All Chapters of MARKED BY THE ALPHA CEO: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

53 Chapters

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

Elara's point of view The call had already ended, but I was still standing there with my phone pressed against my ear, staring at the dark screen as if Kit’s voice might come back if I waited long enough. It was now their wedding.My chest felt strangely hollow, like someone had scooped out something that had already been broken and left only the ache behind. I did not even know what exactly I was supposed to feel. Anger did not come. Jealousy did not rise. What lingered instead was a dull, exhausting disbelief that life could move on so easily for some people while others were still cleaning the mess they had left behind.By the time I reached Emily’s apartment, my head was buzzing. She looked up from the couch the moment I stepped inside.“Are you okay?”I forced a small nod, but she frowned immediately.“You look… lost.”I dropped my bag on the chair and sat beside her, my hands folding and unfolding over my lap without me noticing. “Kit called me.”Her head snapped toward me. “Wh

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

Aeron's point of view I left the boardroom with my spine straight and my expression perfectly neutral, but inside me everything felt sharp, unsettled, and dangerously out of control.It was not Elara’s presentation that lingered in my head. It was my mother.I had watched her from the corner of my eye while Elara spoke, while the numbers moved across the screen and confidence flowed through her voice with an ease she probably did not even realize she possessed. My mother did not look at her the way a curious board member would look at a promising employee. She looked at her the way she looked at hostile acquisitions and fragile alliances. Slowly. Quietly. Measuring how much resistance would be required before something broke.That look had followed me my entire life.And today, for the first time, it had not been aimed at me.It had been aimed at Elara.I slowed my steps in the corridor outside the executive wing, letting assistants and directors pass me as if I were suddenly part of

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

Elara's point of view I hopped into his car and shut the door quietly behind me.The engine roared to life almost immediately, and within seconds, Aeron pushed the car forward with a speed that pressed me back into the seat. The city lights blurred outside the window, stretching into long, broken streaks, and the silence between us felt far too loud for such a narrow space.He was tense. I could see it in the rigid line of his shoulders, in the way his knuckles had turned pale around the steering wheel, and in the way his eyes stayed fixed on the road as if looking at me might unravel something he was desperately trying to keep under control.Since the moment we had left the office, I had not been able to shake the image of his mother’s gaze. The way she had looked at me. As if I were a decision she had not yet approved of. It frightened me more than I wanted to admit.This world of his… it was not soft. It was not forgiving. And I was suddenly very aware of how easily someone like m

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

Aeron's point of view The moment Elara tore the contract and threw the pieces in my face, the world seemed to freeze around me.For a second, I simply stood there on the roadside, staring at the torn papers drifting down like fragile white feathers. The wind caught a few pieces and carried them away across the empty pavement, scattering them in different directions. I should have been furious. That contract was something I had prepared carefully. It was supposed to keep things simple, controlled, and distant. Yet the anger that rose inside my chest wasn’t directed at her. It was directed at myself.I had pushed her too far.My eyes followed her retreating figure as she walked away with quick, furious steps, her shoulders stiff and her head held high even though I could clearly see the tremble in her movements. She was trying not to cry. I knew that look. I had seen it earlier in the car when her eyes filled with hurt the moment I called her nothing more than a contractual girlfriend.

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

Elara's point of view I closed the apartment door quietly, pressing my back against it for a moment, trying to hold myself together. The tears I had been holding back all day threatened to spill over, and I realized with a sinking feeling that it wasn’t just about Aeron Blackwood. It was everything that had led me here—the warnings from Margaret, Emily’s worried expressions, the subtle hints of danger I had ignored. I had believed in him, in his promises, in the idea that someone like Aaron could actually care. I had been wrong. My mind kept running through the moments, the small gestures that had made me hope, and now all of it felt like a trap. How had I been so foolish? I had been willing to trust a man whose world I barely understood, who demanded pieces of me without offering clarity in return. And now, with Kit and Murphy moving on with their lives, I realized something harsh and bitter. I didn’t need him anymore. I had to survive on my own, with or without him.I slipped into

