CHAPTER 4 ~ COLLISION

MAXIMILIAN’S POV

I sat quietly and watched the beautiful woman hold the warm teacup between her shaking hands. She took another slow sip of the hot chamomile tea. The steam rose from the white ceramic cup and warmed her pale cheeks. She lowered the teacup and set it down carefully on the silver tray resting on our wooden table. She pulled my large, dry suit jacket tighter around her wet shoulders and looked directly into my eyes.

"My name is Alexandra Petrov," she said, her voice sounding completely exhausted and hoarse from crying in the freezing winter rain outside. "I am a data analytics intern. Today was supposed to be my two-year anniversary with my boyfriend, David."

"Tell me exactly what David did to you tonight, Alexandra," I instructed her softly. I leaned my tall body forward and rested my forearms on the edge of the dark wooden table to show her I was giving her my complete attention.

Alexandra took a deep breath and looked down at her wet leather boots. She began to speak very slowly. She told me the entire story from the very beginning. She explained how she asked her manager for an early dismissal from her office. She told me about buying a large custom vanilla cake and twenty-four red roses to surprise him.

She described walking into their shared apartment and finding the hallway lights completely turned on. She stopped speaking for a few seconds and wiped a fresh tear away from her cheek using the edge of the thick white towel.

"I walked down the hallway and pushed the bedroom door open," Alexandra continued, her voice breaking slightly. "I found David completely naked in our bed. He was not alone in the room. He was sleeping with my older sister, Chloe."

I felt a massive surge of violent anger erupt inside my chest. I tightened my large hands into tight fists underneath the wooden table, but I kept my facial expression completely calm and neutral. I did not want my intense anger to frighten her while she was feeling so vulnerable.

I made a silent vow inside my head at that exact moment. I was going to find out exactly where David worked, and I was going to use my massive financial resources to completely destroy his career and his entire life.

"That is incredibly cruel," I stated in a deep, steady voice. "No woman should ever have to see her partner committing that kind of betrayal, especially with her own family member."

Alexandra nodded her head slowly and picked up her teacup again. "It gets much worse than just the physical cheating, Maximilian. David always insisted on turning every single lamp off whenever we were intimate together. I always thought he simply preferred the dark because he was traditional. But tonight, the bedroom lights were blazing bright. I heard the exact words he said to my sister."

"What did he say to her?" I asked, keeping my voice very quiet.

Alexandra looked directly at me. Her brown eyes were filled with deep humiliation. "He told my sister that my heavy thighs make him lose his appetite. He explicitly complained about my thick curves. He told her that he only turns the lights off because he is completely disgusted by my fat body and he does not want to look at me."

The violent rage inside my chest multiplied instantly. I wanted to leave the hotel, find her apartment, and physically punish David for speaking to her in such a horrific manner.

I looked directly at Alexandra's soft, gorgeous face and her beautiful, plump body hidden underneath my large suit jacket. I could not understand how any sane man could look at her generous curves and feel anything other than pure obsession.

"David is a completely blind, pathetic fool," I said firmly, ensuring my deep voice carried absolute certainty. I reached my large hand across the wooden table and gently placed my fingers over her shaking hands. "You need to listen to me very carefully right now, Alexandra. There is absolutely nothing wrong with your physical appearance. Your thick thighs and your soft stomach are absolutely gorgeous. You have a beautiful, incredibly attractive, curvy body. You should never allow any man to hide you in the dark ever again."

Alexandra stared at me in complete shock. Her mouth opened slightly, and a dark pink blush quickly spread across her cheeks.

It was incredibly obvious to me that no man had ever offered her genuine, explicit physical praise before tonight. She looked down at our touching hands and let out a long, shaky breath.

"You are just saying those nice things because you feel sorry for me," Alexandra whispered softly, pulling her hands away from my grip and wrapping her arms around her heavy chest. "I know I need to lose weight. I know my body is too large."

"I never say things I do not mean, and I do not feel sorry for you. I think you are a beautiful woman who survived a terrible betrayal," I replied honestly. I pulled my cell phone out of my front pants pocket and unlocked the digital screen. "You cannot walk back out into the pouring rain tonight. You are going to get incredibly sick from the freezing temperatures, and you clearly cannot return to your apartment."

"I do not have enough money to rent a room in this luxury hotel," Alexandra protested immediately. She leaned forward and shook her head. "I am just a data intern. I cannot afford these expensive prices. I will just wait here until the rain stops and then I will walk to the train station."

"You do not need to pay for anything, because I actually own this entire building, and I own the company you work for," I explained calmly. I ignored her shocked gasp and pressed the speed dial button for the front desk manager.

The manager answered the phone immediately. "Good evening, Mr. Volkov. How can I assist you tonight?"

"I need you to prepare the top floor luxury penthouse suite immediately," I commanded through the phone, keeping my eyes entirely focused on Alexandra's beautiful face. "Send a female staff member to the suite with a collection of expensive bath oils, luxury soaps, and a soft sleeping gown that will perfectly fit a beautifully curvy woman. Ensure the room temperature is set to a warm setting."

"Yes, sir. It will be ready in exactly two minutes," the manager replied quickly before ending the call.

I placed my cell phone back into my pocket and stood up from the leather booth. I reached into my other pocket and pulled out a heavy golden room key. I walked around the wooden table and stood directly in front of Alexandra. I reached my hand down and gently brushed a wet strand of dark hair away from her soft, warm cheek. My fingers lingered against her skin for a few seconds because she felt incredibly soft.

"Take this golden key and ride the private elevator directly to the top floor," I instructed her softly, holding the heavy metal key out for her to take. "I want you to take a long, boiling hot bath using the luxury soaps my staff will provide for you. I want you to put on the warm sleeping gown, climb into the large bed, and get a full night of sleep. Do you understand my instructions, Alexandra?"

Alexandra looked up at me with wide, grateful eyes. She slowly reached out her hand and took the golden key from my fingers. "I understand your instructions, Maximilian. Thank you for doing all of this for me. But what is going to happen to me when I wake up tomorrow morning?"

I smiled gently, feeling my intense obsession for her settling deep into my bones. "When you wake up tomorrow morning, Alexandra, I am going to make sure your entire life looks completely different, and we are going to start by making sure your cruel ex-boyfriend loses absolutely everything he values."