The café had just closed. Elena stacked chairs onto tables, humming softly to distract herself from the restless thoughts swirling in her head. The encounter with Vivian and Adrian still burned like a scar in her mind, but Alexander's words echoed louder:
"You're not nobody. Not to me."
Her chest tightened. She hated that his words comforted her. Hated that they mattered.
The bell above the door jingled.
Elena frowned. She had locked it twenty minutes ago.
Her heart froze when she saw who stood there.
Vivian.
This time, no red dress. No heels. Just a fitted black coat and dark lipstick that sharpened her beauty into something lethal.
Elena's stomach dropped. "We're closed."
Vivian smiled sweetly, stepping inside as if she owned the place. "Oh, don't mind me. I'm not here for coffee."
Elena's grip tightened on the chair she held. "Then leave."
Vivian's laughter was soft, cruel. "You're bold. I'll give you that. But boldness won't save you."
She walked slowly toward Elena, heels clicking against the tiles. Each step sent shivers down Elena's spine.
"Do you know what it's like," Vivian said, her voice deceptively calm, "to give years of your life to a man? To love him, fight for him, stand by him—even when he's too stubborn to admit he needs you?"
Elena swallowed, keeping her gaze steady. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You do." Vivian's smile vanished, her tone sharpening. "You know exactly who I'm talking about. Alexander King."
Elena's breath caught, but she didn't answer.
Vivian leaned closer, her perfume suffocating. "I built him. When no one else believed in him, I did. I stood at his side when the world tried to drag him down. And now?" Her eyes blazed. "Now some nobody waitress thinks she can replace me?"
Elena's throat tightened. "I never asked for any of this."
"Liar." Vivian's whisper was poisonous. "You wanted his attention. Don't play innocent. Girls like you always want men like him. Power. Money. Protection. You'll smile, play humble, act like you don't want it, until he's yours. Then you'll take everything I bled for."
Elena's fingers trembled around the chair. "You don't know me."
Vivian tilted her head, studying her. "Maybe not. But I know him. And trust me, Alex doesn't keep women like you. You're a distraction. Temporary. He'll use you until he's bored, and then he'll leave you in the gutter where he found you."
The words cut deep, sharper than knives.
Elena forced herself to stand tall, though her knees felt weak. "If that's true, then why are you here? If I mean nothing to him, why do I scare you so much?"
For the first time, Vivian's smile faltered. Just for a second, but Elena saw it.
Her victory was short-lived. Vivian's eyes narrowed, dark with rage. She leaned in until their faces were inches apart.
"Because," Vivian hissed, "he said your name. And Alexander King never remembers names."
Silence fell. Elena's heart pounded in her ears.
Vivian straightened, her composure snapping back into place. "Stay away from him, Elena. For your own good. Because if you don't… I'll make sure you regret the day you ever crossed paths with Alexander King."
She turned on her heel, striding out of the café, the door swinging shut behind her.
Elena collapsed into the nearest chair, her chest heaving. Her body shook, not just with fear, but with anger. Vivian's words replayed in her head, each one designed to wound.
He'll use you. He'll leave you. You'll regret the day you met him.
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them back. She wouldn't give Vivian the satisfaction of breaking her.
Her phone buzzed again.
She glanced down, and her heart stopped.
Alexander King: I'm outside.
Elena whipped her head toward the window. A sleek black car waited across the street, headlights glowing in the night.
Her pulse raced. Had he seen Vivian? Had he heard?
She grabbed her bag with trembling hands and stepped into the night.
The car door opened. Alexander sat inside, eyes shadowed, his expression unreadable.
"Elena," he said softly. "Get in."
Her feet moved before her mind could catch up. She slid into the leather seat, the door shutting firmly behind her. The city lights blurred past as the car pulled away.
For a long moment, silence filled the space. Then Alexander turned, his gaze locking on hers.
"What did Vivian say to you?"
Elena's breath hitched. His voice wasn't calm anymore. It was dark and dangerous.
And in that moment, she realized, whatever Vivian had started, Alexander was about to finish. But, she didn't answer his question.
Elena sat stiffly, her bag clutched to her chest like a shield. The night blurred past outside the tinted windows, but she couldn't tear her eyes from the man beside her.
