Chapter 5

Third Person’s POV

The mark on Alexander’s neck was still faintly red when Vina climbed into the waiting limousine, wearing the satisfied smile of a woman who believed she had just secured something valuable.

From the shadow of a stone pillar near the garden, I watched Alexander remain behind for a moment before a man in a charcoal suit approached him. Cyrus, his most trusted lieutenant, looked furious.

“You let her mark you, and you didn't stop her?” Cyrus demanded, keeping his voice low. “She's not your wife, Alexander. She's not even supposed to know who you really are.”

Alexander adjusted his cuff without the slightest sign of regret. “It made her happy.”

Cyrus stared at him in disbelief. “You're the head of the Laurent syndicate. Half the city is terrified of you, yet you're allowing that woman to treat you like some lovesick fool.”

“I don't care what she calls me.”

“You'd hand her the keys to your entire empire if she asked.”

Alexander said nothing.

I had heard enough.

I walked away before either man noticed me, carrying the ache in my chest with the same stubborn silence I had maintained since the night I learned the truth about him.

By the time I returned to the Aethon estate, I had already made my decision.

**

Several hours later, while the city slept, Alexander was deep in the mountains beyond Laurent territory.

Vina had mentioned wanting a rare red diamond known as the Crimson Lotus during the exhibition, calling it the most beautiful stone she had ever seen. The diamond had once belonged to Laurent's founding family and had been locked inside an underground vault after a bloody succession war decades ago.

Cyrus had objected the moment Alexander announced that he intended to retrieve it.

“That diamond belongs to the family,” he argued. “The vault hasn't been opened in forty years. There are armed security teams stationed around it, and the old tunnels are rigged with traps. You're risking your life for a woman who doesn't even know you're the man she's been asking for.”

Alexander fastened his holster.

“She wants it.”

“That isn't a reason.”

“It is for me.”

Cyrus swore under his breath. “You're the most feared man in this city, and you're throwing away your judgment because she smiled at you.”

Alexander looked toward the mountains.

“I'll bring it to her.”

And he did.

By dawn, he returned to Laurent territory with blood on his shirt, a deep cut along his ribs, and the Crimson Lotus secured inside a black velvet case.

He had nearly bled to death retrieving a diamond for a woman who didn't even know his real name.

**

That evening, I opened the front door of my house to find Alexander standing outside.

He looked exhausted. His expensive suit was torn at the shoulder, his knuckles were bruised, and dried blood stained the side of his face. Whatever had happened, it hadn't been a simple business trip.

“There was an incident,” he said when he noticed me staring.

“A rival attack?”

He nodded.

“I'll be away for a few days. Maybe a week. I need time to recover.”

I stepped aside.

“Take all the time you need.”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“You're not going to ask what happened?”

A faint smile touched my lips.

“No. I won't need protection where I'm going.”

Something flickered across his face, but he didn't understand.

Good.

He walked toward his room, probably assuming he would return to find me waiting.

He wouldn't.

**

The next afternoon, I met my closest friends at a private room in one of Bloodmoon Club's upper floors. The room was normally reserved for senior members of the city's major families, and the armed guards outside ensured that nobody could interrupt us.

They thought it was a celebration.

Only I knew it was goodbye.

“To Valentina,” Lindsay announced, lifting her champagne glass. “May her marriage to Dante De Luca be peaceful, and may the sleeping heir actually wake up long enough to discover what a beautiful wife he has.”

Everyone laughed.

I smiled with them.

Lindsay leaned closer after the toast.

“This isn't fair, Becca. Your father is practically trading you to the De Alexander to secure territory, while Vina gets everything she wants.”

“It won't matter soon.”

Her smile faded.

“You're still going to visit us, right?”

I lifted my glass.

“Of course.”

The lie tasted worse than the champagne.

**

That night, I returned to the Aethon estate for the last time.

The house had never felt like home. It was merely a grand building filled with expensive furniture, family portraits, and memories I had spent years trying to forget.

I was almost at my father's study when I heard Vina laughing from the adjoining lounge.

“He actually let me mark him,” she said, her voice thick with wine. “Can you believe it? That man practically belongs to me now.”

Someone laughed.

“He must be completely obsessed with you.”

“Please. Alexander is useful, that's all. When I want him, I call him. When I don't, he stays out of my way.”

I stopped outside the door.

Then someone asked, “But what about your marriage to Dante?”

Vina laughed.

“Why would I want that unconscious man when I could have the Laurent boss? He's richer, more powerful, and apparently willing to give me anything I ask for.”

My fingers tightened around my purse.

“He even sent me the Crimson Lotus.”

I almost laughed.

She had no idea.

The ruthless Laurent boss she dreamed of was the same man she treated like a disposable bodyguard.

Alexander.

My loyal, foolish Alexander.

He had risked his life to retrieve a diamond for a woman who considered him nothing more than a convenient toy.

For once, I felt no jealousy.

Only pity.

I turned away from the room and left the estate without seeing my father.

There was nothing left to say.

**

I went to the cemetery.

My mother's grave stood beneath an old yew tree, far from the family mausoleum where my father's name had already been carved beside hers.

I placed a white rose against the marble.

“I won't become you, Mom.”

The words came out quietly.

“You spent your entire life waiting for someone who had already chosen another woman. I won't make the same mistake.”

I stayed there until dawn.

Then my phone received a message from my father's private banker.

The transfer had been completed.

Half of the Aethon fortune.

The price of my silence and my agreement to marry Dante De Luca.

I accepted it without hesitation.

By sunrise, I had signed the documents severing my financial and legal ties to the Aethon family.

My father.

Vina.

Alexander.

All of them.

**

The following morning, while packing the last of my belongings, I found Alexander waiting outside.

I handed him a small box.

“Give this to Vina.”

He stared at it suspiciously.

“What is it?”

“My old art supplies.”

His brow furrowed.

“She always wanted them.”

A faint smile crossed my lips.

“She wants everything else that belongs to me. She might as well have those too.”

He tightened his grip around the box.

“What about you?”

“I'll be fine.”

His eyes searched my face.

“Where are you going?”

“Somewhere else.”

“Give me the address. I'll come after I deliver this to Vina.”

I looked at him for a long moment.

“I'll tell you later.”

He nodded, still confused.

“There'll be time.”

There wouldn't.

Once he left, I climbed into the waiting car.

I removed my SIM card, snapped it in half, and dropped the pieces onto the road as we drove away from the estate.

The wind scattered them across the pavement.

By the time Alexander returned with the box in his hands, the house was empty.

And for the first time in my life, I didn't care whether he came looking for me.

I was already gone.