Just then, the doorbell rang.
Mia glanced toward the entrance just as Hazel stepped inside. Alexander pulled away reluctantly, though the satisfied curve of his smile never faded.
***
“So,” Hazel said casually, studying Mia, “you’re going to move back?”
Hazel and Mia sat together in the estate at the back of the house, the swing creaking softly beneath them as the evening light softened the air. Alexander had gone for a run around the estate.
Mia nodded, her gaze drifting toward the house. “Every time I try to talk about going back to my apartment, he drags me into bed,” she said, half-exasperated, half-helpless. “And when evening comes, he picks me up from the office and brings me straight here—even when I insist on going back. He won’t let me go at all.”
Hazel snorted. “What else did you expect?” she said dryly. “Once you’re in his hands, obviously he’s going to trap you. You knew that. The moment you came home with him, there was no chance of escaping.”
Mia exhaled sharply, shoulders slumping. “My stuff is still at my apartment. I’ve paid rent for a whole year,” she muttered. “Maybe I’ll go back to get my things… and then maybe I won’t return.”
But then her mood shifted instantly.
She pointed toward a chair across the garden where a bouquet rested. “He gave me flowers,” she said suddenly, brightening. “See? That one.”
A smile spread across her face before she could stop it.
Hazel glanced at the bouquet, then back at Mia, lifting a brow.
“How fast does your mood change?” she said incredulously. “I seriously can’t keep up with you at all.”
Just then, Alexander came running across the garden and slowed to a stop a short distance away from them. Sweat clung lightly to his skin, his fitted black T-shirt darkened in places, the thin fabric molding itself shamelessly to every hard line beneath it—broad shoulders stretching the seams, strong arms flexing with each movement, his defined abs unmistakable even through cloth.
A moment later, Allen hurried over, clutching several files to his chest. Alexander barely spared them a glance as he flipped through the pages, nodding occasionally while signing where Allen pointed. His attention seemed divided—half on the documents, half instinctively tethered elsewhere.
Hazel’s lips curled into a mischievous smile.
Suddenly, she raised her voice—far louder than necessary.
“Mia, where’s that matching bracelet we got that day?”
Mia blinked, startled, and turned to her. Hazel flicked her eyes briefly toward Alexander.
Right on cue, his head lifted.
His gaze cut across the garden instantly, sharp and alert, locking onto them.
Hazel continued innocently, “You remember—the matching diamond bracelets we bought at the mall a few weeks ago?” She lifted her wrist deliberately, shaking it so the diamonds caught the light. “Where’s yours? Look, I’m still wearing mine.”
Still completely oblivious, Mia glanced down at her wrist and smiled. “Mine’s here too. I wear it all the time.” She lifted her hand proudly, letting the bracelet gleam in the fading sunlight.
Across the garden, Alexander scowled. He looked like he’d just bitten into broken glass.
Hazel had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing. She leaned closer, whispering with a wicked smirk, “See? I told you. One mention and he’s already pissed.”
“What are you talking about?” Mia whispered back, genuinely confused.
She followed Hazel’s gaze—and met Alexander’s eyes.
For a split second, his expression was dark.
Then, the moment he realized she was looking at him, his face shifted. The tension eased, his eyes softened, and he gave her a small, deceptively calm smile before turning back to Allen as if nothing had happened.
But then, only a second later, Alexander casually reached down, hooked his fingers into the hem of his T-shirt, and pulled it off in one smooth motion.