Even in the dim glow of the city lights, his face was unreadable, carved in shadows and steel.
Elena's throat was dry. She wanted to scream, to demand he turn the car around, but the words tangled inside her. Vivian's voice still echoed, sharp and cruel:
"Alexander King doesn't keep women like you. You're a distraction. Temporary."
She squeezed her eyes shut. Why was she letting Vivian's words rattle her? Why was she sitting in his car at all?
Her hands trembled, and she forced them still. Enough.
"I'm not doing this," Elena said suddenly, her voice cutting through the silence.
Alexander turned his head slowly, his dark gaze steady on her. "Doing what?"
"Whatever this is." Her voice shook, but she pushed on. "You show up at my work. You know my name. You… you say things that make no sense. And now your ex and your rival are threatening me because of you." She swallowed hard, her nails digging into her palms. "I don't want any part in it."
The car was quiet again, but the air had shifted. Tighter. Heavier.
Alexander's jaw flexed once. Then he leaned back against the leather seat, his eyes never leaving hers. "You think you have a choice."
Her heart stuttered. "I do."
"No." His voice was calm, almost too calm. "You don't."
Anger flared in her chest. "I'm not your property, Alexander! You can't just decide I'm part of your life without asking me."
Something flickered in his gaze, something dangerous, but not unkind. He leaned forward slightly, his tone dropping lower.
"Elena. If you had a choice, you wouldn't have made it this far with me."
She froze.
He let the words hang there, heavy and cryptic.
Elena shook her head fiercely. "Stop speaking in riddles. Just tell me, what do you want from me?"
The silence that followed felt endless.
Finally, Alexander's lips curved, not in amusement, not in arrogance, but in something closer to weariness. He exhaled slowly, as though making a decision he'd been avoiding.
"I want you to marry me."
The air left her lungs. Her fingers went slack, her bag sliding into her lap.
For a long second, she simply stared at him, waiting for the smirk, the cruel punchline, the sign that this was all some elaborate joke.
But there was no smirk. No joke. His eyes were steady, unblinking, his voice unshaken.
"You can't be serious," she whispered.
"I've never been more serious."
Her laugh came out sharp and shaky. "You don't even know me. We've spoken… what? Twice? Three times?"
"And yet here you are," Alexander replied smoothly. "In my car. Asking me what I want. Listening to me."
"That doesn't mean I'll marry you!"
He tilted his head slightly, as though considering her reaction. "You're right. Not yet. But you will."
Her blood boiled. "What is wrong with you?"
"Nothing." His gaze hardened. "But there's a lot wrong around me. Enemies who would destroy me if they could. And Vivian—" his jaw clenched at the name—"she won't stop until she's burned everything I've built. Adrian is worse. He doesn't just want my empire. He wants to see me crawl."
Elena's breath came faster. "And what does any of that have to do with me?"
Alexander leaned closer, his presence pressing against her like gravity. "Because you're the one thing they didn't expect. The one thing I didn't expect."
Her chest tightened painfully. She wanted to look away, but his eyes held her captive.
"You're not from my world," Alexander continued softly. "You don't play their games. You don't want their money or their power. That makes you dangerous, Elena. Untouchable. And that's why I need you."
The words hit harder than she expected. She shook her head quickly. "You don't need me. You don't even know me."
"I know enough."
"No," she snapped, her voice breaking. "You don't know how hard I've worked just to survive. You don't know the nights I went hungry, the bills I can't pay, the things I've given up just to keep going. You don't know me, Alexander. And you don't get to decide what I do with my life."
Her chest rose and fell, her pulse pounding in her ears.
For once, Alexander didn't reply immediately. He studied her quietly, and for the first time she thought she saw a crack in the armor,something raw, something human flickering beneath the steel.
When he finally spoke, his voice was softer than she expected. "Then let me know you."
Elena's breath caught.
But before she could answer, the car screeched to a sudden halt.
Her body jerked forward, the seatbelt locking tight across her chest. The driver cursed under his breath.
Alexander's head snapped toward the windshield, his expression darkening.
Elena followed his gaze.
A car had swerved in front of them, blocking the road.
Her stomach dropped as the driver's side door opened.
Vivian stepped out, her red lips curling into a smile that made Elena's blood run cold.