Chapter 4

The door had barely clicked shut behind me when Alexander’s voice sliced through the silence causing me flinch where I stood.

“Noah.”

I froze mid-step, one hand still on the handle of the door as he pushed it open. 

He stood in the doorway, filling it completely, shoulders rigid, jaw locked, eyes burning with something darker than just simple anger. 

The hallway light cast sharp shadows across his face, making him look every inch the ruthless billionaire he was. 

I forced a smirk, even though my palms were sweating buckets and it felt like my knees were about to buckle from here. “What? Can’t a guy admire the decor?”

Alexander stepped inside and closed the door behind him with a soft, final click. The lock engaged automatically. 

The sound echoed like a gunshot in the quiet room.

“What are you doing here Noah?” His eyes searched my face for answers I couldn't verbally give. 

“As I said, I'm just enjoying-” I motion to the room around me “-the decor” 

Even I, couldn't believe myself, but I had to play the part. As much as I try to act indifferent to the way Alex treats me, I much proffered being on his good side. 

“Out. Now.” 

His voice was low, controlled, but I heard the fury underneath. It sent a dangerous thrill down my spine.

I didn’t move. Instead, I glanced around the office like I had all the time in the world.

 Dark mahogany desks, wall of monitors showing stock tickers and security feeds. Built-in shelves lined with leather-bound books and what looked like confidential files. 

And on the corner of the desk, that framed photo turned away from the door. The one I’d been reaching for.

“Nice setup,” I said, strolling deeper into the room just to watch his eyes narrow. “Very ‘evil overlord.’ If fits you perfectly.”

He moved fast. Much faster than I expected for a man who spent his days hauled up in boardrooms. 

One second he was by the door, the next he was right in front of me, grabbing my arm and spinning me toward him.

My back hit the edge of the desk. Papers scattered, while a pen clattered to the floor.

“I said out,” he growled, grip tight on my bicep. Not bruising, but unyielding. His body crowded mine, heat pouring off him in waves. Up close, I could see the faint lines of exhaustion around his eyes, the way his chest rose and fell a little too quickly.

Something twisted low in my belly. Not fear. Not exactly.

I lifted my chin, defiant. “Or what? You’ll spank me and send me to bed without dinner? Newsflash, Sterling, I’m not your kid.”

His eyes darkened. The air between us thickened, charged like the moment before a storm broke. 

His free hand came up, bracing on the desk beside my hip, caging me in. Our faces were inches apart. I could smell his cologne mixed with the faint scent of coffee from breakfast.

“You have no idea how close you are to losing everything,” he said, voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “This room is off-limits for a reason. Everything in here is private. My business and my personal affairs do not concern you. You don’t get to snoop just because you’re pissed off at the world.”

I laughed, but it came out shaky. “Personal? Like what? Your dirty little secrets? Or maybe something about my brother you don’t want me seeing?”

His grip tightened for a split second. Then he released me like I’d burned him, stepping back just enough to put a sliver of space between us. But he didn’t move away completely. His eyes flicked to the photo on the desk, then back to me.

“Leave it alone, Noah.”

The warning in his tone made my skin prickle. 

There it was again, that flash of something raw behind the icy exterior he always showed the world. 

I didn’t know if it was guilt or fear? But whatever it was, it made him look almost… human.

I rubbed my arm where he’d held me, the skin still tingling with the phantom of his touch. “You know, for someone who’s supposed to be my ‘guardian,’ you sure like putting your hands on me.”

His jaw clenched so hard I heard the grind of teeth. “Don’t push this, Noah.”

But I was already pushing. I reached behind me, fingers brushing the edge of the photo frame before he could stop me. 

I flipped it around.

It was them—Alexander and my brother, when they were much younger, laughing hard in some beach bar, arms slung around each other like they owned the world. 

My brother’s grin was wide and reckless, the same one I used to tease him about. Alexander looked… lighter. Happier. Like the weight of his empire hadn’t crushed him yet.

My chest tightened. Grief hit me sideways, sharp and unexpected.

Alexander snatched the frame from my hand and set it face-down on the desk with a thud.

“That's enough.”

I swallowed hard, the smirk long gone. “He trusted you. And now you’re locking me in this fancy prison because of some bullshit clause he wrote when he was probably drunk or scared or—”

“Stop.” Alexander’s hand shot out, not grabbing me this time, but hovering like he wanted to. His fingers curled into a fist instead. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. The deal that killed him… it was complicated and dangerous. I tried to warn him but you know how your brother is.”

My blood ran hot. “Warn him? Or help set it up?”

The accusation hung heavy in the air.

Alexander went very still. For a heartbeat, the mask slipped completely and revealed…Pain. Raw, real pain. It flashed across his face before he locked it down. But I saw it. 

And it did something to me I rather graciously ignored. 

He exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair. “Get out of my office, Noah. Now. Or I swear I’ll make the next eleven months hell for both of us.”

I wanted to argue or demand answers about the photo, about the files I’d glimpsed on his desk with my brother’s company name on them. But the look in his eyes stopped me cold. 

It wasnt anger or irritation. It was something heavier and it made the fight drain out of me for just a second.

“Fine,” I muttered, brushing past him toward the door. Our shoulders collided but neither of us apologized.

I was halfway down the hall when his voice followed me, low and edged with warning.

“And Noah? Next time you disobey a direct order, there won’t be a conversation. There will only be consequences.”

I didn’t turn around. Didn’t give him the satisfaction.

But as I slammed my bedroom door behind me, heart still racing, I couldn’t shake the image of that photo. Or the way Alexander had looked at me when he thought I wasn’t watching – like he was drowning in something he couldn’t control.

And worse?

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to run from it… or drag him under with me.