All Chapters of Redeeming Alessandre: Claiming the Billionaire ice Queen : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

ALESSANDREThe headline hit me like a slap before I’d even so much as got out of bed.“Ice Queen Wren Storms Out: Trouble Already for Power Couple?”For fucks sake, didn’t this people have anything better to do?I tossed my phone onto the couch with an exaggerated huff.Charlotte burst through the door a full ten seconds later, her tablet in hand, flapping it around like a distressed bird. “Do you have any idea how disastrous this looks?”“I simply walked out of a dinner,” I replied, trying to sound unfazed.“You didn’t just walk out—you stormed out—and in front of the fucking paparazzi, Ophelia!” she exclaimed. “Now the entire internet thinks you slapped him.”“Honestly, should’ve done it,” I muttered under my breath.“Jesus Christ,” she exclaimed, pacing back and forth across the room like a caged tiger. “We’ve just begun to stitch together your public image. Now they’re saying you’ve got ‘cold feet’ and that he’s merely a placeholder for something better.”“Is he not, though?” I sh

OPHELIA"Don’t open your phone."Charlotte’s voice was tight and laced with urgency, but by the time her warning reached me, it was too late.Because I already had.The screen lit up before me with a flood of notifications.THE WREN FILES: Inside the Forbidden Affair That Blew Regent Wide Open by Anonymous Contributor (Former Insider)I stared at the eye-catching headline, my heart racing as the rest of the screen came into sharp focus. Dozens of furious reposts bombarded my feed, thousands of comments swirling like a tempest around me.And the photos. They were old photos I thought I’d discarded long ago.There I was, in a crisp lab coat, an eager smile on my face, while Alessandre hovered just a bit too close behind me, his presence a shadow. A clear selfie from a sun-drenched company retreat in Santorini popped up, the azure sea shimmering in the background.Then, a grainy image captured us intertwined, hands clasped tightly in the dim, leather-clad interior of a black car, an i

ALESSANDREThey told us to act natural, as if that was remotely possible with two harsh ring lights illuminating every detail of our faces. A smartphone was perched on a tripod capturing our every move, and the woman I had let down sat a mere sixteen inches away from me, her gaze promising the kind of retribution that only comes from betrayal.Ophelia had one leg crossed over the other, her arms resting comfortably in her lap as if we were merely acquaintances and not past lovers. On the outside, she looked calm and graceful, presumably unfazed by everything going on, but I knew better than to take her calm facade at face value.Not once had she glanced my way since we’d settled into the uncomfortable glow of the lights."You're live in five," Charlotte called out, her tone brisk and commanding from behind the camera. "Remember: maintain eye contact, include light touches, slip in some inside jokes and make them believe this charade."I muttered back, "What if we don't believe it?"Op

OPHELIAFLASHBACK: THE FIRST KISS. “Still here?” The question came from the doorway, smooth and taunting. I didn’t bother looking up from my work. That voice—too smooth and self-assured—could only belong to one person.“Are you following me now?” I muttered as I meticulously scrawled the last sentence of my report into the lab logbook, the crisp pages absorbing the weight of my thoughts.Alessandre Marcello leaned casually in the doorway, his silhouette framed by the dim lab lights. Clad in fitted jeans that perfectly complemented his physique and a tailored blazer, he appeared both relaxed and decidedly out of place. His shirt hung open, the collar wide enough to be inappropriate for the late hour, his tie dangling loosely in his grasp.It was well past the hour he was supposed to be home and everyone knew that.“I was just passing by,” he replied, an infuriatingly charming grin spreading across his face.“At eleven thirty at night?” I challenged, raising an eyebrow.He raised two

Ophelia"I hate him," I muttered, the words barely escaping my lips, as it echoed in the space of the hallway.With a swift movement, I kicked off my heels, feeling the cool hardwood floor beneath my bare feet, the sharp sting on my toes a minor discomfort compared to the turmoil churning within me. My heart raced in my chest, a relentless drumbeat that drowned out everything else, while my hands trembled slightly—a betrayal I despised.It infuriated me that he could still affect me this way, tugging at my emotions with the tiniest gestures: one piercing look, one nearly stolen kiss, one breath that lingered too close to mine.Entering the kitchen, I flung open the refrigerator door, the light inside casting a harsh glow on its contents."What did the broccoli ever do to the refrigerator, anyway?" a familiar voice chimed in from behind me.I jumped slightly, startled.Charlotte stood there, casually leaning against the counter, her oversized hoodie swallowing her frame, a steaming mug