Elena's POV
His voice cut through the silence like a whip.
"Who the hell is Dennis?"
The sound of my name on his lips had always felt cold, but hearing another's name spat from his mouth with such fury, it was a different kind of chill entirely.
I froze mid-step, my hand tightening around the strap of my bag. For a moment, I was tempted to pretend I hadn't heard him. Pretend the marble floor beneath my feet could just split open and swallow me whole. But Alexander Kane wasn't the type of man you could ignore, at least not for long.
Slowly, I lifted my chin. His eyes pinned me down from where he stood, sharp and unrelenting. Isabel was perched elegantly on the arm of a chair like she owned the place, sipping on her wine, her painted lips curved into a mocking smile.
The look on her face was basically stating that I did not belong here, which quite frankly, I knew.
I didn't answer though, ignoring the glares. It was not as if he had not ignored me more time than I could count on one hand.
But like I said, Alexander was not a man who tolerated silence for long. He started to come even closer in one fluid, dangerous movement, the papers in his hand forgotten as they scattered onto the floor. His strides closed the distance between us, and with each step, I could feel my heart racing harder.
"I asked you a question," he said, his voice lower now, rougher, like he was restraining himself.
Still, I didn't speak. My lips pressed together, my back straight.
His eyes narrowed. "So it's true then. You think you can walk around this city, entertaining men while you're under my name?"
The accusation stung. Not because it was true, it wasn't, but because of how easily he said it, how quickly he condemned me. What did he even mean by entertaining?
My gaze flickered around the room and I made the mistake of looking at Isabel. She was enjoying this, every second of it. Her eyes glimmered with satisfaction, her smirk saying See? He's mine, not yours and you are a slutty bitch that should know her place.
That was the crack in my armor.
"Dennis is a friend," I snapped, my voice louder than I intended. "That's all."
Alexander's jaw tightened. "A friend," he repeated and I could tell that the word did not sit right with him at all.
"Yes, a friend," I bit back, my pulse thundering in my ears. "And forgive me, but I didn't realize your rules only applied to me. Isn't Isabel sitting right here, in your house, while you accuse me of what? Meeting someone for some coffee?"
The silence that followed was deafening. For the first time, Alexander actually did look surprised at my outburst and Isabel's smile faltered just slightly, before she set her glass down with a sharp clink.
"Elena…" she began, her tone dripping with condescension, "I don't think you understand…"
"Enough."
Alexander's voice snapped through the air, so loud and commandeering that I could almost feel the grounds shake. Isabel's words died in her throat, her eyes widening at the sudden sharpness directed at her.
He turned to her, his stare colder than I had ever seen it. "This is between my wife and me, and you would stay out of it.."
I blinked.
For a second, I thought I had imagined it. Alexander, shutting her down? The same Isabel who seemed untouchable in his presence, who strutted around his penthouse like it was hers?
She looked as stunned as I felt, her lips parting in disbelief. "Alex…"
"I said enough."
This time, his tone brooked no argument. Isabel's face stiffened as though someone had just slapped her. She sat back slowly, her expression carefully schooled into neutrality, but I caught the flare of anger in her eyes.
And for the first time since I had stepped into this tower, I felt something I hadn't in a long time, vindicated and a little bit happy.
But the moment didn't last. Alexander's eyes swung back to me, his gaze cold enough to cut through the brief flicker of triumph warming my chest.
"Elena." His voice was colder now, deliberate. "You are my wife and I would not have you associate with other men. Do you understand me?"
His words were not suggestions, they were law.
But I wasn't about to bow to his law, not anymore.
My hands trembled, but I forced them still. "You don't get to decide that," I said, my voice low but steady. "Dennis is a friend. That's all he is. And if you can allow Isabel to waltz in and out of this house as she pleases, then you don't get to police who I talk to."
His eyes darkened, a storm brewing beneath them. "You dare compare the two…"
"Yes, I do." I cut him off before he could finish, surprising even myself. "Because the hypocrisy is glaring, Alexander. You think I don't notice? You think I'll just sit quietly while you entertain your ex in our home?"
My chest heaved with each word, and for the first time, Alexander's stoic expression cracked. It wasn't guilt though, not even close. It was rage. Pure, blistering rage and I could see it in his eyes..
His voice came out tight and dangerous. "You have no idea what you're playing with, Elena."
"Neither do you," I shot back. "You think your control is absolute, but it's not. Not over me."
The room was thick with tension. Even Isabel, who looked like she wanted to insert herself again, didn't dare move this time.
And then, because the fire in me was too strong to snuff out, I said the one thing I had been holding onto for days.
"I'm getting a job too."
The words slipped out like a declaration of war.
Alexander froze, his eyes narrowing into slits. "What did you just say?"
"You heard me," I said, my chin lifted defiantly. "I'm not going to rot in this tower waiting for you to throw scraps of acknowledgement my way. I'm going to work. I'm going to live my life and there's nothing you can do about it."
His laugh was sharp and humorless, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Nothing I can do?" He stepped closer, his presence towering over me like a shadow I couldn't escape. "Do you think Kane's wife can just stroll into some office and clock in like a common employee? Do you think I'll allow that?"
"Allow?" I repeated, my voice shaking with fury now. "You don't own me, Alexander. This marriage may be under your terms, but my life is mine and I decide what I do with it."
His hand twitched at his side, like he was fighting the urge to grab me, to shake sense or control back into me. But he didn't. He just stared, his anger radiating off him in waves.
"You're testing me, Elena," he said finally, his tone low, it was a warning.
"Maybe I am," I replied. "Because I'm done being pushed around by you. I'm done being your ornament."
The room seemed to shrink around us, the air was heavy with the weight of the words exchanged. I could feel Isabel's eyes on us, simmering with resentment, but I didn't care.
For once, I wasn't afraid of Alexander Kane's wrath. For once, I had taken a step out of his shadow.
And from the way his jaw clenched, from the way his hands balled into fists, I knew this was going to be a rocky ride.