Five Years Earlier
Ashley's POV
He showed up at my hotel room forty minutes after I sent the email, exactly as I had known he would.
I opened the door already dressed, already composed, because a woman who looked like she'd been waiting all night lost every argument before it started.
"You have some nerve," Alexander said, pushing past me into the room without waiting for an invitation. "Threatening me. About Bella."
"I didn't threaten you." I closed the door behind him, unhurried. "I informed you of a consequence. There's a difference, Alex, though I understand the distinction feels academic when you're on the receiving end."
"You told me you were dying. You destroyed my marriage over a lie, and now you're threatening to sic your fiancé on me if I try to fix it."
"I'm not threateni
