Under Her Rule

CHAPTER 2: THE UNINVITED

(Alex’s POV)

Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion.

Louise’s grip on the necktie tightened, bringing me so close that I could feel the heat radiating from her skin. Our faces were only an inch apart. I was frozen, my back pressed hard against the mattress, my breath hitching in my throat.

Slowly, Louise’s gaze dropped. Her eyes traveled from my eyes down to my lips—a slow, deliberate movement that made my heart hammer against my ribs. It was like she was studying me, tasting the air between us before her eyes crawled back up to meet mine.

That’s why I hate her, my mind screamed. I hate her for being this beautiful. I hate her for having this much control over me. I hate her for every single thing she has taken from my life.

As I stared into those icy blue eyes, the master bedroom began to blur. The scent of her expensive perfume and the feeling of the silk tie around my neck faded away, replaced by the memories of where this nightmare truly began.

ONE YEAR AGO: THE CRACKS IN THE GOLDEN IMAGE

I grew up as Alexandra De Salva. To the world, I was the "Golden Princess." My father, Fred De Salva, was a business tycoon who built an empire from nothing. My mother, Joanne, was the epitome of class—refined, elegant, and the perfect wife.

But behind the mahogany doors of our mansion, the "Golden Family" was starting to rot.

It began with whispers. Sometimes, I’d hear Mom and Dad screaming at each other in the study room during the early hours of the morning. I remember one night, I saw Mom coming out of the room with her makeup ruined and her eyes red from crying. She didn't say a word. She just looked at me with so much pain before locking herself in her bedroom.

I once caught them in the middle of a heated argument. I saw Mom slap Dad so hard that his head turned. It wasn't just a simple fight; it was a strike filled with years of betrayal. I didn't understand it then. I was twenty, a college student living in a bubble of luxury, and my parents did everything to keep me in the dark.

"It’s just business, Alex. Your Dad is just stressed," Mom would always say. But I knew better. I felt the coldness creeping into our home.

Then came the night that changed everything—my Dad’s 50th Birthday Gala.

The ballroom was filled with the most powerful people in the country. The air was thick with the scent of lilies and expensive champagne. I was standing by the grand staircase, wearing a custom-made gown, feeling like the world was at my feet. My mother was beside me, smiling for the cameras, but I could see the trembling in her hands.

Then, the heavy doors of the ballroom swung open.

The room went silent. Even the orchestra seemed to miss a beat.

Louise entered the room.

She looked like she stepped out of a high-fashion magazine in Switzerland. Her blonde hair was styled in perfect, effortless waves that glowed under the crystal chandeliers. She was in her late thirties—a woman at the peak of her power and beauty. She walked with a confidence that made every other woman in the room feel like a background character. Including me.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Louise," Dad announced. His voice had a tone of pride that I hadn't heard in years—a pride that should have been reserved for my mother. "My new executive assistant. She’s a brilliant scholar of our foundation, fresh from her post-grad studies in Switzerland."

Assistant? Scholar?

I looked at my Mom. Her face was pale, almost translucent under the lights. Louise wasn't just an assistant. The way she stood beside my Dad, the way her hand briefly touched his arm as they spoke... it was too intimate. Too comfortable.

I hated her the moment I saw her. I didn't need the words "attraction" or "envy" to describe what I felt. All I knew was that this woman was a threat. She was a high-end gold digger who used her "Swiss education" as a ticket to infiltrate my father’s life and my mother’s home.

"It's a pleasure to meet the legendary De Salva family," Louise said when she approached us. Her voice was like velvet, smooth and dangerously soft. She looked me in the eye, and for a second, I felt like she was looking through me—as if she already knew every secret I had.

"Welcome to the team, Louise," my Dad replied, his eyes never leaving her face.

That night, it wasn't just Dad’s birthday being celebrated. It was the night Louise officially marked her territory. Every time I looked at my Mom, she seemed to be shrinking, while Louise seemed to grow more vibrant, more powerful.

I watched them from the shadows of the ballroom. I saw the way Louise laughed at my father’s jokes—the same jokes my mother had heard for thirty years and no longer found funny. I saw the way she handled the businessmen, her intelligence as sharp as her stilettos. She was everything my mother was, but younger, fresher, and more dangerous.

I promised myself that night that I would destroy her. I would expose her for the "vampire" she was—the one sucking the life and the wealth out of our family.

I didn't know that by focusing all my energy on hating her, I was already walking straight into her trap.