Chapter Four-Do I have a choice?

The moment Alexander and Mira stepped out of the car, the attention began.

Several employees standing near the entrance turned toward them, and whispers spread before they had even reached the building. Some offered congratulations with bright smiles, while others watched them with undisguised curiosity. Mira caught a few employees exchanging looks, and she didn't need to hear their conversations to know she was the subject of them.

“She actually managed to have him all to herself. How selfish can someone be?”

“I pity Miss Rachael. Her boyfriend has been taken by this nuisance.”

Mira heard both comments clearly. She kept walking, refusing to give the speakers the satisfaction of seeing her react, but their words followed her all the way to the entrance. Three years suddenly seemed much longer than they had when she signed the contract.

Alexander, on the other hand, behaved as though nothing had happened. He walked beside her without acknowledging the stares or the congratulations, his attention fixed on the elevator ahead. Mira wondered if he had become so accustomed to being watched that he no longer noticed it, or if he simply didn't care what people thought.

The elevator doors opened, and they stepped inside. Even after the doors closed, Mira could almost feel the curiosity of the employees who had watched them enter.

“How do you cope with this much attention?” she asked. “You don't seem disturbed by any of it.”

Alexander turned his head toward her. “Curiosity kills the cat, Mira. Don't try to spark up any conversation between us.”

She pressed her lips together and looked at the illuminated floor numbers. There was no point trying to have a normal conversation with a man who treated every question as an invitation to cross a boundary. The elevator hummed as it carried them upward, and neither spoke again until Alexander broke the silence.

“What's my schedule for today?”

Mira immediately switched into work mode. “You have a meeting with the German investor, Mr. Tarkowski, at ten. At noon, there's a charity visit to Memorial High Hospital. After that, you'll need to work on the warehouse development plan for Belgium.”

She paused to check the notes on her phone before continuing. “I've cancelled the remaining appointments because you need time to choose your wedding suit.”

Alexander scoffed. “You're more eager about this wedding than I am.”

“Believe me, if your parents called it off right now, I'd be twice as happy as you are.”

He gave her a brief look, but the elevator doors opened before he could respond. They went their separate ways without another word, and Mira spent the morning making sure his meetings ran smoothly despite the attention their relationship had attracted.

By lunchtime, she had already received three messages from colleagues congratulating her on the engagement. She ignored them and focused on her work, refusing to let office gossip interfere with the responsibilities she had carried long before Alexander decided she was the woman he would marry.

When the afternoon meetings were over, Alexander called her into his office and told her they would be having dinner at his parents' house that evening.

“Instead of going to test out my suit, my parents expect us in their home this evening,” he explained while signing a document. “Be ready when I come to pick you up.”

Mira nodded. “All right.”

The rest of the afternoon passed in a steady stream of work. She arranged the files Alexander needed for the following day, responded to emails from the German investor's office, and reviewed the preliminary documents for the Belgium warehouse project.

She also updated his schedule, leaving enough room for the wedding preparations he had apparently decided were her responsibility.

By the time she finished, the office had begun to empty. Mira saved her work, packed her things, and went home to change, choosing not to waste time wondering what Alexander's parents wanted from the dinner. She had enough problems without inventing new ones.

Alexander arrived that evening with a garment bag.

“Wear this,” he said, handing it to her.

Mira unzipped the bag enough to see an elegant dress inside. It was expensive, understated, and clearly chosen with the dinner in mind. She looked from the dress to Alexander, wondering whether he had bought it for Benita before the arrangement changed.

“Do I have a choice?”

“You can wear whatever you like, but don't embarrass me in front of my parents.”

“Then perhaps you should have chosen something less likely to embarrass you.”

Alexander gave her a displeased look, but Mira had already taken the garment bag from him. She changed quickly, checked that everything was in place, and returned downstairs. Alexander said nothing about her appearance as they left, and Mira was content to keep the journey quiet.

His parents' house was already brightly lit when they arrived. A staff member led them into the dining room, where Alexander's father and mother were waiting. Mira's own father, Richard, sat beside Vanessa, who greeted her with a smile that looked perfectly pleasant to anyone who didn't know what lay behind it.

Mira returned the greeting and took the seat beside Alexander. She could feel Vanessa watching her, but she kept her attention on the table, where the meal had been arranged and the first conversation was already underway.

“We should settle the final wedding details tonight,” Alexander's mother said. “Three days isn't much time, but most of the arrangements are already in place.”

“Everything important has been taken care of,” Richard assured her. “There shouldn't be any problems.”

Mira picked up her glass. It was almost impressive how comfortably her father could discuss her wedding while pretending she had freely chosen it. She took a sip of water and let the others talk about the ceremony, the guests, and the arrangements for the reception.

Alexander's father eventually turned toward her. “Mira, how have you been feeling lately?”

She lowered her glass. “I'm fine, sir. Thank you for asking.”

He studied her for a moment, then frowned slightly. “Are you sure? You've lost quite a bit of weight. I don't think I've seen you this thin before, and it's only been about three weeks since we last met.”

Mira felt Vanessa's attention sharpen across the table. She kept her hands in her lap, searching for an answer that wouldn't invite further questions.

“Work has been keeping me busy,” she replied. “I've had a lot to handle lately, so I suppose I've been neglecting myself a little.”

“You should be careful,” Alexander's father advised. “Wedding preparations are stressful enough without you making yourself ill before the ceremony.”

“I'll take better care of myself,” Mira promised, hoping that would end the subject.

Alexander's mother, however, had been watching her with growing interest. She reached for her glass before speaking again, her tone light enough to make the question seem harmless.

“Speaking of taking care of yourself, Mira, I thought you'd be excited to see me tonight. I wanted to hear what you thought about our outing a few weeks ago. We had such a lovely time together, and I haven't had the chance to ask you about it since.”

Mira stopped moving.

“Our outing?” she repeated, careful to keep the confusion from showing too clearly.

“Yes, dear. The afternoon we spent shopping together. We visited that little boutique you liked so much, remember? You even helped me choose a handbag.” Alexander's mother smiled at the memory. “I remember you telling me that you wanted to go back there before the wedding.”

Mira stared at her, unable to find a single memory that matched the story. She had never gone shopping with Alexander's mother, nor had she visited a boutique with her in the weeks before the wedding.

That was when it hit Mira and she couldn't help but keep her head down as she muttered. “Fvck you, Benita.”

Across the table, Vanessa had gone very still.

Mira slowly set down her glass, suddenly aware that one wrong answer could unravel everything she had agreed to protect.

And then Alexander's mother asked, “You haven't forgotten about it already, have you, Mira?”