Chapter 5: Caught
877 Words
My heart pounded as I stared at the photograph.
The girl beside the younger Alexander looked about my age now. She had long dark hair and sharp eyes, and the way she stood next to him felt…. Familiar. Close.
Too close.
The same woman whose voice I had heard in the hallway.
Before I could think further, the door behind me suddenly creaked open.
A cold voice filled the room.
“What are you doing in here?”
My entire body froze.
Slowly, I turned around.
Alexander stood in the doorway, his tall frame blocking the light from the hallway. His gray eyes were locked on me, dark and unreadable.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then his gaze shifted to the photographs on the wall.
His expression changed instantly.
The calm, controlled man I had seen earlier disappeared.
In his place stood someone dangerous.
“I asked you a question,” he said, his voice low.
“I… I was just walking around,” I said quickly.
His eyes narrowed.
“And you just happened to walk into the one room in this house you’re not supposed to enter?”
I swallowed.
That definitely didn’t sound convincing.
“I got lost,” I muttered.
Alexander stepped into the room and shut the door behind him.
The soft click echoed loudly in the silence.
Suddenly, the space felt much smaller.
He walked closer, his gaze sharp as a blade.
“You should learn something about this house, Elena.”
I lifted my chin slightly.
“And what’s that?”
“There are doors that stay closed for a reason.”
My eyes flicked back toward the photographs.
“Because of your family?”
Alexander’s jaw tightened.
“That’s none of your concern.”
“But it is,” I said quietly.
His eyes snapped back to mine.
“You married me.”
The words came out stronger than I expected.
“That makes it my concern.”
For a moment, something flashed in his expression.
Anger.
Or maybe a surprise.
Then he followed my gaze toward the photograph I had been looking at earlier.
The one of him and the girl.
Alexander walked past me and stopped in front of it.
For a long moment, he just stared.
When he finally spoke again, his voice sounded different.
Quieter.
“That picture shouldn’t still be here.”
“Who is she?” I asked.
He didn’t answer.
I stepped closer.
“She’s the woman you were talking to in the hallway, isn’t she?”
Alexander slowly turned toward me.
“How much did you hear?”
“Enough.”
His expression hardened again.
“You shouldn’t eavesdrop.”
“You shouldn’t keep secrets,” I shot back.
The tension between us filled the entire room.
For a moment, I thought he might actually throw me out.
But instead, Alexander walked to the wall and removed the photograph.
His fingers brushed over the scratched surface briefly before he turned it face down.
“That girl,” he said finally, “is someone from my past.”
“That’s not really an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting tonight.”
Frustration bubbled inside me.
“You keep saying my father ruined your family,” I said. “But you won’t tell me how.”
Alexander’s eyes darkened.
“You really want the truth?”
“Yes.”
He studied my face carefully.
As if trying to decide something.
Then he spoke.
“Ten years ago, my father trusted a business partner.”
My stomach tightened.
“Your father.”
The words landed like a stone.
“He convinced my father to invest everything in a project,” Alexander continued calmly.
“A project that failed.”
“Businesses fail all the time,” I said.
Alexander’s gaze sharpened.
“This one didn’t fail by accident.”
My chest tightened.
“What do you mean?”
“My father lost everything,” he said quietly. “Our company. Our money. Our reputation.”
His voice grew colder with each word.
“And a month later….”
He paused.
For the first time since I met him, Alexander looked away.
“….my father died.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
“I didn’t know,” I whispered.
Alexander’s expression hardened again instantly.
“Of course you didn’t.”
“That doesn’t mean my father caused it.”
His eyes locked onto mine.
“You still believe he’s innocent?”
“I believe you might not know the full story,” I replied.
Silence fell between us.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Then Alexander stepped closer.
So close I could feel the tension radiating from him.
“One day,” he said quietly, “you’ll see the truth.”
“And when you do….”
His voice dropped to a whisper.
“….you’ll understand exactly why I married you.”
My heart pounded.
“And why is that?”
Alexander’s gray eyes held mine.
“Because revenge,” he said coldly, “is best served slowly.”
And suddenly, I realized something terrifying.
This marriage wasn’t just about business.
It was part of a much bigger plan.
And somehow…
I was right in the middle of it……
- Writer
