bChapter /bb75 /b

Nivers slid into the seat beside Alejanden at the elegantly set table, careful to keep her postureposed. Her spine remained straight, but her stomach

twisted.

The woman from earlier took her seat across from them, her polite smile stretched a little too tight, while the man beside her bused himself adjusting some documents.

Alejandro, overposed, poured Hivera a ss of water before focusing back on the table. “Shall we begin?”

For the next several minutes, the conversation was dominated by numbers, projections, expansions–things Nivera barely registered

She was aware only of Alejandro’s presence beside her, the way his thigh brushed against hers asionally, his fingers gently resting on the back of her chair like a territorial bim/bb. /b

y time the woman across from her looked at Alejandro too long, Nivera felt a twinge in her chest.

However, everyt

She hated it.

She hated that it bothered her,

And she hated even more that Alejandro seemed so…fortable, in control. Charming as always,

“Of courseb, /bAlejandro,” the woman said now, bwith /bba /bcoy tilt of her bhead /bwhich snapped Nivera out of her thoughts.

“We’d love to continue this convenation somewhere more exclusive. Perhaps the bpenthouse /blounge?

That was it. Nivera’s lips pressed into a thin line, her jaw locking. If Alejandro wasn’t going to shut the woman down, she was going to punch her.

Alejandro hummed, but he didn’t look away from the document he was signing. “We can schedule a follow–up in theing dayn,” he replied coolly

I have my assistant reach out and handle it, as I’ll bbe /bbvery /bbusy to handle it personally”

The woman blinked, caught off guard. “Oh. Right. Of course.”

Nivera barely kept the smugness from her face. Some women really had no shame, but then again, it wasn’t in their ce to force the man to remain

faithful.

When the meeting wrapped bup /bfifteen minutester, the guests stood.

The man offered Alejandro a firm bhandshake/b. The woman tried to do the same but Alejandro only nodded politely, bguiding /bNivera up by her waist Instead, which made the woman turn slightly red

As they tumed to leave, the woman’s voice followed them. “it was ba /bpleasure, Alejandro. And Nivera… blovely /bmeeting you.”

Nivera bgave /ba polite smile. “Likewise,” she said, though her tone carried nothing warm.

Once the bpair /bleft the room, Alejandro gestured toward the waiter. “Bring the food now

Within minutes, two tes of pasta arrived, along with a bottle of red wine and fresh bread. Nivera blinked at the presentation, surprised.

“You ordered for me?” she basked/b. Even though it bhad /bbeen a lunch meeting, neither Alejandro nor they ordered anything. Rather, it was the investors that had eaten

“Of course,” he replied smoothly, pulling out her chair bagain /bbefore taking his own. “You didn’t think I’d let you sit through that entire meeting without eating, did you?”

She didn’t answer as she picked up her fork, but a small smile appeared on her bface/b.

20:51 bWed/b, 23 Jul

The food smelled incredible, and she was hungrier than she realized. She had refused to touch the dish her brother ordered, but now, she had no cason

bnot /bto eatb. /b

She tried to focus on eating, on grounding herself, But

ut Alejandro wasn’t

I making it easy.

He began eating as well, his posture rxed but his eyes observant, always ficking back to her.

Every now and then, his hand brushed her arm, or he refilled her ss before she even noticed it was empty. He didn’t say much, but he didn’t need to

He was there. Aware. Every bit the predator kept an eye on his territory.

She should have been used to it but no, every y time they made contact she felt her eyes her heart racing.

The silence stretched between them after a while, until Alejandro finally leaned back in bhis /bchair and turned fully to face her

His expression was unreadable, but his eyes were dark and narrowed. They didn’t hide the heat simmering beneath,

“Now,” he started, voice low. “What the hell were you doing here?”

She stiffened. Of course, she knew it woulde down to this, but she bwould /bhave preferred if he hadn’t run into her but rather her telling him when he got back home.

“Lunch,” she replied, trying to sound casual

“With your brother,” he corrected sharply “The same one who hasn’t spoken to you since your family kicked you out. You expect me to believe this was just a friendly catch up!”

