Chapter 3

The sight of my clothes scattered on the floor and the familiar scent of his cologne brought back our old routine, reminding me of a time when we belonged to each other. It hurt knowing those days were gone.

“Alex, you’re not single. What would people think if they saw us together like this?”

Alex didn't even look bothered. “You think I got where I am today by living for other people’s approval?”

I stared at him, trying to understand how he could sound so unaffected after doing what he just did.

“That’s not the point. The point is that it’s been six years, Alex. Six years. You need to get over me.”

“Get over you?” Alex repeated, his expression clouded with refined frenzy. He looked hurt and extremely offended by the idea itself. “You really think this is because I couldn’t forget you?”

“Why are you doing this?” I asked, my voice quieter than I intended.

A slow smirk formed on Alex’s lips as his gaze darkened.

“Revenge.”

I trembled visibly as the word weighed in the silence.

“You think I’m here because I still want you?” he continued. “Because I’m holding onto some old feelings? No. This isn’t an obsession.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s me making you feel what I felt.”

I shook my head. “You don’t understand what happened.”

“No, you don’t understand.” His voice rose a little higher with each word. “You disappeared. You made me assume you were dead. You left me with nothing. No explanation. No goodbye. You just erased yourself like I meant nothing.”

My fingers tightened around the edge of his coat.

“That wasn’t what happened.”

“I want to know the truth.”

I wished I could tell him everything, tell him how much I’d suffered but I stayed silent because the truth was something I couldn’t give him. Not when it could destroy the life I had spent six years building.

“You don’t get to punish me for my past,” I said. “I’m not the same person anymore.”

His eyes narrowed. “Your past?”

“Yes.” I forced myself to meet his gaze. “The person you remember wasn’t the whole story.”

“And what story am I missing?”

The question carried more weight than he knew.

I looked away. “One where I had no choice.”

His expression shifted slightly, but his anger remained.

“No choice? You chose to leave me.”

“I chose to survive.”

The room went quiet.

“I was the daughter of a family you admired,” I said bitterly. “A family that looked perfect from the outside. But you never knew what it was like living inside it.”

His jaw tightened when I mentioned them.

“Even my own father wanted me gone from your life. Everyone wanted me to disappear, and I did exactly that.”

A flicker of something unreadable crossed his face, then it sharpened into shock.

He looked… caught off guard.

“What are you talking about?” he said slowly.

Did he not know?

Did he just happen to recognize me?

I studied him carefully, watching for the slightest confirmation that he already knew everything and came here for me. But there was nothing.

He just looked confused.

My stomach dropped.

No. That wasn’t possible.

A cold realization crept in under my skin.

I had slipped.

Alex exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his hair as if trying to reset himself. “I don’t have time for riddles or half-truths.”

His voice hardened again, but it wasn’t the same anger from before. This was different—focused, decisive.

“You’re coming with me.”

My breath caught. “What?”

“I said you’re leaving with me.”

He stepped closer, as the decision had already been made without me.

I shook my head immediately. “No.”

“This isn’t up for debate.”

Panic rose fast in my chest. “Alex, you don’t understand—”

“I understand enough.” His tone cut through me. “You’ve been running. Hiding. Lying. Whatever this mess is, it ends now.”

I took a step back, shaking my head harder. “You can’t just decide that.”

“I already have.”

The room suddenly felt smaller, the air heavier.

Every instinct in me screamed to get distance, to think, to affirm my own decisions and I did.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I said, firmer this time.

“I’m not asking,” he replied sharply.

My voice cracked despite my effort to hold it steady. “Please… just let me go.”

“This time, I will never let you go. And you must pay for everything you made me go through. Your body and soul now belong to me.”

His gaze traveled from my firm set lips to my determined gaze, meeting my glare head-on.

“Since we've come to an agreement, let's leave here.”

“Please stop bothering me. How do you think your wife will feel if she finds out that you're still very much obsessed with me?”

He ignored my question and spoke sternly.

“You’re leaving here with me, Nadia. Whether you like it or not.”

“It’s been six years.” I started and pointed a finger at his chest. “Six years since I decided to stop being just a sex toy to you and still you can't get over me.”

“You should have never met me then.” He glowered. “From now on, I won't just be your master, I’ll be the big bad monster you can't ever escape from.”

“I’m not leaving with you,” I said stubbornly.

“I already bought this restaurant.”

His words hung in the air, and I could feel the pressure crippling my mind.

No wonder James was acting strange.

The future suddenly became too bleak to hope for a peaceful life.

I knew there was nothing I would say that would change his mind but I still tried.

“Let me go, and I’ll disappear forever. You have your marriage to think about. Do you want to ruin it?”

“Yes. I will ruin everything to be with you.”

I blinked. Shocked for a second.

“It’s time to get over me, Alex. We are done.”

“We are not done.” He reacted, and his gaze travelled from my face to the rest of my body.

A faint, dangerous smile hung on his lips.

Without a word, he began to remove his belt.

My eyes widened when his pants and briefs dropped to join my clothes on the ground.

He’s so hard.

I didn't mean to look. I swear.

“What- what are you trying to do?” I stuttered, quickly looking away.

“Suck it.”

“What?” My gaze returned to him.

He flashed a devilish grin. “Go down on your knees and beg with your mouth. If I'm pleased, I’ll let you go.”

His smile captivated me, and before I realized it, he closed the distance and shoved me to my knees.

His eyes narrowed when I looked up at him.

Slowly, I took his cock inside my mouth.

Alex groaned the instant my warm mouth coated him.

The sound of pleasure made me jerk away.

Why did I even agree to give him a blow job?

But you haven't agreed yet.

I reminded myself internally.

Alex’s gaze lingered, studying every detail of my reaction. He watched my breathing change and the way I trembled before he finally moved.