Chapter 9-I’m so dead

After spending the evening with her grandfather on the phone and putting the twins to bed, Alita slowly walked into her bedroom.

She smiled as she remembered Andrea and Andria arguing over who their grandfather loved more.

“They’re impossible,” she whispered with a tired laugh.

She closed the bedroom door behind her.

With a long sigh, she removed her blazer and placed it over a chair.

Her shoulders finally relaxed.

For the first time all day…

She was alone.

Or so she thought.

A strange feeling suddenly crept over her.

Someone was watching her.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

Alita spun around, her breath hitching in her throat.

Standing in the shadows of her room was a man every powerful family in the world knew.

Tall.

Broad-shouldered.

He looked less like a man and more like a sculpted god.

His face was breathtakingly handsome, with sharp, chiseled features and a jawline that looked as though it had been carved from marble.

Piercing ocean-blue eyes stared directly at her, cold enough to freeze anyone in place.

He wore a perfectly tailored black tuxedo.

His suit jacket hung open, while the top buttons of his dress shirt were undone, revealing the powerful build beneath.

An overwhelming aura of authority surrounded him.

It was impossible not to recognize him.

Xavier Dante.

CEO of the Dante Group.

Head of the prestigious Dante family.

One of the youngest and most powerful billionaires in the world.

A ruthless businessman whose name alone made billionaires think twice before crossing him.

Cold.

Merciless.

Untouchable.

The media called him the Devil of the Corporate World.

His rivals called him a monster.

His employees feared him.

Despite his fame, he rarely appeared in public, making every photograph and every appearance international headlines.

Alita had seen him countless times in magazines, newspapers, and business reports over the years.

She had never spoken to him.

Never stood this close to him.

And she certainly never imagined finding him standing inside her bedroom.

“The… fuck…” she muttered as she quickly covered her exposed cleavage from the piercing gaze of his ocean pools deep eyes that seemed to see right through her.

He slowly began walking toward her.

Each step was calm.

Unhurried.

Like a predator that already knew its prey had nowhere left to run.

Her heart pounded against her ribs.

“Mr… Mr. Dante?” she whispered, instinctively taking a step back.

“What… how did you get into my house?”

“What are you doing in my room?”

Xavier’s piercing blue eyes locked onto hers, a slow smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

“You barged into my room just like this… six years ago.”

Alita’s breath caught.

Her eyes searched his face again.

The sharp jawline.

Those piercing blue eyes.

The commanding aura that seemed to fill the entire room.

Then, without warning, Andrea and Andria’s faces flashed through her mind.

She could swear she saw the same features…

The same eyes.

The same expression.

Her heart skipped a beat.

No…

It can’t be…

Of all the men in the world…

It couldn’t possibly be him.

She shook her head slightly, trying to push the terrifying thought away.

No… it just can’t.

“You think you can just disappear without a trace after what happened that night?”

Before Alita could react, Xavier closed the distance between them.

His hands pinned her wrists above her head, his piercing blue eyes locking onto hers.

“W-What do you mean?” she stuttered, her heart pounding wildly against her ribs.

A dark smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

“What do I mean?” he echoed, his deep voice laced with disbelief.

“Are you seriously asking me that, woman?”

He leaned in until only a breath separated them. The familiar scent of sandalwood, rain, and expensive cologne wrapped around her, dragging buried memories to the surface.

'Yes... harder, baby... Fuck me... yes her eyes widened as her words from that night echoed in her head.

"Its really him" she mumbled .

“Let me go" she demanded stubbornly as she tried breaking through from his hold. "And where do you think you're going woman?

"Don't you think you've run enough?" He sneered

“Do you even understand the consequences of what you did?”

Alita gulped.

His piercing blue eyes held hers captive.

“You didn’t just barge into my room that night,” he said, his voice dark and dangerously calm. “You disappeared… carrying my children.”

His grip tightened around her wrists.

“Six years, Alita.”

“Six years you kept my son… my daughter… away from me.”

He took another step forward until her back was pressed firmly against the wall.

“And you actually believed I would let you disappear again?”

A cold laugh escaped his lips.

“No one crosses Xavier Dante… and walks away untouched.”

He lowered his head until their faces were only inches apart.

“Especially not the woman who belongs to me.”

A possessive smirk curved his lips.

“You stole six years that should have been mine.”

“Six years of watching my children grow.”

“Six years of a life that belonged to us.”

His gaze swept over her face before settling back on her eyes.

“Do you really think I’m letting you run a second time?”

He shook his head slowly.

“Never.”

His voice dropped into a dangerous whisper.

“Not without being punished.”

His warm breath brushed against her cheek as he watched her chest rise and fall.

“So tell me, tigress…” he murmured, the smirk never leaving his face.

“How do you want to be punished?”

Alita’s heart raced wildly, but she forced herself to stay calm.

Don’t let him get into your head.

You’re not that naive girl anymore.

She glared at the infuriating smirk on his face.

I swear… I’m going to wipe that smile off your face, she thought.

Then an idea flashed through her mind.

A slow smile spread across her lips.

Xavier frowned.

“What’s so—”

Thud!

Her knee shot upward to his groin with all the strength she had.

Xavier’s eyes widened.

The arrogant smirk vanished instantly.

His grip loosened as he doubled over in pain.

Alita didn’t waste a second.

She slipped free and sprinted out of the room.

“I’m so dead…” she muttered as she ran.

But despite everything…

She couldn’t stop the tiny, victorious smile that crept onto her face.