Bonds

Chapter 47

-Maya’s POV-

The door clicked shut behind Ms. Edwards, leaving a heavy silence in its wake. Relief washed over me, momentarily pushing aside the tangled emotions that had been simmering beneath the surface. I glanced at Alex who still wore that annoying smirk on his face ever since i sat in this office.

Wipe that smug grin off your face. There’s nothing funny about this situation.” I crossed my arms and glared at him.

Now, with just the two of us in the room, the weight of the situation settled on my shoulders. The initial shock of seeing Alex had given way to a complex mix of anger, frustration, and… dare I say it… a flicker of something else. When we were married, I was keen on letting him have his space even though I had wanted to make changes here, I had let it be but now? I was eager, maybe a little bit too eager.

“I wasn’t smiling,” Alex replied but he still had that smug look on his face. I knew he was somehow responsible for it.

“This was your doing wasn’t it?” I pointed between the two of us, “Hiring the company I just got a job in to redesign your company.”

He scoffed in his usual arrogant manner, “Don’t flatter yourself Amaya. Not everything revolves around you.”

His arrogance had been one of my favorite things back then but now, it just grated in my nerves. What annoyed me even more was that my wolf was purring, very happy to be near him again, acting like he had not been an asshole to us over the last four years and then what he did when I got arrested. I suddenly remembered my conversation, the words echoing in my head, I should never have told him I was still in love with him. And the worst part? A part of me still craved it. It was a maddening contradiction. He was just so infuriating that I wanted to pull my hair out and scream.

“Look,” I said, pushing the jumble of emotions aside for now. “Let’s just get back to why I’m here. The redesigns.” I forced myself to focus, arranging the design plans on the table in a show of professionalism.

took me by surprise. “Where are

replied curtly, a bored undertone to his

mean out?” My voice rose in disbelief. “We’re in the middle of a

to you if you’re just going to accuse me of things.” He paused, a flicker of something dark crossing his face. Then, under his breath, he muttered, “Maybel should have let you stay in that prison cell longer. Perhaps it would

in the face. The anger that had been simmering within me erupted in a fiery blaze. I

My fists clenched at my sides, and

his jaw tightened, his features hardening into an emotionless mask. “You heard me. Ever since you came back, it’s

Chapter 47

like a physical blow, the

threw away three years just like that? For what reason? Couldn’t you even manage a decent explanation, Alex? Your egotistical self wasn’t even man enough to tell me, you just. rejected me? Broke my heart? Then, when I came back, you

indifference radiating from him that only fueled my anger further. It was as if the man I knew, the man I loved, had vanished, replaced by this emotionless

he finally said, the words clipped and curt. “Why would I waste my time on something so… beneath me? The wedding

was an imprint where blood was flowing down his cheeks but he didn’t touch me, didn’t retaliate. He simply stared at me, the shock

stumbled back, putting some distance between us. “You are a bastard, Alex,” I choked out, my voice thick with emotion. “I should have listened to my father. I should have never trusted you. You are the worst mistake I ever

my voice barely above a sob. “A part of me still wants to make that mistake again. Why? What did I ever do to you? Why would

ragged rhythm of my breaths and the soft thud of a blood droplet hitting the carpeted floor. He held my gaze, his face an unreadable mask. The accusation

eternity, punctuated only by the frantic pounding of my heart and the shallow gasps for air that escaped my trembling lips. The anger that had fueled me moments ago began to ebb, replaced

finally whispered, “Please. Just say

of emotions that left me feeling utterly lost. Was it regret? Defiance? Or was it simply a

had once held for him,