Alec could have struck her.
He could have silenced her the way the world knew him to—ruthless, merciless. He could’ve dragged her to the cold floor of his mansion, broken her like glass, and no one would have questioned him. No one would have even known she ever existed. But he didn’t.
He just stood there.
Silent.
Watching her… as she unknowingly ripped open wounds that had never truly healed. Deeper wounds than even Salena had left behind. Salena had tried to play with his emotions. Melissa? She didn’t play—she stabbed. Again and again. Not with cruelty, but with truth. And Alec Blackwood, the man who never bent, the devil people feared, was bleeding inside.
But none of it showed on his face. Only rage remained.
Rage was easy. Rage was armor.
He turned around.
Left her standing th
