Chapter Five: Poisoned Vows
402 Words
Alina stirred the tea with practiced calm, unaware that someone else had already stirred it—just hours earlier.
It was late. Too late to be in the office. But Xander had insisted she stay to "go over files."
He hadn’t looked at a single document.
He sat behind his desk, cold and unreadable.
But his eyes flicked to her more than once.
“You don’t trust me,” she said, sipping the tea.
“I don’t trust anyone.”
“Not even your wife?”
“You’re not my wife. You’re my contract.”
He said it too fast. Too harsh.
Like he needed to believe it himself.
---
Ten minutes later, the world began to spin.
Her stomach twisted violently. Her throat burned. Vision blurred. Papers dropped from her hands.
“Xander—” she gasped.
He was already out of his seat. Fast. Terrified.
“Alina?!”
She collapsed before she could finish the word.
He caught her just before she hit the floor.
“Call the doctor!” he barked into his phone. “Now! She’s been poisoned!”
---
Later that night…
She woke up in bed—his bed. Hooked up to an IV. Xander sat beside her, shirt wrinkled, hair wild, eyes bloodshot.
He looked broken. Like something inside him had snapped.
“You stayed?” she asked weakly.
“I should’ve protected you.”
Her brows furrowed. “It was the tea.”
He nodded. “Someone slipped it into your mug. In my building.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.” He stood up abruptly, pacing. “But someone wants to hurt you—and they’re not scared of me. That makes them very dangerous.”
She reached out, catching his hand.
“You’re shaking,” she whispered.
He froze. Didn’t pull away.
“I’ve lost someone like this before,” he said quietly.
“And I won’t lose you.”
Their eyes locked.
And for the first time since they met…
He kissed her.
It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t gentle.
It was desperate. Possessive. Real.
And when he pulled back, he looked as if he’d just betrayed himself.
“This can’t happen again,” he whispered, backing away.
“Then don’t kiss me like you mean it.”
He turned, jaw clenched, and walked out.
---
But what neither of them knew…
Renna was watching.
From the hallway.
Smiling coldly.
- Writer
