CHAPTER 21: The Explosion

James showed up at the penthouse at midnight.

I woke to shouting. Loud, violent shouting from the living room.

"YOU FIRED ME? YOUR OWN SON?"

Alexander's voice, calm but firm. "You threatened Bella and my unborn child. What did you expect?"

"I EXPECTED MY FATHER TO HAVE MY BACK!"

I grabbed Alexander's robe and crept to the bedroom door, heart pounding.

"I gave you chance after chance, James. You wasted every single one."

"Wasted? I built half those client relationships! I closed the Singapore deal! I brought in millions!"

"You also sexually harassed three assistants, embezzled company funds for personal expenses, and leaked confidential information to competitors."

Silence.

Then: "You don't have proof of any of that."

"I have emails, bank records, and witness statements. I've been documenting everything for six months. I was hoping you'd straighten out. Instead, you threatened a pregnant woman."

"That PREGNANT WOMAN ruined my life!"

"No, James. You ruined your own life when you cheated on her repeatedly and treated her like garbage."

I heard something crash. A vase maybe.

"This is about HER, isn't it? You're choosing her over me. Your whore over your own blood!"

"ENOUGH!" Alexander's voice thundered. "You will not speak about Bella that way. Not in my home. Not anywhere."

"Your home? This was supposed to be MY home someday! My inheritance! MY company!"

"You're still my heir. The company will still be yours—"

"When you're DEAD? How generous! Meanwhile you're playing house with my ex-girlfriend, giving her my birthright, my family name!"

"She's carrying my child—"

"SO WAS MY MOTHER! And where is she now? Dead! Because being with you destroys people!"

The words hung in the air like poison.

"Get out." Alexander's voice was ice. "Now."

"No. Not until you see sense. Not until you realize this gold-digging slut is manipulating you!"

I couldn't stay hidden anymore. I stepped out of the bedroom.

Both men turned to look at me.

James's face twisted with rage. "There she is. The woman who destroyed my family."

"I didn't destroy anything," I said, my voice shaking but steady. "You did that all by yourself."

"By cheating? Please. Men cheat. It's biology. You were supposed to forgive me, marry me, and shut up about it."

"Excuse me?"

"That's how it works in our world, Bella. The wife looks the other way. She gets the name, the money, the lifestyle. Everyone's happy."

I stared at him in disbelief. "You actually believe that."

"It's how my mother lived. It's how Catherine lives. It's how every smart woman in Manhattan lives."

"Your mother is miserable," Alexander said quietly. "And she raised you to think treating women like property is acceptable."

"Better than treating them like equals!" James spat. "Look where that got you—knocked up by a bartender half your age who saw dollar signs!"

"I was a TEACHER," I snapped. "And I didn't trap anyone. Your father is with me because he wants to be."

"Wants to be? He's a 52-year-old man having a midlife crisis! In six months he'll wake up, realize his mistake, and you'll be discarded like all the others!"

"That's enough." Alexander moved between us. "James, leave. Now. Or I'm calling security."

"Security? In your own home? Against your own son?"

"Against an intruder making threats."

James laughed bitterly. "An intruder. That's what I am now. Because of HER."

He moved toward me suddenly. Alexander blocked him instantly.

"Don't," Alexander warned. "Don't even think about it."

"What? I wasn't going to hurt your precious girlfriend." James's smile was cruel. "I was just going to give her some advice."

"I don't want your advice," I said.

"Too bad. Here it is anyway: enjoy it while it lasts, Bella. The penthouse. The ring. The fantasy. Because sooner or later, my father always chooses family over outsiders. And you? You'll always be an outsider."

The words hit harder than I wanted to admit.

"We're done here." Alexander grabbed James's arm. "Out. Now."

James yanked free. "Fine. I'm going. But this isn't over, Dad. You want to fire me? Disinherit me? Choose her over me? Go ahead. But you'll regret it."

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise." James looked at me one last time. "See you at the wedding, Bella. Oh wait—there won't BE a wedding. He'll come to his senses before then."

He stormed out, slamming the door so hard the whole penthouse shook.

Silence.

Alexander turned to me. "Are you okay?"

"No," I whispered. "No, I'm not."

Because despite everything—despite Alexander's protection, despite the ring on my finger, despite the baby growing inside me—James's words had found their mark.

You'll always be an outsider.

What if he was right?

What if this whole thing—the engagement, the promises, the "falling in love"—was just Alexander's midlife crisis? A rebellion against his overbearing mother and disappointing son?

What if six months from now, he woke up and realized he'd made a terrible mistake?

"Bella." Alexander cupped my face. "Don't listen to him. He's lashing out because he's hurt and angry."

"But what if he's right? What if you're just—"

"I'm not." His eyes were intense. "This isn't a phase. You're not a mistake. And you are NOT an outsider."

"Your mother thinks I am. James thinks I am. Probably half of Manhattan thinks I am."

"I don't care what they think."

"But I do!" The words burst out of me. "I care that your family hates me. I care that we're destroying your relationship with your son. I care that—"

He kissed me.

Hard, desperate, silencing.

When he pulled back, his forehead rested against mine.

"You want to know what I care about?" he whispered. "I care that you're safe. That our baby is healthy. That you smile when you wake up in the morning. That's it. That's all that matters."

"Alexander—"

"James is my son, and I love him. But he's become someone I don't recognize. Someone cruel and entitled. And I won't sacrifice you to appease him."

My eyes filled with tears. "This is so messed up."

"I know."

"We're engaged because of a baby that was an accident."

"I know."

"Your family hates me."

"I know."

"And I'm falling in love with you, which makes everything worse."

The words were out before I could stop them.

Alexander went very still.

"Say that again," he whispered.

"I... I'm falling in love with you."

His smile was brilliant. Devastating.

"Good," he said. "Because I'm already there."

Then he was kissing me again, and I was kissing back, and nothing else mattered.

Not James. Not Catherine. Not the media or the scandal or the impossible situation.

Just this. Just us.

Just love.