Christiana’s POV
I watched Alex’s head slump forward, his breathing heavy and uneven, eyes shut against the world. He was completely passed out now, his frame weighed down by more than just alcohol.
Seeing him like this, so unlike the confident man who once ruled my world, left a dull ache in my chest. I had no idea how much seeing me with Daniel had crushed him, but it was all there now, laid bare through slurred words and broken confessions.
“Ma’am.” James said softly, his tone as careful as his movements as he tried to hoist Alex from his barstool. “Could you… could you help me get him to the car?”
I took a shaky breath, nodding, and moved to take Alex’s other side. Together, James and I maneuvered him out of the bar, his weight leaning heavily against me. Every step felt like dragging the memories of what we’d been, what we’d had, through the glow of streetlights outside. Even after everything, even with every hurtful word and all the pain, Alex still had a hold on me. I hated it. I hated that I still felt things I had no business feeling. Yet, with his arm spread over my shoulder, I couldn’t help but feel the spark of the connection we’d once shared.
We reached the car, and James opened the door, gently guiding Alex into the backseat. I watched as he slumped against the leather, his face softening into a vulnerability I’d rarely seen, even in the days when he was mine. My ex–husband, so hardened, so prideful, had been brought low tonight. And it was all because of me.
There was so much I wanted to say… words that pressed against my throat, words I’d held back tonight because I didn’t know iff’d survive saying them out loud. I should’ve told him I understood, that I felt something too, but my fear was stronger. What if all it did was pull me back to him, just to shatter me again?
With a tired sigh, I placed my hand on the car door, my shoulders sagging as I watched James close it from the other side. I took a step back as he started the engine, and then the car slowly pulled away. Alex was gone, but the ache he left stayed, settling in the pit of my stomach. I hated the feeling. I hated that, after all these years, he still had this kind of power over
me.
“Ma’am.”
The voice made me look up, and I saw three towering figures step forward from where they had been hiding. My bodyguards, strong and vigilant as always. They were a constant, ever–present in my life now that I had threats like Bianca Monroe Lewis lurking in the background, waiting for any chance to strike.
They weren’t exactly subtle…big, beefy men with intimidating builds. One wore a grim expression, his dark eyes watching the street while the other two stood behind me, every inch the protective walls I’d hired them to be.
“We’ve been tracking you, ma’am,” one of them said, his deep voice cutting through the quietness. “Just here to make sure you’re safe.”
I managed a nod, even as my gaze drifted back to where Alex’s car had disappeared. “Thank you.”
They took their places beside me, guiding me to my own car parked a short distance away. My mind drifted as we walked, replaying everything Alex had said. He’d been hurt…really hurt, seeing me with Daniel, and it tore me apart to know I’d been the one who pushed him to that edge. Seeing him like this reminded me of all the feelings I’d been fighting since we’d….since that night.
Our past, those five years we spent apart, everything we thought was behind us, it all came rushing back because of one reckless mistake. And now, I was here, wrestling with emotions I’d buried deep, too afraid to acknowledge.
Once inside the car, I sat back, but my thoughts kept swirling. My bodyguards took their places, two in the front and one in the back with me. I caught the reflection of the night’s events in the window… Alex, his hurt, the way he looked at me.
I hated that, somehow, he’d managed to find a way back into my mind…and maybe even my heart.
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10:32 Sat, Oct 26 •
Chapter 110
As the car pulled up to the entrance, two guards stepped forward, their movements quick and silent. I barely noticed them as they opened the door and escorted me up the grand staircase Security was doubled now…bodyguards stood at every corner, by every door. I felt the weight of their vigilance, like a reminder that nothing in my life was ever simple anymore.
As I reached the door to my suite, the guard nodded and unlocked it, stepping aside to let me in. I murmured a quiet thank- you, though my mind was already somewhere else. The instant the door clicked shut, I was enveloped by the cool, calm stillness of the room. But something was… different. I turned, and that was when I saw her.
Emily was sitting on the edge of my bed, small and fragile in the light, her eyes wide and wet as they looked up at me. Her httle hands were clutched in her lap, fingers twisting together anxiously. My heart skipped a beat.
Emily I whispered, my voice barely a breath.
Her lower lip trembled, and her face crumpled, tears welling up in her big, innocent eyes. “Mommy…” Her voice was so small, so broken, it tore at every part of me. She got up from the bed, and before I could even reach for her, she ran toward me, her arms open wide.
“I’m so sorry, Mommy,” she sobbed, her little arms wrapping around me tightly. “I missed you so much.” Her tiny body shook against mine as she buried her face in my shoulder, her fingers clutching the fabric of my dress. “I… I didn’t mean to avoid you. I was just… I’m sorry.”
I felt a surge of emotions hit me all at once, like waves crashing over me. Tears pricked at my eyes, and I pulled her closer, holding her as if she was the only thing grounding me. “Oh, Emily,” I choked out, my hand gently smoothing down her hair. “You have no idea how much I missed you, too.”
She pulled back just enough to look up at me, her tear–streaked face breaking my heart all over again. “Really?” she asked, her voice a fragile whisper, as if she couldn’t believe it.
I cupped her cheeks, brushing a tear away with my thumb. “More than anything,” I said softly, my own tears finally slipping free. “Nothing in this world could ever change how much I love you.”
Her face crumpled again, and she flung her arms around my neck, pressing her cheek against mine. “I was so scared, Mommy,” she whispered. “I thought… I thought you didn’t want me to be happy anymore…you know, with you telling us we won’t see dad”
“Oh, no,” I whispered back, my voice thick. I pulled her close, feeling the warmth of her small frame, her heartbeat steadying against me. “I was only trying to not put you and Ethan at risk. I’ll always want to see you happy, Emily. Always.”
She sniffled, clutching onto me even tighter, as if afraid I might disappear. And in that moment, nothing else mattered…not the bodyguards, not the world outside these walls, not even the ache I’d carried all night. All that existed was her, my beautiful little girl, back in my arms where she belonged.
