Before she could even process what was happening, he stepped closer. His hand slid behind her head, threading into her hair and gripping it firmly. His face hovered inches from hers, their breaths mingling. His eyes locked onto hers as a low growl rumbled from his chest.
“Don’t try to hide from me again, Mia. You know I’ll find you.”
He leaned in, his lips brushing dangerously close to hers, poised to kiss—but Mia turned her face away, refusing him. Herexpression was cold, hurt, and angry. Her jaw tightened, lips pressed into a hard line, eyes flashing with defiance.
Alexander paused, his tongue briefly brushing over his own lips as he stood there, silent. Then he dipped his head—not for her mouth this time, but for her neck.
Mia froze.
His lips pressed to her skin, slow at first, then rougher—open-mouthed kisses that lingered, his tongue gliding along the curve of her neck before retreating, only to return again. He sucked softly, then harder, his mouth sealing over her skin as his tongue worked in rough strokes, making her breath stutter.
The sensation was overwhelming, heat pooling low as her eyes fluttered shut and a helpless sound escaped her throat.
He didn’t ease up. His mouth moved lower, then back up, alternating between slow, wet drags of his tongue and firm, hungry suction. She went still beneath him, chest rising sharply, breath uneven.
He kissed her again and again. Each time lingering longer, leaving dark marks blooming along her neckline.
“Alexander—” she gasped, her voice ragged, hands trembling where they clutched his shoulders. But he didn’t stop. If anything, his intensity only deepened, his mouth pressing harder, claiming more.
Then, just as suddenly as he had begun, he pulled back.
Mia’s eyes lifted to him—wide, stunned. She was breathing heavily, chest rising and falling with sharp, shaky breaths, her entire body tense and weak at the same time. Her neck burned where he had kissed her, the redness already forming into a mark.
Alexander looked completely normal. No shame, no hesitation, not even a frown. He simply licked his lips, stepped back a little more, and said softly, almost lovingly:
“I’ll come back to see you later.”
He then turned and walked out of the apartment before she could even draw a steady breath.
Mia remained frozen, trembling, her fingers brushing against the warm mark on her neck. The pulse of it still throbbed faintly under her skin. Her legs felt weak, her chest tight, like every heartbeat was a drum against her ribcage.
Eventually, she managed to pull herself away from the wall and stumbled toward the small couch in the living room. Her hand, still unsteady, reached for her phone on the table. She dialed Hazel, her thumb fumbling over the buttons.
The line clicked, and Hazel’s voice answered.
“Alexander… he was just here… minutes ago,” Mia whispered, her voice hoarse, low, fragile. “And… he kissed me.”
“What do you mean?” Hazel asked, her tone soft but alert. The faint background hum of the office crept through the phone. “Did you guys make up?”
“No!” Mia blurted immediately, her free hand rising to her neck again, brushing over the tender, tingling skin. She drew a shaky breath. “He… he said he’d come back to see me. I told him I didn’t want him to, but he didn’t care.”
“Jesus Christ,” Hazel gritted out, her voice sharp with frustration. “Why is he still trying so hard to get close to you? His secret is out—everyone knows he had other motives. Whatever plan he had isn’t going to work on you anymore. So if the only reason he married you was to get some kind of benefit out of it,then why is he still so obsessed with dragging you back to his house?”
Mia shrugged, even though Hazel couldn’t see her. Her body was taut, her hand shaking slightly as she held the phone.
Finally, she spoke, her voice small and tired. “I don’t know,” she admitted, every word trembling. “I met him unexpectedly after I left James… and he proposed on the same day.” Her throat tightened, and her voice fell to a whisper, raw and uncertain. “I don’t think it was by chance. I don’t know what to believe anymore. Everything feels tangled, and my head aches every time I try to think about it.”
Hazel was quiet for a moment, then spoke softly. “Mia… why don’t you just talk to him? Keeping everything bottled up is killing you. You’re overthinking, assuming the worst, and it’s wearing you down. Talk to him. Ask him. Don’t let it fester inside.”
“I don’t want to go back to his house,” Mia said immediately, her voice trembling. Her chest tightened, and her fingers curled into tight fists in her lap. “I don’t want to talk about it.” She swallowed hard, the words scraping out of her throat. “Mr. Graves lied to me. He told me he didn’t even know me when he married me. That our marriage was just a way to help me divorce James faster.”
Her breath shook as she swallowed. “Our marriage began with him lying to me. How can I trust anything he says now?”
Her voice grew smaller, shaky. She licked her lips nervously before speaking again in a soft, strained whisper. “I’m done now… I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Can I please talk to you later? I’m going to hang up.”
Hazel replied almost instantly, her voice tightening with worry. “Yeah, of course. Have dinner, okay? Do you have money? Do you need anything?”
“No…” Mia murmured, rubbing her thumb along the edge of her phone. The motion steadied her for a moment. “Sawyer gave me his card. I used it to rent this apartment and buy a few things. I’ll pay him back when I can.”
