Alpha’s Double game.

THE EMERALD CAGE.

~ELENA~

The silk of the emerald-green gown felt like liquid fire against my skin. It was cut dangerously low in the back, exposing every inch of my spine, while the front clung tightly to my waist and hips before pooling at my ankles.

I’m not sure what Alexander told the stylist but she made sure I wore a dress that required me to wear nothing beneath it to hold my boobs.

I’ve never dressed like this before, I felt…naked. I was naked. The dress matched the ring on my finger and the more I looked at myself in the mirror, the angrier I got. I didn’t know myself again. Alexander was changing everything.

The stylist had done my hair in a severe, elegant updo, leaving my neck entirely bare.

Exposed.

“You look breathtaking, Miss Vance,” the stylist whispered, looking almost intimidated as she packed away her brushes.

Oh, how I wish we could trade places and I could live her life while she takes this extravagant lifestyle as Alexander’s puppet.

I looked at my reflection. I looked like a stranger. I was a stranger. A billionaire’s trophy. The massive emerald-cut diamond on my left hand sparkled mockingly under the apartment lights.

A heavy knock sounded at my door. My heart did a frantic flip.

When I opened it, Alexander was standing in the narrow, dingy hallway of my apartment building. His towering frame completely dominated the space, making my home feel smaller, like a cage.

He was dressed in a black tuxedo, his white shirt crisp, his dark eyes raking over me with a slow, agonising intensity that made my breath hitch.

His eyes stayed on my chest for as long as it took for me to shiver awkwardly.

He didn't say a word. He walked into my living room, his eyes scanning the cheap sofa, the framed prints of classic art, and the single mug left in the sink.

“Your friend, Maya,” he said suddenly, his back turned to me.

I froze, my hands clenching into the silk of my dress. “What about her?”

The stylist had disappeared the moment Alexander came in, and so did all her equipment, I didn’t even notice she was gone.

Alexander dominated everything and it was intoxicating.

“She’s persistent,” Alexander murmured, turning around to face me. He stepped closer, the sheer magnetism of his presence pulling the air from the room. “She’s checked in on you four times today. You didn't answer.”

I shivered again. My instincts were right. He’d tapped into my phone. He probably tracks everywhere I go and has a tiny camera follow me everywhere so I don’t run off. He might as well have been watching me while I had my bath or the times I slept naked.

A genius bastard.

“Because you told me not to!” I hissed, my anger finally overriding my fear. “I am doing exactly what you want! I’m enduring the disgusting looks at the office, I’m wearing your stupid ring, and now I’m going to your gala. Leave Maya out of this.”

Maya was the only family I had left, aside from my parents, whom I couldn’t reach. I can’t harm her, the result of my selfish curiosity. My fist hardened.

Alexander closed the distance between us in a single, predatory stride. His large hand came up, his long fingers wrapping firmly around the back of my bare neck, his thumb resting right over my thumping pulse.

He pulled me up slightly, forcing me onto my toes, his dark green eyes burning into mine.

“I will leave her out of it as long as you play your part perfectly tonight, Elena,” he growled, his voice a low, terrifying vibration. “But make no mistake. If you drop your smile for even a second, if you look at me with anything less than devotion when the cameras flash, I will ruin her life before the dessert course is served. Do you understand me?”

The harsh contrast between his freezing demeanour at the office and this burning, possessive cruelty in private was driving me insane. My body was trembling, but beneath the fear, that same dark, humiliating ache from the night before sparked to life. His hand on my neck felt like a brand, making me intensely aware of his strength.

How do I wear a smile for a whole night? The news has spread like wildfire. Everyone thinks I open my legs for favours. When we get to the gala, all eyes would be on me…they will speak of how disgusting I looked, how I was a gold-digger, a slut…and everything else I’ve been called at the office.

The shame had already begun to hit me, we hadn’t even left my home.

“I understand,” I whispered, my lips parting involuntarily.

His gaze dropped to my mouth, his thumb shifting to press against my lower lip, pulling it down slightly. For a second, just a fraction of a second, I thought he was going to kiss me again, to claim me right here against my cheap apartment wall.

Instead, he let me go, the sudden loss of his warmth leaving me cold.

I hated this power he had over me, how my body obeys him so much like a moth drawn to flame. He had this ability so effortlessly that women melt when he makes eye contact. Even his breath against my skin makes my knees weak.

I said nothing else.

“Good,” he said, his face smoothing back into that mask of a cold billionaire. He offered his arm, his expression completely blank. “Let’s go present my new obsession to the world.”