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CHAPTER 3
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2026-02-08 13:32:18Althea's POV
Latest chapter
Will you marry me, Mr. Mayor CHAPTER 69
Althea’s POVFor a long moment after Alexander said the word together, no one in the vault spoke.Maybe it was because everyone understood that the note Celeste had read was not only another piece of evidence. It was something more personal than that, more frightening too, because it proved Leonardo Dale had not only feared documents, witnesses, and old recordings. He had feared memory. He had feared what Alexander and I might become if the broken pieces inside us ever found their way back to each other.Together, they remember too much.The sentence stayed in my mind as I stood beside Alexander, his hand warm around mine, his lips still faintly pressed to my knuckles before he slowly lowered our joined hands between us. Around us, officers continued photographing files, sealing evidence bags, and cataloging the contents of the hidden archive, but even their careful movements sounded distant.I looked up at Alexander and found him already watching me.Not with fear this time.Not even
Will you marry me, Mr. Mayor CHAPTER 68
Althea’s POVLeonardo Dale’s smile remained in place, but after I spoke, something behind his eyes shifted.It was not fear, not yet. Men like him did not give fear away so easily. It was irritation first, a small crack in the polished surface of his confidence, as if he had expected us to arrive angry, reckless, and easy to dismiss, but not with a warrant in Celeste’s hand, Director Reyes at our side, and Alexander standing beside me with the kind of calm that made even silence feel like authority.“Buried records?” Leonardo repeated, his voice smooth enough for the employees in the lobby to hear. “Mrs. Winston, that sounds rather dramatic for a foundation office.”I smiled politely. “I’ve learned that dramatic things often happen in very clean buildings.”A faint sound came from Shaun behind me, but he covered it with a cough.Alexander’s fingers tightened around mine, and though he did not look at me, I felt the approval in that small touch. It warmed me more than it should have, e
Will you marry me, Mr. Mayor CHAPTER 67
Althea’s POVBy the time the sun fully rose, the hospital hallway had become strangely peaceful, even though nothing about our situation was truly peaceful.Rina Mendoza was inside Paolo’s room with Celeste, Director Reyes, and one of the court officers Governor Alcantara had sent to formalize her sworn statement as quickly and quietly as possible. Joel sat beside his sleeping son, one hand resting on Paolo’s blanket as if even sleep could not convince him his child was safe. Outside the room, two Bailey guards and two of Alexander’s trusted men stood watch, and Shaun had already arranged for the family to be moved to a secure location once Dr. Mira confirmed Paolo was well enough to travel.I stood near the window with Alexander, or Alex, though the name still felt too tender to say carelessly.He had gone quiet after I called him that. Not distant, not cold, but quiet in a way that made me think the name had opened a part of him he had kept locked for years. Every now and then, his
Will you marry me, Mr. Mayor CHAPTER 66
Althea’s POVWe reached the hospital before dawn.The sky outside was still dark, the kind of darkness that felt thinner because morning was already somewhere behind it, waiting to break through. But inside the car, with Alexander beside me and Shaun in the front seat speaking quietly into his phone, everything still felt trapped in the night we had not escaped from. My hands were cold even though Alexander’s fingers were wrapped around mine, and every time I closed my eyes, I saw Rina Mendoza standing beside Paolo’s hospital bed, crying with relief, unaware that the danger around her son had not begun at the river last night.Or maybe she had known.Maybe that was worse.Alexander had not let go of my hand since we left the station. He didn’t speak much, but his thumb moved slowly over my knuckles, the same steady rhythm he used whenever he knew I was trying not to fall apart in front of everyone. I hated that he knew me that well already, but I also leaned into it more than I wanted
Will you marry me, Mr. Mayor CHAPTER 65
Althea’s POVFor a few seconds after Kuya Adam spoke, no one in the study moved.The words seemed too heavy for the room, too large for the quiet space where only moments ago Alexander’s arm had been around my waist and his lips had still felt warm against mine. I had thought Leonardo Dale was already the center of it all, the man behind the accident, the forged permits, the warehouse fire, the river trap, and the slow destruction of the Winston name. But now Marina was saying there was someone above him, someone powerful enough to make a man like Leonardo look like only another hand moving across the board.Alexander’s face had gone cold again, but this time, I could feel the tension in him before I even looked. His hand was still at my waist, not holding me too tightly, but enough for me to know that whatever softness had been between us moments ago had not disappeared completely. It had only been covered, the way a blade could be covered with silk and still remain sharp underneath.
Will you marry me, Mr. Mayor CHAPTER 64
Althea’s POVWe returned to the mansion just before midnight, carrying Emilio Vargas’s confession like something fragile and dangerous.No one said it that way, but I could feel it the moment we entered the study. The entire house seemed to change around the truth he had finally spoken. Before, everything had been suspicion, old pain, missing records, half-buried names, and memories that returned only in pieces. Now, for the first time, someone who had been there had said it clearly.Leonardo Dale ordered my accident.Leonardo Dale ordered Thomas Winston silenced.And Emilio Vargas, the man Alexander’s father had trusted, had helped bury both truths for twelve years.Alexander was quiet beside me as Celeste reviewed the recorded statement on her tablet. He had been quiet the entire ride home, though his hand never left mine. It was not the peaceful kind of quiet, not the teasing silence he sometimes used before saying something that made my face warm. This was heavier. This was
Will you marry me, Mr. Mayor CHAPTER 62
Althea’s POVThe silence after Leonardo ended the call felt different from the silences that had followed every other threat.Before, silence had felt like fear, like everyone was waiting for the next explosion, the next gunshot, the next old memory dragged from the dark. This time, the sile
Will you marry me, Mr. Mayor CHAPTER 60
Alexander’s POVAlthea was shaking in my arms, but she did not pull away.Even with my suit soaked from the river, even with the cold water dripping from my hair onto the smooth fabric of her gown, even with people shouting around us and security dragging Emilio Vargas away from the pavilion, she h
Will you marry me, Mr. Mayor CHAPTER 59
Althea’s POVFor a moment, the music, the lights, and the low hum of expensive conversation around us disappeared.All I could see was Nico’s message on my phone.Recovered partial audio from box. Leonardo planned second river event. Gala may be distraction. Check east exit guest list. Name: Emilio
Will you marry me, Mr. Mayor CHAPTER 58
Althea’s POVBy the next evening, the Bailey mansion no longer felt like it was recovering from an attack. It felt like it was preparing to answer one.There was no panic in the halls, no loud instructions, no visible disorder. That was how I knew my family was truly serious. When Baileys were mere
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