Chapter Five

Jacqueline's POV

Alex ended the call in an instant. An emotion I couldn’t decipher crossed his face. It was gone before I could make meaning of it.

“What was that all about?” I asked, trying my best to stop my shock from showing in my voice. My heart was beating rapidly in my chest as I tightened my fingers to calm my nerves.

Alex completely ignored my question and looked at the mess of pie and broken glass on the floor. He let out a sigh as he tucked his hands into his dress pants.

“I asked you a question,” I repeated, my voice raising slightly. I was failing miserably at staying calm.

“You don’t get to ask questions, little Jackie,” he replied casually, like I didn’t just overhear him plotting against me.

“Yes I do. Not when you want to take everything from me.” My chest heaved with anger. First Janelle and now Alex. I won’t put up with that, and to think he acted like he wanted to help me. I can’t believe I fell for that.

Alex had bullied me for years and had shown me no sign of good intent. I should have known it was all a hoax to begin with.

“Messing up my kitchen wasn’t bad enough, you eavesdrop on my conversation and drop a tray of pie on my expensive marble floor,” he seethed, and with every sentence he took a step closer to me.

Now he was standing on broken glass spread across the floor. He was merely inches away from me.

“You signed the contract, little Jackie.” With the last step he was standing directly in front of me. I stared blankly at his chest.

“I’ll let everything that happened today go, just this once.” He bent down to get to my eye level.

Alex tilted his head and brought his lips to my ear. “Ten cuidado, pequeña Jackie,” he whispered softly.

I tensed at his closeness. And with that he left me to calm down my beating heart.

What the hell just happened?

Everything about him screams danger. Warning bells are going off in my head, but at the same time there is this strange feeling of safety.

He wouldn’t do anything, I think. He was probably talking about someone else. He has an array of businesses and companies spanning different countries. He was possibly talking about one of them. Only God knows the kind of shady deals he has his hands in.

I still need to tell Jayden about this though, to be on the safer side. I looked at the splattered pie and broken glass that littered the marble floor. This has to be cleaned. I’ll do that after talking to Jayden.

I rushed back into my room and picked up my phone.

I called Jayden and he picked up almost immediately.

“Hey babe,” Jayden said over the phone.

“How are you?” His smooth voice came through the line.

“I don’t know how to feel,” I sighed as I sat on the bed.

“I overheard Alex having a sketchy conversation and I confronted him about it, but he didn’t give me a meaningful reply,” I rambled out.

“I never liked that Alex guy to start with. He always has something up his sleeve,” Jayden seethed. His anger was evident in his voice.

“I wish I could help you, babe, but I can’t,” he continued.

“I can’t wait for you to get your inheritance so I can teach everyone that has ever wronged you a lesson,” Jayden said.

He has always shown interest in my inheritance, but recently he has been more concerned about it. Always asking questions and wanting to know about it.

It’s because he doesn’t want me to be treated badly anymore.

“Me too,” I sighed in reply. We continued talking.

We spoke for so long that I completely lost track of time and had to end the call.

I spent so long talking to Jayden that I completely forgot about the mess I had made when I dropped the tray.

I rushed back down only to find the marble floor spotless, with no sign of smeared pie or broken glass.

Did Alex clean up the place?

He is the only one in the house other than me. But why would he?

It was my mess to clean. If I hadn’t spent so much time talking to Jayden I would have done it myself. I have to thank Alex for helping me.

I walked around the house looking for him, opening random doors because I had no idea where he was.

I was about to give up when I opened a door at the far end of the hallway and saw him.

Alex’s face was buried deep in a book. He was so lost in it that he didn’t hear me come in. I had never seen him like this before. I would have expected him to spend his leisure time torturing someone or burning down a building or something.

Looking at him now, he looked more human and less of a maniac.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” He dropped the book and gave me a mock smirk.

Heat rose to my cheeks. He had caught me checking him out. I would never hear the end of this.

“I wanted to thank you for helping me clean up,” I blurted out.

“I don’t clean up people’s messes. I called in helpers to do that,” he said as he stood up.

His shirt was unbuttoned, leaving his inked chest bare. I swallowed hard.

“O…okay. I’ll take my leave then,” I stuttered. He gave me a haughty smirk. I didn’t wait for his reply because I knew it wouldn’t be anything good.

I walked quickly back to my room. What was I even thinking, going out looking for him? Of course he has multiple helpers and workers working around the clock to handle cleaning for him. I had just embarrassed myself big time.

I slept face down on my bed and pressed my face into my pillow to muffle my scream of frustration.

My phone notification dinged. I sat up and picked up my phone.

I clicked it.

“Billionaire Alexander Ellias and his mystery girlfriend spotted arriving at his Madonna villa,” read boldly across my screen, and under it was a picture.

A girl walking through the entrance, traveling bag in hand. Her face was hidden. Alex beside her, his face and tattoos clear as day.

My stomach hit the floor. That was me. But my face wasn’t showing. But someone out there already knew exactly where I was living. And it was only a matter of time before they figured out who I was.