Chapter 143

Daniel’s POV.

I sat in the back seat of my car, staring at the tall glass building in front of me. Christiana’s company. Her pride and joy. The place where she spent so much of her time building her dreams. She was probably in there right now, walking back and forth in her office, trying to figure out how to let me down gently

It wasn’t because my offer wasn’t good. It was perfect. It could benefit her in ways I knew she hadn’t even thought of yet. But I knew the real reason she would say no.

Alexander Alistair.

I felt my hands tighten into fists as I thought about him. That man was the reason Christiana held herself back. The reason she couldn’t fully move forward, not with me or anyone else. And it wasn’t fair.

He had abandoned her when she needed him the most. Left her completely alone while she was carrying his children, struggling to figure things out on her own. And now, just because he decided to show up again after all these years, he got to have a place in her life? Just like that?

It made me angry.

Christiana didn’t deserve that. She deserved someone who was going to stand by her no matter what. Someone who wouldn’t leave when things got tough.

She deserved me.

I let out a slow breath, leaning back against the seat. The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror but didn’t say anything. He could probably feel the tension radiating off me. Smart man to stay quiet.

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to calm myself down. Christiana didn’t she owed him something, probably because he was the father of her kids.

love Alex. I knew she didn’t. But she felt like

her way

softened when we eyes Still,

every time I saw her smile at me, I felt like she was trying to tell me something. The talked, the way she laughed more freely when it was just the two of us–it wasn’t just in my head. I knew she cared about me.

But she wouldn’t let herself show it. She was holding herself back because of Alex.

The thought of her choosing him, even out of some misplaced sense of duty, made my chest ache. She didn’t owe him anything. He was the one who had left her. He was the one who had turned his back on her when she needed someone most.

there, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how she’d looked earlier. The way she crossed her arms, as if she was trying to

and ran a

are we staying here for a while?” the

the block,” I replied, sitting

“Yes, sir.”

no idea how much she meant to me. Or maybe she did, but she didn’t know what

difficult. I wasn’t going to let

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Wed, Nov 27

Chapter 143

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a corner, caught sight of a delivery truck pulling away from the building. My flowers. A small smile

her that I was here. That I

leaned back in my seat, letting out another

needed to be patient. Christiana was worth

get

her what I already knew–that she deserved better. And I was the

into the glass of whiskey in my hand. The amber liquid swirled lazily, catching the light from the candles on the

drink. I was

Christiana.

was the reason I’d played Russian Roulette more times than I could count, risking my over and over just to get the money to face Alex. To show him that I wasn’t someone

life

took another sip of the whiskey, letting the burn settle in my throat. I wanted to feel it, wanted to feel something to drown out the ache in my chest. But

care for me. I saw it in her eyes, in the way

clenched my jaw. Alexander fucking

knowing that she was carrying his child. Now, he was back,

near my table, smiling at me. I didn’t even need to hear what they had to say…I could already tell

one of them asked, her voice sweet and inviting,

even look at her. “Not tonight,” I muttered, my voice flat. I kept my gaze fixed on my glass, as if that

hand on the edge of the table, trying to draw me in with her touch. “Oh, come on. You look like you could use some company. Let

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