Chapter Twenty-five

Alina’s POV

Sebastian stormed out without me.

He left me standing there in front of his father and I wanted to cower and hide from the man’s glaring eyes and I could hear my breath coming out heavily through my nose. But my pride didn't let me. But eventually,  just when I wanted to turn away slowly, he stopped me.

“We need to talk.” There was still anger in his voice  but he wasn't yelling now. The anger that had been in his eyes before was gone and replaced with an odd sense of calm as if he understood something about what I was feeling.

I was confused by his statement for a few seconds.

“How much?” He asked . His words were calm and quiet but there was a certain intensity in them that made me look up at him again. He seemed like a person who didn’t get impatient very often.

“Huh?”My brow furrowed as I tried to process his question. Did he want to know how much this situation meant to me or did he want to know where we stood now?

“How much do you need to stay away from my son? To leave this family? I know you have enough money already. Maybe I'll try this, if you leave my son, you get one of your biggest partners back, how do you see that?”  He sounded so sure of himself it felt like he expected me to say yes. Or else I'd be kicked out of the house. I guess he saw it as a sort of bargaining chip in terms of getting a partner back.

“You should be discussing this with your son and not me,”  I answered in a small voice. I had no idea where this conversation was going but whatever the outcome of this would be, I had no intention of making him angry by answering too truthfully.

“That's fair,” he nodded. “But I still want to hear you say it.” He looked at me with a serious expression. It seemed like I was being evaluated, assessed by this man for something.

I wanted my biggest partner back, it would make Charles so happy, it would let him know that truly I could handle myself. He would trust in me again but I didn't have a say in this.

Sebastian called the shots and I was just  along for the ride. So far, this hasn't turned out well for me.  It would only take one word from me and he'd get rid of me.

“Speak to your son.”  I said, quietly.

The older Mr Wolfe burst into laughter  but it didn't last long as he stared at me with a dark expression on his face and I couldn’t really tell what exactly was going on in his head. “You feel free because those photos barely caused harm to your brand right? What if I tell you that you are playing with fire now and you might burn yourself alive?” The threat was clear in his voice as if he wanted to kill me just by speaking the words ‘burn yourself alive’ aloud.

I swallowed hard but kept my tone even. “Are you threatening me?” It was more a rhetorical question than a genuine statement.

He shook his head. “No. I'm giving you a choice here.” he paused for a moment.  “Call it whatever you want but if there are more evidence about your slut phase, your past life. Do you think everything your grandfather built will still stand? Do you think he would forgive you if all his hard work came down in ruins?” He paused again, staring at me.

I didn't want to believe him so badly,  it hurt me, but he was right. Those photos on social media that were now deleted were proof enough about my past.  There was nothing I could do to change anything, it was just the way things were now. I could always call and beg forgiveness for all my sins, but that was just it.

“Why are you doing this?”  I found myself asking after a while.

His lips curled into a sneer, “Because Sebastian is my son” his voice had become harsh as if I wasn't worth a second thought. “Because I worked so hard to get him where he is, he also worked hard. I can't let everything we have get dragged into filth because of one silly decision. You are filth Alina, it doesn't matter the amount of money you have or the designers you wear. You're tainted and you don't deserve my son.”

“I’m sorry Mr Fitzgerald, but I am not tainted.” I stated simply, ignoring the first part of the sentence. I knew how important the word 'filthy' was, it was important to people.

His lips curled into a smirk but he didn't speak for a moment so I continued.

“I will admit that I may have made some mistakes while I lived in the past. I have done my best not to repeat those mistakes again. And I swear to God, I won't hurt anyone. Please understand. This isn't my decision, heck I don't even want to be here. But coming for what my grandfather has worked for is where I draw the line Mr Wolfe. And I will never betray him and this legacy he has built for me.” I raised my chin defiantly.

His mouth opened slightly then closed again, and his eyes searched mine for any signs of lying. He must have found none because he smiled again.

“Good. I was thinking of letting you go anyway, I have other ideas to do with you.”

“What kind of ideas?”  Was the only thing I dared to ask.

Mr Wolfe grinned evilly before turning away and walking towards the door.

“I'm sure you will find out soon enough.” and with these words he walked out of the room leaving me standing alone in front of the large living room trying to comprehend everything that had happened today.