One Night Mistake… Now I Carry the Mafia Heir

Chapter 97: 97/The Impossible Choice

Chapter 97

Stephanie’s Point of View

Everything happening in that room was pure, suffocating madness. My heart hammered with wild panic as I watched the sparks of fire and menace igniting fiercely between the two brothers. Alex turned toward Cedric, a cold, rigid, and provocative smirk playing on his lips, and he said sarcastically: "Really, brother? Are you so confident and convinced that she loves you, and not me?"

Cedric puffed out his tall frame, his body tensed with stubborn, blind defiance. He looked into Alex’s eyes with absolute certainty: "Yes... I am confident. She loves me, and you have to accept that."

Alex shook his head with chilling coldness, as if pitying his delusions. They both turned suddenly and simultaneously toward me, fixing their burning, demanding gazes deep into my pale face. Alex spoke in a commanding tone: "Let’s ask her, then, and end this doubt... whom do you love between us, Stephanie?"

My eyes widened in horror, my body automatically retreating backward on the bed, attempting to escape their siege. Cedric took a quick step toward the bed, gesturing toward me with a desperate, suppressed pleading that nearly gave him away: "Come on, Stephanie... don’t be afraid, tell him the truth. Tell him you love me!"

My tongue was completely tied, my throat constricted. A freezing numbness swept through my limbs; damn it... damn my wretched heart! I love them both with equal intensity and madness. How could I possibly choose or voice a rejection now?

Alex took a step from the other side, pressing his piercing gaze which seemed to drill into my soul against my tense features, and said with an unquestionable command: "Come on, Steph... tell Cedric loudly that you love me, and that the past didn’t die."

My breathing grew so shallow; the sound of drums pounded in my head from the sheer, suffocating pressure of this humiliating situation. I could no longer endure this siege. Pressing my palms firmly against my ears to block out their voices, I screamed in complete collapse and hysteria, jumping up from the middle of the bed: "Enough! Stop it! I don’t love either of you... leave me alone!"

With a swift, insane, and frantic motion, I fled the bed toward the bathroom. I slipped inside in the blink of an eye, slamming the wooden door shut behind me. I leaned my entire trembling back against it, my breath coming in searing gasps. I slapped my forehead with my palm, whispering in terror to myself: "Damn it... damn me! How will I save myself from this predicament now? How will I ever face them again?"

My situation was so complex and tangled. I had never anticipated or calculated that my past relationship with Alex would be revealed to Cedric at this critical moment. Now, things will only become more chaotic and messy in this palace.

I stood in the bathroom for a while, anxiety gnawing at my insides, until I felt the calm gradually return outside and the voices faded. I thought with relief that perhaps Cedric had left the suite to avoid further scandal. I approached the marble vanity with trembling steps, splashing cold water on my face repeatedly to regain my lost composure. Then, I cautiously unlocked the door and stepped out.

I found only Alex standing in the center of the room, his massive frame rigid as a wall, his eyes glinting with reproach. He fixed his sharp gaze on mine and said in a raspy, heavy voice: "Why didn’t you answer the question clearly and end this, Stephanie?"

I turned my cheek away, evading him as I headed straight toward the large wardrobe, saying with a sharpness and tension I used to mask my fear: "I already answered you both... I don’t love either of you. That should be enough."

He took a wide step toward me, his eyes narrowing in fatal suspicion: "You are lying... your looks and your eyes say the exact opposite."

I gripped the metal handle of the wardrobe tightly, turning to him with haste, my voice wavering as I tried to shift the focus: "Alex, please, there is no time for arguing... I am already very late for my first day of work!"

He took a long, hot breath, running his broad palm over his neck in helplessness, and said with dry coldness: "Fine... go now. This evening, when you return, we will have a long talk and settle things once and for all."

He walked with measured steps into the bathroom, while I breathed a temporary sigh of relief, as if a mountain had been lifted from my chest. I turned quickly to the wardrobe, pulling out a white silk shirt with long classic sleeves and a dark blue short skirt. I dressed with lightning speed, standing before the mirror to apply light makeup with fingers that still trembled from the shock.

Meanwhile, Alex emerged from the bathroom in silence, watching my every move with an unsettling calmness. I finished styling my hair in a rush, grabbed my leather bag and phone, and hurried out of the room without another word between us.

I descended the marble staircase, my body exhausted from the emotional toll. Grandpa Victor was sitting at the head of the dining table with his usual dignity and presence. I approached him slightly and said in a calm voice, trying to sound normal as if nothing had happened upstairs: "Good morning, Grandpa."

He raised his dignified head, looking at me with a tender smile that lit up his stern face: "Good morning, my beautiful granddaughter Stephanie... you look very elegant today."

I sat on the chair for a few seconds, struggling to swallow a few small bites because the lump in my throat was suffocating. Then, I stood up quickly, trying to leave before Alex or Cedric noticed. But Mr. Victor gestured with his large hand, saying in a composed voice: "Stephanie... wait a moment and come here."

I paused, returning with cautious steps to his table: "Yes, Grandpa? Is something wrong?"

He reached into his luxurious jacket pocket, pulled out a modern car key, and placed it in my palm. Looking into my eyes, he said: "This is the key to your new car, a gift from me for your new job. I hope you like it... it is waiting for you in the outer courtyard."

My eyes widened in pleasant surprise and astonishment. A wide smile, genuine from my heart, bloomed on my face. I leaned over spontaneously to kiss his warm cheek: "Grandpa! Really? Thank you with all my heart... I will certainly love it before I even see it!"

He patted my hand tenderly: "Congratulations, my dear. This is the least I can offer you."