Forever After All(88)

This can’t go on like this. This needs to stop.

I brace myself as I walk down the stairs. Mom smiles as I walk out, and I shake my head. I don’t understand why she’s siding with Alec, why she wants us to get back together.

Alexander straightens when I walk through the gate, his body rigid. I walk up to him, and his eyes widen.

“Elena,” he says, his voice tinged with disbelief. The way his eyes roam over my body, the desperation in his eyes… it guts me.

“Alexander, you need to stop coming here.”

He leans back against his car and crosses his arms. “No.”

I raise my brows and mirror his stance, my arms crossed over my chest. “I’m not giving you a choice.”

“Baby, you’re underestimating how far I’ll go to catch a single glimpse of you,” he says, his voice soft, pained. “I can’t sleep if I don’t see you before bed, and my days don’t start right if I don’t get to see you before work.”

I run a hand through my hair, my face tipped up toward the sky. “What will it take to get you to stop?”

Alexander smiles, and my traitorous heart skips a beat. “One date. Let me take you on a date.”

“One date?” I repeat. “If I let you take me on a date, you’ll stop coming here?”

“Yes, I promise. If you let me take you on one date, I won’t show up here uninvited anymore,” Alexander says, looking sincere, yet somehow, I don’t trust his words.

I look into his eyes, taking in the need and the desperation that he’s got on display for me. I’ve never seen him look so vulnerable before.

“Fine,” I say, the words leaving my mouth before I even have a chance to think it through properly. I walk around his car and Alec runs after me, rushing to open the door for me. “I didn’t realize you meant right now,” he says, helping me into the car.

I look up at him, brows raised. “Why, is now not a good time?”

Alec shakes his head. “No, not at all. This is perfect.” He leans over me, buckling me in, his hands lingering on my skin. His scent washes over me and my heart constricts painfully. I’ve missed him, and it’s hitting me even harder now. I look up, and my lips brush against Alec’s cheek. He inhales sharply, his eyes dropping down to my lips before he swallows hard and pulls away, tugging on his tie nervously.

I watch him as he walks back around the car and gets in. This is the closest we’ve been to each other in weeks—since that night he climbed through my window.

Alec places his hand on my thigh as he starts the car, and I look at him through narrowed eyes, eliciting a smile from him.

“Hey, you said it was a date, didn’t you?”

I purse my lips and nod. I hope I can get through this date safely. I hope that by the end of the night, what’s left of my heart will still be intact.





Chapter 64





A lexander



Just having her sitting next to me has my heart racing. It’s been weeks since I last touched her, and part of me thought I never would again. I didn’t think she’d ever speak to me again. For weeks, she’s been ignoring my presence at her house and every gift I’ve sent… she’s been ignoring me .

“Don’t take me anywhere public.”

I tighten my grip on the steering wheel and glance at her. “Why not?”

She looks at me, her expression unreadable. “I don’t want people to think we got back together. I saw the speculations in the tabloids, the rumors. I want no part of it.”

My heart wrenches and a sense of loss washes over me. I park the car by the side of the road and glance out my window, unsure what to do, what to say.

“Are you seeing someone?” I ask, the words leaving my lips involuntarily.

Elena looks at me, her eyes flashing with something I can’t quite decipher. She’s never been hard to read, but tonight she’s shutting me out.

Elena turns away and opens her door, stepping out of the car. I follow her lead and walk up to her just as her door slams closed.

She leans back against my car, and I lean into her, my arms on either side of her, caging her in. I want to take a step closer and feel her body against mine, but I resist. Instead, I take in her beautiful face and those eyes that haunt my dreams. I see her every time I close my eyes, but she… she’s moving on.

“Why don’t you want to be seen with me, Elena? What does it matter if we end up in a tabloid or two?”

I try my best to keep my raging thoughts in check, but I fail. Is she dating someone? Her security team is as good as mine, and no matter how hard I try, I’ve been unable to find out what she gets up to, where she goes, who she spends time with.

“Does it matter?” she asks, her gaze unwavering.

I raise my hand to her face, pushing her hair behind her ear gently. “It does,” I say, trying my hardest to act like my heart isn’t fucking breaking. “You’re still my wife, Elena.”

Her eyes flash with anger and she grits her teeth. “Not by choice. We’re separated, Alexander. I’m only your wife on paper, and if I have it my way, I won’t be for much longer. You might not want to sign, but that won’t stop me from obtaining a divorce. My lawyers are working on it as we speak.”