It wasn’t the first time Victoria had called him handsome.
And it certainly wasn’t the first time she had complimented him.
But this time.
This time felt different.
Alexander noticed it immediately.
Maybe it was the tone.
Softer than usual.
Less sharp.
Less demanding.
Or maybe it was because it had been a while.
A long while.
He knew she had been angry.
Of course she had.
Victoria was not the type to hide her emotions when something displeased her, and his sudden distance, his distraction, had not gone unnoticed.
He had felt it in the way she spoke to him.
The tension in her words.
The subtle accusations wrapped in casual conversations.
The silence when she chose not to argue.
She knew something had shifted.
And she didn’t like it.
But what could he say?
What explanati
