Alex’s POVI stood near the door of the study, arms loosely at my sides, watching Marcus.The room still carried the faint trace of Serena’s perfume, sharp and out of place against the heavier scent that usually filled his space. My pulse had not fully settled. The things she had said were still sitting under my skin, even if I had not given her the satisfaction of a reaction.Marcus looked at me for a long moment before speaking.“Her name is Serena Crowe,” he said. “Our families arranged a match years ago. Political. Convenient. I never took it seriously, and I never planned to go through with it.”I raised an eyebrow. “She seemed to think otherwise.”“She has always thought otherwise,” he replied. “Serena hears what she wants to hear. She was away for weeks. I should have ended the arrangement properly before she returned. That is on me.”I stepped further into the room. The tiredness from earlier was still present, but it sat under something sharper now. Annoyance. The kind of ten
Last Updated : 2026-08-16 Read more