Chapter 3: Bound by Duty
818 Words
Alexander POV
Alexander sat in his office the next day, unable to concentrate. His mind kept drifting back to her.
Lily Carter.
It made no sense. She wasn’t part of his world, wasn’t the kind of woman he was supposed to want. Yet, from the moment she had walked up to his table, he had been drawn to her.
A sharp knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts.
Veronica stepped in, her heels clicking against the floor. “We need to discuss the wedding,” she said, sitting across from him.
Alexander exhaled. “Not now.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Then when? The press is already speculating. My father is expecting details.”
He rubbed his temple. “I don’t care what your father expects.”
Veronica stiffened. “Then maybe I should remind you what’s at stake here.”
Alexander knew exactly what was at stake. This marriage was meant to strengthen his empire. He had agreed to it.
But for the first time, he wasn’t sure he could go through with it.
Because for the first time in his life, he wanted something he wasn’t supposed to have.
Lily wasn’t expecting to see Alexander again.
But when he walked into Blue Ivy that night, alone this time, her heart did an uncomfortable flip.
She forced herself to act normal, grabbing her notepad as she approached his table. “Back so soon?”
He smirked. “Good service.”
She rolled her eyes. “What can I get you?”
His eyes held hers. “Dinner. With you.”
She swallowed hard. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
She huffed. “Because this isn’t how my life works. I don’t do… whatever this is.”
Alexander leaned forward. “And if I told you I don’t care how your life works?”
Lily POV
Lily stared at him, heart pounding. He was pushing, testing. And she knew that if she gave in, there would be no turning back.
But maybe, just for one night, she could let herself forget.
Maybe, just for tonight, she could let herself fall.
Lily’s heart was still racing long after Alexander walked away. She leaned against the brick wall of the restaurant’s back exit, exhaling slowly.
She had been around entitled men before—arrogant, wealthy, untouchable But Alexander Bling was different. He wasn’t just rich; he was powerful, in a way that made people listen when he spoke.
And yet, for some reason, he had taken an interest in her.
It was dangerous. She knew better than to fall for a man who wasn’t hers to have. But the way he had looked at her, like she was something more than just a waitress, had shaken her.
Pushing away the thoughts, she grabbed her bag and started walking home.
Whatever this was—it had to end before it even began.
Alexander POV
Alexander swirled the whiskey in his glass, barely listening as his old friend, Dave Sinclair, leaned back in his chair, smirking.
“You look like hell,” Dave observed, taking a sip of his drink. “That bad, huh?”
Alexander sighed. “You ever feel like you’re trapped in a life that doesn’t belong to you?”
Dave raised an eyebrow. “You’re the CEO of one of the most powerful companies in the country, engaged to a woman most most men would kill for, and you own a penthouse with a view of the whole damn city. What part of your life doesn’t belong to you?”
Alexander smirked, but it didn’t reach eyes. “The part where I don’t get a choice.”
Dave studied him for a moment. “This isn’t just about the marriage, is it?”
Alexander didn’t answer. Instead, an of Lily flashed in his mind—the way she had looked at him, the way her presence unsettled him in ways he wasn’t used to.
Dave let out a low whistle. “I knew it. There’s a woman.”
Alexander exhaled, finishing his drink. “There’s nothing.”
Dave chuckled. “If you have to say it, then it’s definitely something.”
Her father, William Kensington, barely looked up from his papers. “ Alexander is a businessman, Veronica. He does what needs to be done. He’ll marry you. That’s all that matters.”
She crossed her arms. “What if he doesn’t?”
Her father finally looked at her, his gaze sharp. “Then he loses everything. And Alexander Hayes doesn’t lose.”
Veronica clenched her fists.
Alexander had always been distant, but lately, he was slipping further away. And she had a sinking feeling it wasn’t just business distracting him.
She needed to remind him where he belonged—who he belonged to.
Because she wasn’t about to lose everything she had worked for. Not to some nameless nobody.
- Writer
