Bound by Obsession

Chapter Eleven

The sound echoed again soft, broken, like someone stifling a sob.

Alina’s chest constricted. She stepped forward instinctively, but Alexander’s arm shot out, barring her path. His jaw tightened, his eyes flashing with warning.

“I said stay here.” His voice carried the weight of command, clipped and unyielding.

But Alina’s heart hammered with defiance. “And let you keep shutting me out? No, Alexander. Not this time.”

Before he could stop her, she brushed past him and followed the sound down the hallway. Each step felt like it pulled her deeper into a web she wasn’t sure she wanted to unravel.

The crying led her to a door cracked just slightly open. Alina pushed it gently, and the sight that met her eyes froze her in place.

A girl sat curled up on the edge of the bed, her knees pulled to her chest, her face buried in trembling hands. Her hair fell in loose, tangled waves, and her shoulders shook with every uneven breath. She looked so young too young to be carrying so much pain.

Alina’s throat tightened. “Hey…” The word slipped out before she could stop it, soft and tentative.

The girl’s head jerked up. Wide, tear-swollen eyes met hers eyes that mirrored Alexander’s in an uncanny way.

Alina sucked in a sharp breath.

Behind her, Alexander appeared in the doorway, his expression dark, his presence filling the room. “Alina.” His voice was a warning, but this time it carried something else too. Desperation.

The girl wiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand, but the tears kept spilling. Her lips parted, her voice barely more than a whisper.

“Don’t… don’t be mad at him. Please.”

Alina blinked, taken aback. “I’m not mad at you,” she said gently. “What’s your name?”

The girl hesitated, her gaze flickering to Alexander, as though seeking permission. He closed his eyes briefly, his jaw clenching, before giving a tight nod.

The girl’s lips trembled as she whispered, “Hayley.”

The name hung in the air like smoke, fragile yet impossible to ignore.

Alina’s heart stuttered. Something about the way Alexander’s eyes softened at the sound, the way his entire frame seemed to tremble with restraint, told her this wasn’t just anyone. Hayley wasn’t some stranger caught in his orbit. She was more.

Much more.

“Hayley,” Alina repeated softly, crouching slightly so she wasn’t towering over the girl. “It’s okay. You don’t have to be afraid.”

But Hayley shook her head violently, her tears spilling faster. “You don’t understand. If you knew” She cut herself off, her voice breaking.

Alexander stepped forward quickly, placing a firm hand on Hayley’s shoulder. “Enough.” His tone was low, not unkind, but absolute. “You don’t owe anyone explanations.”

Alina straightened, her eyes darting between them. “Explanations? She doesn’t owe me explanations, but you do, Alexander.” Her voice quivered, laced with both fear and fury. “Who is she to you?”

For the first time since she’d known him, Alexander faltered. His usually steady gaze dropped to the floor, his lips parting but no words coming out. The silence stretched, heavy and suffocating.

Then, in a voice that sounded like it cost him everything, he said only one word:

“Family.”

Alina’s stomach dropped. Family. The word should have comforted her, but instead it burned with more questions than answers.

She looked at Hayley again her fragile frame, her haunted eyes and a cold shiver ran down her spine.

Because if Hayley was his family… what kind of scars had bound them together like this?