CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR

ALEX

I couldn’t remember the last time I had been this humiliated.

Every step I took on that walk home only fueled the fire in my chest. My hands were clenched in my pockets, my teeth grinding so hard I thought they might break. The gravel crunched beneath my feet, but all I could hear was Lucian’s voice echoing in my head… the look on his smug face as he stood there like a goddamn savior beside my son.

I should’ve stayed in that damn cell. At least in there, I still had my pride.

Now, I had nothing.

Lucian had thrown me a bone, and I’d been forced to take it — right in front of Essence. In front of Asher. My own son, looking at that man like he was some kind of hero. I wanted to scream. I wanted to hit something. I wanted to rip that memory out of my head and burn it.

When I finally got home, I slammed the door and paced like a caged animal. Up and down, hands in fists, heart in my throat. That bastard had the audacity to stand there—smiling—like he owned the world. Like