When she didn’t answer, his jaw tightened. “Let me guess. He wants you toe back home. Warned you about me. Probably said I’m dangerous. That I’ll toss you aside the moment I get bored.b” /b

The words hit too close to the truth. And the way he said them…

It sounded like he’d heard it before. From someone else.

Or maybe…maybe he feared it bhimself/b. No, that couldn’t be

The tension around him wasn’t just banger/b. It bwas /bsomething deeper

She exhaled slowly. “He did say those things. He called you a mistake. Said you’d eventually toss

bAlejandro /bsaid nothing. But his eyes darkened, and his knuckles pressed against the table.

“But,” she continued, softly now, “I told him I’m not going back. Not to them. That what I have with you, whatever it is, is still better than the silence band /bdisgust they bgave /bme.”

Alejandro’s shoulders bdropped/b, just slightly as he stared at her waiting for her to continue. The tension in his chest seemed to ease

He reached out, brushing her fingers with his “Good. Because no matter where you run, or who you think you’re running bto/b, I’ll be there to catch you.”

Her stomach flipped. Not from fear. But something else. Something warm and terrifying all at bonce/b.

His words should have scared her like they used to in the bpast/b. But they didn’t

They felt like a promise.

She swallowed, Then, unable to stop herself, she asked, “Who was bshe/bb?/bb” /b

He raised a brow. “Whob?/bb” /b

“That woman. The one you walked in with.”

“You didn’t like her, did you?” he asked suddenly, volce dipped in amusement

“You didn’t answer my question.”

He smirked, clearly enjoying what was happening. “We you jealous, Cabezota?b” /b

“What? No!”

He leaned closer. “You sure? Because you practically sliced her in hall with your eyes.”

“Maybe she was just annoying,” she muttered,

ible liac

Alejandro chuckled. “You’re a terrible lia”

She rolled her eyes and reached for her ss, trying bto /bhide berflustered state. But as she did, something caught her attention.

His hand. He had bruised knuckles, which were definitely not there when he left the mansion in the morning

She frowned, setting the ss down. “Alejandro,” she said, voice suddenly low. “What happened to your hand?”

He nced down, before raising his head to look back at her. “Nothing”

“That doesn’t look like nothing,” she retorted.

He didn’t answer, and she caught his wrist, bpulling /bit to herself so she could closely observe it.

The skin across his knuckles was bruised, scraped. Raw,

“Did you get into a fight?”

He hesitated and that was enough answer.

She leaned forward. “It was him, wasn’t it? The guy fromst night. The one who… who harassed bme/bb./bb” /b

He still didn’t answer.

She sat back slowly, her eyes wide. “You fought him.”

“More like beat the shit out of him,” Alejandro exhaled, rubbing his hand.

b*/bbSo /byou did get into a fight,” she shook her head in disapproval. “the… dead?”

Alejandro bgave /ba short, darkugh. “I wish I would have killed him if not you asked me not to.

She crossed her arms, her voice turning hard. “The only reason I asked you not to kill him was because I didn’t want blood on your hands.

She looked at his bhand /bagain, her voice softening. “Judging by your knuckles, you gave him a good enough beating. That’s more than enough.”

“He deserved worse.

–

“Aren’t you afraid he’ll press charges?”

Alejandro leaned back. I’ve made sure he won’t. But if he’s stupid enough to try… wo just fight it out aga

There was something disturbingly calm in the way he said it Like it wasn’t even a question.

She should have been horrified. But instead, she reached across the table and pulled his hand towards herself bagain/b.

“We need to get this cleaned.”

“It’s nothing, it will heal by itself,” he brushed off.

“Funny,” Nivera rolled her eyes. “Because I remember saying the same thing to you when I was pped, but you didn’t listen, did you,”

“That was different.”

“How convenient,” she replied in that same bored tone, showing she wasn’t going to listen to him.

“Fine, fine, we’ll get it treated.” Alejandro raised his hand in surrender.

‘So overreactive, he then muttered under his breath, but as he did, he couldn’t deny the way his heart warmed over the fact that she was worried over such a small thing.

He had gotten into countless fights bsuch /bthat things like this weren’t important to him, but Nivera didn’t care about that.

‘Interesting,” he grinned as he reached out for his ss.