chapter 5
1419 Words
*CHAPTER 5: MANDY'S PLAN - SHE TRIED TO FIRE MAYA*
The hospital lights were too bright.
I woke up to the beeping of machines and a dull ache in my head. My wrist hurt. My lip was split.
And Alex Carter was sitting next to me.
Not sleeping. Not on his phone.
Watching me. Like I was the only thing in the room.
“You’re awake,” he said. His voice was rough. Tired. “Don’t move.”
I tried to sit up. Pain shot through my ribs. “Sir... what happened?”
His jaw clenched. “You were kidnapped.”
The memory hit me like ice water. The men. The warehouse. The hands.
I gasped and immediately regretted it. “Mandy—”
“Don’t say her name.” Alex stood up. He was still in the same suit from last night. Wrinkled now. “The doctor said you need rest. No talking.”
“But—”
“Maya.” He came closer. His big hand came up and gently, so gently, brushed hair away from my bruised cheek. “Shut up and let me take care of you for once.”
I closed my mouth. My heart was beating too fast.
He sat back down and picked up my hand. His thumb ran over my knuckles. Possessive. Angry. Protective.
“You don’t touch what’s mine,” he whispered. “Ever again.”
---
*8:00 AM - CARTER CORPORATE, 32ND FLOOR*
Mandy walked into HR with a smile.
She had a folder in her hand. Evidence. Photos. Lies.
“Maya Collins,” she said sweetly to the HR manager. “She needs to be terminated immediately.”
The manager blinked. “Ms. Carter, she’s in the hospital—”
“Exactly.” Mandy flipped the folder open. “She faked her application. Used a filtered photo. That’s fraud. And she’s been distracting Mr. Carter during work hours.”
She slid a photo across the desk. It was me. Leaving Alex’s office at 7PM last night.
“This is inappropriate,” Mandy said. “As his fiancée, I’m asking you to fire her. Today.”
The manager reached for the phone. “I’ll need Mr. Carter’s approval—”
“You won’t get it,” a voice said from the doorway.
Alex.
He looked like hell. Dark circles. Shirt untucked. But his eyes?
They were murder.
Mandy stood up fast. “Alex, baby, what are you doing here? You should be resting. I can handle this—”
“You’re handling nothing.” He walked in and closed the door. “Get out.”
Mandy’s smile faltered. “Excuse me?”
“I said get out, Mandy.”
The HR manager quickly excused herself and left.
Mandy’s face twisted. “You did this to me... because of an ordinary maid?” She laughed, but it was ugly. “If anyone said you would do this to me I wouldn’t believe it.”
Alex didn’t blink. “She’s not ordinary. And you’re not my fiancée.”
The word hit Mandy like a slap.
“We have a contract!” she hissed. “Our fathers—”
“I don’t care.” Alex leaned on the desk. “If Maya goes, I go. And you know what happens to the Carter-Mandy merger if I walk.”
Mandy’s hands shook. “You’d throw away half a billion dollars for her?”
“I’d throw away the world to protect what’s mine,” Alex said quietly.
Mandy stared at him. Then at me, sitting in the chair behind him. Bandaged. Bruised. Alive because of him.
She grabbed her bag. “Fine. You’ll regret this, Alex.”
The door slammed.
---
*BACK IN THE OFFICE*
Silence.
“Sit down,” Alex said.
I sat. My legs were still shaking.
“What took you so long last night?” he asked. No yelling. Just... tired.
“Sir, there was traffic on the road.”
“Traffic.” He repeated it like it was a curse. “Next time don’t be late. If I dare, I will scold you.”
“Yes, boss,” I whispered.
He sighed and rubbed his temples. For a second he looked 10 years older.
“Get ready,” he said. “Tonight you’re following me to a meeting.”
“Meeting? Me, sir?”
“Yes.” He looked at me. Really looked at me. At the bruises. “Make sure you dress good and neat. Spray nice perfume.”
“But sir... I don’t have—”
“Don’t worry.” He cut me off. “I will send the maiden to bring dress and perfume for you.”
My chest tightened at the word _maiden_.
“Okay, sir,” I said. “But why is Mandy not going with you? I thought she is your fiancée.”
Alex went still.
He walked to the window. The city was below us. “No,” he said finally. “She is my parents’ choice. Not mine. It’s just a contract marriage. Her father promised my father half of his business if I marry his daughter.”
My heart stopped. _Why is he telling me this? Is he trying to let me know she’s not his choice?_
“What are you thinking of?” Alex turned, catching me staring.
“Ehmm... nothing, sir.”
“Go home now,” he ordered. “Wait for me at the car by 8:00 PM tonight.”
“Yes, sir,” I whispered.
---
*7:45 PM - ON MY WAY HOME*
The van pulled up beside me.
I didn’t even get to scream.
---
*9:30 PM - ALEX’S OFFICE*
8:00 PM came and went.
No Maya.
Alex called her. No answer.
He called her room. No answer.
“Find her,” he told his guards. His voice was calm. Too calm.
They came back 20 minutes later. “Boss, her room is empty. Door was broken.”
Alex’s blood went cold.
“Track her phone. Now.”
At 9:25 PM, his phone rang.
“Boss, we found her. She was kidn*pped. Sending you the address now.”
Alex was already in the elevator.
---
*THE WAREHOUSE*
He kicked the door in.
Three men.
And Maya. On the floor. Unconscious.
The world went red.
“Hold them,” Alex growled. “Don’t let them go.”
He picked her up. She was so light. Her breathing was shallow.
“Stay with me,” he whispered against her hair. “Maya. Stay with me.”
Hospital.
Doctors.
IVs.
Then back to the warehouse.
“Who sent you?” Alex asked the men.
Silence.
“WHO SENT YOU.”
“M-Mandy Carter,” one of them finally cried.
Alex laughed. It wasn’t funny.
“Call her,” he said.
---
*10:15 PM - THE WAREHOUSE*
Mandy walked in, heels clicking. “Baby, what’s up? Your men said you called. Did you see Maya?”
“Did I see her?” Alex stepped forward. “You think I don’t know?”
“Know what?” Her hands were shaking. “Alex, I can explain. I was just jealous. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
Alex looked at her like she was trash.
“This is the last warning, Mandy. No one touches what’s mine. Get out. Now.”
“What do you mean ‘what’s mine’?” she whispered.
“I SAID GET OUT BEFORE I HAVE SECURITY DRAG YOU OUT!”
Mandy ran.
Alex turned to Daniel. “Cancel the meeting. Tell them tomorrow. Call the maid to bring food to the hospital. Call the driver. I’m going to the hospital.”
“Yes, boss.”
---
*11:30 PM - HOSPITAL ROOM*
I woke up to him.
Alex was asleep in the chair next to my bed, holding my hand. His tie was gone. His hair was a mess.
The second my fingers moved, his eyes opened.
“You’re late,” he said. Voice hoarse. “Don’t be late again. I will scold you.”
Then he leaned forward and very carefully, pressed a kiss to my bandaged hand.
“You don’t touch what’s mine,” he said. “Ever. Again.”
Outside, the storm had finally stopped.
Inside, I knew.
The ruthless CEO was wicked to the world.
But to me... he was home.
---
*_A/N: 😭😭 TEAM ALEX PROTECT MAYA!!! Comment if you want Chapter 6 to be THE GALA where Alex claims her in public!
Vote: Should he break the engagement next chapter??_*
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