Chapter 9: Totally Delusional

By now, the nearby onlookers were having the time of their lives.

Every word of that loaded plea was being absorbed pending embellishment.

Probably recorded too, considering the number of phones Alex could see being not-so-subtly held around the room.

Both his brows had risen now, but instead of anger, something closer to pointed amusement settled over his expression.

Andrew certainly knew where to hit.

Had Alex been the sort to wallow over every little thing, or someone who had never been on the receiving end of those particular loaded words before, perhaps they really might’ve done some damage.

Unfortunately for Andrew, Dominic had spent the past two years giving Alex plenty of practice.

Every time he’d publicly corrected someone who mistook their engagement for something romantic.

Every time Alex had almost thought they could finally stop pretending their relationship was nothing more than some family arrangement, only for Dominic to remind everyone otherwise.

Every time he’d treated their years together like some inconvenient little detail that shouldn’t be mentioned aloud.

Little by little, Dominic had already chipped away at most of the emotions Andrew was currently trying so hard to crack.

Nice try, though.

Dominic, however, apparently had enough working brain cells left to realize how strange Andrew’s words sounded coming from someone who was supposedly insisting their relationship was completely innocent.

"Andrew, enough."

Dominic’s voice sharpened.

"I’ll handle Alex myself."

"Oh..."

Andrew immediately lowered his gaze.

"I-I’m sorry. I overstepped."

"No. This isn’t your problem." Dominic looked back at Alex. "It’s between my fiancé and me."

Fiancé.

Interesting that he suddenly remembered that word.

"Alex." Dominic’s tone dropped into that familiar commanding voice. "Go home. Tomorrow, we’ll go first thing in the morning."

Alex blinked.

"Go?"

Dominic’s expression tightened.

"Go where?"

"Where else? Stop playing games. We’ve all had a long day. Just go back for now, let me deal with this, and we can talk about everything else later."

There it was.

That familiar certainty.

As though Dominic had merely postponed a dental appointment and Alex would naturally rearrange his entire schedule to accommodate him.

No apology.

No genuine concern.

Not even the slightest consideration that Alex might have plans or, heavens forbid, opinions of his own.

What was perhaps more telling was that Dominic had reached a point where he seemed completely certain Alex would simply go along with whatever he decided.

Looking back now, Alex couldn’t help but wonder just how agreeable he must’ve been with this idiot for Dominic to become this confident.

Had he really been that bad?

"..."

Apparently so.

Alex quietly exhaled before letting his expression soften into something almost regretful.

"Mr. Sebastian."

Dominic frowned at the address.

"By any chance, are you still under the impression that there’s an engagement left to honor?"

The air around them seemed to shift.

Dominic’s face darkened immediately.

"I never said we weren’t getting married, Alex."

"Ah."

Alex nodded.

"But I am."

Silence.

Complete, absolute silence.

Even Andrew seemed genuinely caught off guard this time, his eyes widening as he stared between them.

Dominic’s brows pulled together before he gave a harsh scoff.

"Hah. See? This is exactly what I’m talking about. You’re making rash decisions."

Rash decisions, huh?

"You know what happens if you walk away," Dominic continued, stepping closer. "The partnership suffers. Your board will question you. And Augustus made the terms of your trust perfectly clear."

His voice lowered.

"You know this marriage is something we have to see through."

Ah.

So the bastard remembered.

How reassuring.

Alex shrugged innocently.

"Oh, no. I think you’re the one forgetting something."

Dominic’s eyes narrowed.

"I honored the agreement to marry you by showing up today and waiting in good faith."

Alex gestured vaguely between Dominic and Andrew.

"But considering today’s turnout, this rather public confirmation of your whereabouts, and, thankfully, confirmation that you were in fact alive and well while I was waiting..."

A faint smile touched his lips.

"I’m simply honoring the decision made by the other party."

"You— I already told you—"

"Yes, yes. You already said all that."

Alex cut him off with a small wave.

"But I also told you it’s too late."

Dominic stiffened.

Alex’s expression remained perfectly calm.

"Holding that position of yours isn’t entirely decorative, is it?"

The jab landed exactly where intended.

"So you should already know that even I wouldn’t be able to sweep morality and reputational clauses under the rug after something like this."

Especially not when you’ve been so thorough about airing everything out publicly."

Alex looked at him directly.

"So consider this as much of a parting gift as I’m capable of giving you."

Dominic’s expression changed.

Just slightly.

But Alex saw it.

"I accept your unilateral dissolution of our engagement."

For once, Dominic Sebastian had absolutely nothing to say.

"As such, please return our family heirloom at your earliest convenience."

Alex calmly straightened one of his cuffs while the surrounding crowd stared at him as though he had just dropped something explosive in the middle of the lounge.

Then he glanced back up.

"As for the Sebastian Group..."

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

Cold enough that even Dominic seemed to notice something was wrong.

"I’ll have the appropriate people reach out as soon as possible."

Back at the restaurant, when Alex had imagined finally saying all this, he’d thought he might enjoy the moment more.

Maybe he’d savor Dominic’s expression.

Perhaps even commit that look of defeat to memory so he could revisit it later whenever he felt particularly vindictive.

But now that the moment had actually arrived...

Alex found he couldn’t care less.

He didn’t need to see any more.

At this point, spending even another second breathing the same air as Dominic felt like unnecessarily extending a meeting that should’ve ended ages ago.

So Alex simply turned on his heel and walked away.

No one tried to stop him this time.

Maybe they were too stunned.

Or maybe, finally, someone in that room had enough sense not to get in his way.

Either way, the crowd instinctively parted before him, opening a path toward the exit.

A few seconds later, the heavy club doors closed behind Alexander Vance.

Only then did sound slowly return to the lounge.

One whisper.

Then another.

A nervous laugh somewhere near the bar.

And, almost immediately afterward, phones began vibrating across the room.

Dominic still hadn’t moved.

He remained standing exactly where Alex had left him, staring toward the closed doors as though his brain had yet to catch up with what had just happened.

Even worse was the sharp, inexplicable sensation twisting inside his chest when he remembered that last look Alex had given him.

Not angry.

Not devastated.

Just...

Detached.

Dominic’s jaw tightened.

What exactly was Alex thinking?

Was he actually serious?

No.

Of course not.

Alex was angry.

Jealous too, probably.

That had to be it.

He was threatening to walk away because he wanted Dominic to panic and chase after him.

And Dominic absolutely couldn’t give in to something like that.

If Alex learned that threatening to end their relationship was enough to scare him, what would stop him from doing the same thing every time they argued after getting married?

No.

Better to correct the behavior now.

Right.

That was all this was.

He’d been warned about things like this before, after all.

Unfortunately for Dominic, there was one rather large flaw in that logic.

Alexander had never once been the type to hold a relationship hostage just to win an argument.

Dominic’s gaze eventually drifted toward the folder Alex had left behind.

His eyes landed on the first page.

[VANCE HOLDINGS]

[PRELIMINARY RISK ASSESSMENT]

And just like that, the tiny seed of worry that Alex might actually have meant what he said was buried beneath a fresh wave of irritation.

Dominic’s jaw clenched.

See?

This.

Alex wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble of coming here and handing something like this over if he truly intended to end things.

Clearly, he was still thinking about their future.

So fine.

Let Alexander throw his tantrum.

Dominic wasn’t going to indulge him.

Tomorrow, Alex would calm down.

And once he finally realized just how much he stood to lose, he’d come back.

By morning, Dominic would have his lawyers, executives, and the full weight of the Sebastian Group behind him.

Then they could settle this properly if that was how Alex wanted it.