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.

it took me by surprise. “Where are you going?” I

a bored undertone to his

out?” My voice rose in disbelief. “We’re in the

he continued, his tone dismissive. “And I’m not in the mood to continue talking 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

breath hitched. His words were a slap in the face. The anger that had been simmering within me erupted in

dangerous edge. My fists clenched

tightened, his features hardening into an emotionless mask. “You heard

Chapter 47

blow, the air knocked out of

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 had my wedding bombed! As if that wasn’t enough, you had to go after my father’s company! I ended up in jail for it, he’s still locked up, and they won’t even let me see him! And you dare stand there and pretend it’s all

indifference radiating from him that only fueled my anger further. It was as if the man I knew,

curt. “Why would I waste my time on something

slap. I slapped him. I hadn’t known my claws had extended and there was an imprint where blood was flowing down his cheeks but he didn’t touch me, didn’t retaliate. He simply stared at me,

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

know the worst part?” I whispered, my voice barely above a sob. “A part of me still wants to make that mistake again.

thud of a blood droplet hitting the carpeted floor. He held my gaze, his face an unreadable mask. The accusation hung

stalemate. Minutes stretched into an eternity, punctuated only by the frantic pounding of my heart and the shallow gasps

finally whispered, “Please. Just

held a depth I couldn’t decipher,il of emotions that left me feeling

consume me. The love I had once held for him, the dreams