, his piercing blue eyes fixed on me, holding a calm, gentle warmth that I didn’t deserve.

He cleared his throat softly, breaking the silence. "Steph... I was thinking about what happened yesterday at the restaurant with Dominic. He honestly looked completely blown away when he heard the news about your pregnancy."

My stomach did a violent flip beneath the water. It took everything in me to keep my face a complete mask, fighting the sheer panic threatening to break through. "Yeah..." I managed, my voice tight. "It just caught him off guard, I guess. He wasn’t expecting it."

"Dominic is a strange guy," Alexander continued, his eyes narrowing slightly as he drifted into thought. "With the nature of his work, he’s hardwired to suspect absolutely everything. But I’m going to talk to him about your resignation Monday morning. He’s my friend before anything else, and I don’t want him thinking your sudden departure is because the company fell short in some way."

A jolt of pure terror spiked through my chest. "No! Alex, don’t—" I blurted out, before desperately trying to clamp down on my rising panic.

Alexander turned his entire body toward me, his eyelids narrowing in confusion. He stared down at my frantic, unsettled expression through the rising steam, his tone turning utterly puzzled. "Why not?"

I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat thick and suffocating. I pulled my knees tightly against my chest beneath the surface, trying to hide the fact that my entire body was shaking. "I... I changed my mind about resigning. I’m going to keep working at the company."

He took a slow step closer to the tub, his brows knitting together in a heavy, deep frown. "And why the sudden change of heart, Stephanie? Yesterday in the car, you were literally crying from the sheer exhaustion and the pregnancy."

I splashed my hand aimlessly through the water, trying to create any distraction to escape the laser focus of his eyes. "I... I was just completely exhausted yesterday," I offered, hating how weak and transparent my excuse sounded. "In that moment, under all the pressure, I just felt like I couldn’t handle working anymore. But I thought about it again this morning and realized staying cooped up at home all day would absolutely kill me. I’d die of boredom."