his touch

3

Inside one of the private rooms, Alexander sat with effortless authority, pouring himself a glass of wine. His eyes remained fixed on Mark. A faint smile touched his lips as he pushed the contract across the table.

“Please, have mercy on me,” Mark begged from his knees. “Henry gave her to me. He said I should discuss the contract with her.”

Alexander studied him in silence, then let out a quiet laugh.

“I do admire the way you conduct business,” he said. Mark’s hands shook violently as Alexander slid two contracts toward him. “You’re a remarkable man, you know that?” Alexander added, his tone almost complimentary.

Mark looked up at him, confused and terrified.

Alexander’s expression hardened.

“You dared to leave a mark on my woman,” he said coldly. “Perhaps that explains why you’re called Mark.”

“I didn’t know she was yours,” Mark stammered. “If I had known, I would never have touched her. Not even in another life.”

Alexander tilted his head slightly.

“You’re not laughing,” he said. “Was my joke not funny?”

He pushed a bottle of wine toward him.

“Perhaps this will help. I can forgive you—if you drink all of this.”

Mark followed his gaze and paled. Twelve bottles of wine sat lined across the table.

“Please,” he begged again. “Be the bigger person. Spare me. I acted out of ignorance.”

His voice trembled as he stared at the bottles. He could barely finish one drink on a normal day, let alone twelve.

Alexander did not blink.

“Make him drink.”

At once, his men seized Mark and forced the wine down his throat. Bottle after bottle, they emptied it into him until he was barely conscious, his body sagging with intoxication.

This was the price for touching Anna.

Alexander rose from his chair.

“Now,” he said, stepping closer, “which hand touched her?”

Mark looked up at him through dazed, bloodshot eyes. “I thought you said if I drank the wine, you’d let me go.”

Alexander was already near the door.

“But my men forced the drink on you, didn’t they?” he said calmly. Then he turned to his guards. “After he signs the contract, break the hands that touched her.”

Without another glance, he walked out of the room.

He returned to Anna.

She was already asleep when he entered. He stood over her for a long moment, studying her face. Even in sleep, her expression was troubled. It was easy to tell she was trapped in a nightmare, most likely reliving what had happened earlier that evening.

“I’m sorry, Anna,” he murmured. “I wasn’t there in time to protect you.”

His hand moved gently over her hair before he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Young master,” one of his bodyguards said from behind him, “an urgent matter has come up in the south.”

Alexander turned.

“You can take the men and handle it,” he said, his gaze drifting back to Anna. “I’ll join you in the morning.”

He gave a few brief instructions, outlining what needed to be done, but his attention kept returning to the woman on the bed.

For a second, he simply stood there, unwilling to leave.

“I’ll be back, Anna,” he said softly.

He tucked the blanket more securely around her before finally walking out of the room.

Anna woke the next morning to find a cup of sobering tea by the bedside and a short note.

Take care of yourself. I’m on a business trip.

A small smile touched her lips just before her phone rang.

It was Henry.

“Where are you, Anna? Did you get the contract signed? Why didn’t you come home last night?” he demanded angrily, not even giving her the chance to explain.

She stared at the phone in disbelief.

He had abandoned her in Mark’s hands, yet he still had the audacity to shout at her.

Anna wiped her tears away and slowly sat up. After drinking the tea, she climbed out of bed and got ready to leave.

Later, after being dropped off by a cab driver, she made her way slowly to the apartment door.

Henry was seated on the couch, his eyes fixed on the entrance as she walked in. His gaze fell immediately to the contract in her hand.

“Why are you coming in at this hour?” he asked with a frown.

Anna herself had been surprised to find the signed contract beside her. After everything that had happened, Mark had still signed it.

She knew it had to be Alexander’s doing.

“I’m sorry,” she said, lowering herself onto the couch. “By the time he signed the contract, it was already very late. There was no way I could get a cab, so I booked a hotel room.”

Henry narrowed his eyes.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Anna replied. “Alexander helped me get the room.”

Henry said nothing for a moment, then glanced at the contract again. Whatever suspicion had crossed his face quickly vanished.

“Well, what matters is that the contract is signed,” he said.

His eyes brightened as he turned back to her.

“You handled this well, Anna. To celebrate, I’ll take you out on a date this evening.”

Without waiting for her response, he stood and started upstairs.

“Be ready by three,” he said over his shoulder. “I’m taking you to your favorite place.”

Anna watched him go, her heart lifting despite everything.

Finally, she thought, they were going to have a moment together that was not built around work or business deals.

She smiled and hurried to organize the files on her desk.

Being Henry’s secretary and girlfriend was exhausting. Even on weekends, she was still working just to keep up. There was never any real rest—only one task after another, one obligation after another.

Sometimes, she could not help but wonder if he truly loved her.

How could he claim to care for her and yet spend every day absorbed in work, barely sparing her a glance?

But today felt different.

Today, he had asked her out himself—something he had not done in over a year.

And so Anna smiled as she worked, convinced that after so many months, she was finally going to have an evening of real, private time with Henry.

Or so she believed.