Chapter 20
“Cindy… I’m sorry. That night on your eighteenth birthday… I wasn’t really drunk.”
Alexander Lowell sat on the edge of the curb, his voice hoarse and low, almost like he was talking to himself. But the person who needed to hear those words wasn’t there.
The truth was, the alcohol that night had never been enough to dull his senses. The moment his lips met hers, he had
sobered completely.
He just… wanted to indulge the devil inside him for once. Just once.
So he had pulled her into his arms and let himself fall, crossing the line he’d fought so hard to maintain.
But when he woke the next morning, regret came crashing down like a tidal wave. He’d slapped himself-hard.
He was ten years older than her. His worldview, his maturity-they lived on two completely different levels. She could
afford to be reckless and impulsive, to confess her love like it was a game. But he couldn’t.
Everything about his identity-his pride, his guilt, his rules-had caged him.
He was terrified that her feelings were nothing more than misguided dependence. Terrified that if he gave in, if he truly let
himself love her, he’d be the one left shattered.
So he had pushed her away. Again and again. Using every excuse, every cold word, every calculated distance to
extinguish the flame she held for him.
He’d even made a deal with Morinne Ayla. And it worked.
Cynthia had finally given up and walked away.
But instead of relief, all Alexander felt was a soul-crushing ache he couldn’t shake.
This kind of pain-the kind that squeezed your heart until you couldn’t breathe-was unbearable.
He lowered his head, biting down hard on his lip to suppress the despair threatening to burst out.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound of stilettos clicking against the pavement echoed toward him.
“Alex, don’t be so sad. You still have me.”
Morinne’s voice was soft, syrupy sweet as she held out a tissue, its scent faintly floral.
Alexander slowly lifted his head. His eyes, pitch black and hollow, held none of the response she expected.
“Ah!”
She let out a startled scream, stumbling back a few steps, nearly twisting her ankle. His look-cold and deadened- terrified her.
Still, she forced a smile and tried again, extending the tissue toward him.
“Alex, Cynthia’s married now. As her elder, you should let her go. Why don’t we go back and finish the wedding?”
Her voice trembled, her fake warmth barely holding up.
Chapter 20
76.92%
But the next second, Alexander suddenly stood.
He grabbed her by the throat. His fingers tightened with every word.
“That’s right. I was too focused on apologizing to Cindy… and forgot to make you pay.”
His voice was low, sharp, and eerie, like something straight out of a nightmare. It slipped through her ears and wrapped around her neck like a noose.
“You’re the one who had her kitten beaten to death. You’re the one who burned her hand. You smashed the last thing she had of her mother.”
Morinne froze, utterly stunned.
Her lips trembled.
“Y-You… how do you know the fire at the theater… was me?”
If he knew that, then he must have proof.
She felt like she’d been thrown off a cliff, her entire body trembling in panic.
Alexander gave a cold laugh. “Did you really think you covered your tracks that well?”
“I let it go before-not because I didn’t care, but because I planned to settle it after the wedding. All of it.”
“I just didn’t expect you to be this reckless. Hurting her over and over. If it weren’t for you, she never would’ve left me!”
His grip on her throat tightened.
Morinne’s lungs screamed for air. Her cheeks flushed red, her eyes rolled back, her body twisting in a desperate bid for
breath.