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

Elara's point of view“I’m not coming to meet you. Don’t call me again.” I slammed the phone down, my chest tight, every nerve on edge. The buzzing continued relentlessly, but I ignored it, shoving the phone aside. I needed space. I needed air. I needed to escape the whirlwind Aeron Blackwood had dragged me into.I wrapped my robe tightly around myself and stepped into the bathroom. Cold water splashed over my skin, trying to numb the storm inside me. The droplets traced over my arms and shoulders, and I closed my eyes, wishing for some clarity. But clarity wouldn’t come. It never did when it came to him. He was chaos, danger, obsession, and somehow, I had allowed myself to be caught in it.A sudden crash made me gasp. My heart leapt into my throat. My body froze, tense, every muscle coiled. Whoever it was didn’t belong here. I draped the robe around me tighter and stepped out cautiously.And there he stood like the owner of the damn world, Mr. Aeron Blackwood. Standing in Emily’s apa

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

Elara's point of view Emily stood near the door with her arms crossed, watching me with a look that clearly said she didn’t approve of what I was doing. “Elara… I really don’t think this is a good idea,” she said again.I adjusted the pleats of my pale blue dress in the mirror, ignoring the knot tightening in my stomach. The dress was simple but elegant, flowing softly around my knees. My hair was tied into a neat bun, with a few loose strands framing my face.Minimal makeup. Just enough to look presentable. “This is their wedding, Emily,” I replied calmly. “Not a battlefield.”“That’s exactly what I’m worried about,” she said sharply. “Something about this feels wrong.”I turned to face her. “What could possibly happen?” I asked with a tired smile. “Kit already talked to me. He said they want to move on. That’s all this is about. Closure.”Emily shook her head. “You’re too kind for your own good.”“And you’re too protective,” I teased gently.Her eyes softened, but worry still linge

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

Aeron's point of view “Whoever mistreats my girlfriend will not leave this place without consequences.” My voice thundered across the wedding hall.The laughter died instantly. Every head snapped toward me. For a moment, no one moved. The music was still playing faintly somewhere in the background, but the atmosphere had frozen. Shock rippled through the crowd as people began whispering.I stepped inside. Gasps followed immediately. Some recognized me right away. Others needed only a few seconds.“Aaron Blackwood…”“What is he doing here?”“Did he just say girlfriend?”But I wasn’t listening to them. My eyes were already on her Elara as she stood in the middle of the room, her pale blue dress ruined by red wine. The liquid had spread across the fabric like an ugly stain meant to humiliate her. And the worst part?She was standing there silently while people laughed. My jaw tightened. For a split second, time seemed to rewind in my mind.Earlier that evening, I had been standing insid

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

Elara's point of view For several minutes after we left the wedding venue, the car was silent. I stared at the city lights rushing past the window while my mind replayed everything that had just happened.Murphy’s cruel smile and the red wine spilling over my dress. People laughing at me, those were the ones I knew from college and from Kit when we were in relationship.My hands clenched in my lap. I hated her for what she did. But if I was being honest with myself… the humiliation that had been choking me earlier had faded the moment Aeron walked into that hall. The moment his voice echoed through the room.I slowly looked at him Aeron was driving like nothing had happened. As if publicly threatening someone and stopping a wedding was just another evening for him.“How did you even know I was there?” I asked.“Emily told me.”Of course she did. I looked down at the jacket still wrapped around me. It was warm. It smelled faintly like his cologne. My mind replayed his words again. 'No

CHAPTER FORTY

Aeron's point of view “That is a very long story.” The moment the words left my mouth, I saw the frustration flash across Elara’s face. She leaned forward across the table, clearly ready to demand answers I wasn’t prepared to give. I hated it, because the truth was not something she could hear over dinner in a crowded restaurant.As the conversation went on, I noticed her fingers tightened against the edge of the table. Her breathing had changed. “You’re uncomfortable,” I said quietly.She frowned. “What?”“You keep touching your neck. It will make it worse." My concern was genuine but she seemed distant.“I told you, it burns every time you’re near me.”The mark on her neck glowed softly, and a sharp sensation crawled up my spine and I had to clench my jaw to control the reaction. I began to feel restless.Elara suddenly squinted at me. “Your eyes.”I froze. “What about them?”“They just did that thing again.”My stomach tightened. “What thing?”“The swirling thing,” she said, point

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