chapter 7
643 Words
Alexander POV
I didn’t test her because I wanted to hurt her.
I tested her because I’m afraid of what would happen if she ever lied to me.
People think power makes you fearless. It doesn’t. Power teaches you exactly how much you can lose—and how fast. I learned that lesson four years ago, when I trusted the wrong woman and paid for it with humiliation, blood, and silence that still rings in my ears.
Anna didn’t just leave me.
She dismantled me piece by piece while smiling to my face.
Six months. That’s how long she slept with one of my men while planning a future with me. Six months of shared beds, shared plans, shared lies. By the time I discovered the truth, the damage was already done. Trust, once broken like that, doesn’t heal. It calcifies.
So when Angelica came into my life—soft, honest, unguarded—I knew she could either save me or destroy me completely.
And I couldn’t gamble on hope.
I needed certainty.
That’s why I let Max get close.
Not too close. Never close enough to touch her. But close enough to see what she would do when temptation and danger stood in front of her without me there to guide her.
Max is predictable. Arrogant. He believes women are currency and fear is leverage. He wanted to see if she’d flinch. If she’d hesitate. If she’d keep secrets.
I watched everything.
The cameras. The guards. The moment she stiffened when she saw him. The way her body turned away instinctively. The lack of flirtation. The refusal.
Most importantly—the fact that she came home and told me.
She didn’t hide it.
That matters more than loyalty spoken aloud.
When I confronted her, I saw it in her eyes—hurt, confusion, and something else.
Disappointment.
That cut deeper than I expected.
I don’t like that I scared her. I don’t like that she realized how closely she’s watched. But I won’t apologize for protecting what’s mine.
And she is mine.
Not because of contracts or rings or alliances—but because I’ve already built my life around her presence. I wake up thinking about her. I plan my days around her safety. I imagine futures I swore I’d never allow myself to want again.
That’s dangerous.
And dangerous things require control.
I stand in my office later that night, watching the city lights through bulletproof glass, listening to my men report.
“She didn’t respond to Max beyond refusal,” Ivan says. “No hesitation.”
“Good,” I reply.
“She looked shaken though,” he adds carefully.
I turn slowly. “I know.”
“Alex,” he says, choosing his words, “testing her like that—”
“Saved my life once,” I cut in. “It won’t cost me twice.”
Ivan sighs. “Just don’t turn protection into a cage.”
I don’t answer.
Because cages keep things safe.
Later, I stand outside our bedroom, listening to her breathing on the other side of the door. She sleeps on her side, curled in on herself when she’s upset. I know that now. I know too many things already.
I step inside quietly and lie down behind her, careful not to wake her. The moment I pull her against my chest, she relaxes. Like her body knows mine even when her mind is wary.
I press my lips to her hair.
“You passed,” I whisper, though she can’t hear me. “And that’s why I’ll burn the world for you.”
Max made his move.
He won’t get another chance.
Because now I’m certain of one thing:
Angelica didn’t betray me.
And that means I will never let anyone take her from me.
Not him.
Not my enemies.
Not even herself.
- Writer
