Nikolai POV
Alex didn’t like me, and I told myself I didn’t care.
Plenty of people hated me—some openly, others in silence—and most would gladly pay to see me buried six feet under.
I’d built my life around not giving a damn about their opinions. It was easier that way. Safer.
But with Alex... I couldn’t quite summon the same indifference.
I didn’t want to care what she thought of me, yet her disdain clung to me like a shadow I couldn’t shake.
Was it disappointment I felt? Anger?
Maybe both. At her? At myself? Or at the father who’d put us in this impossible situation?
“Can we order?” she asked, her voice quiet, but there was steel beneath it.
She wasn’t as fragile as she looked.
“Yes, of course,” I replied automatically, my hands still wrapped around hers, reluctant to let go.
