He was tall and rigid, shoulders squared, his presence swallowing the space around them. His jaw was clenched so tight a muscle ticked beneath his skin. His eyes were dark—burning, sharp, locked straight on Mia.
His gaze made the air thicken, pressing down on her chest until breathing felt harder.
Harold’s mouth dropped open. The color drained from his face instantly. He winced, then glanced at Mia with a sheepish, guilty look.
“Uh…” He swallowed. “I’m sorry. I forgot to tell you—I sent a photo to Alexander when I saw Gavin holding your hand.”
Mia’s heart slammed painfully against her ribs.
“You—what?” Her voice came out thin, horrified. She stared at him like he’d just betrayed her. “Why would you do that?”
Harold rubbed the back of his neck, fingers scraping through his hair as he shifted from one foot to the other. His shoulders hunched slightly, posture defensive. He couldn’t even bring himself to look at Mia.
“I wasn’t thinking,” he muttered. “I just wanted to make him feel bad for upsetting you. I didn’t think he’d show up this fast.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Hazel suddenly burst out laughing.
Mia flinched and turned toward her at once. Harold did too, blinking in confusion.
Hazel was holding Harold’s phone.
At some point—Mia hadn’t even noticed when—Hazel had picked it up from the table. She sat there with the screen tilted toward herself, eyes lowered, scanning the messages. Her lips twitched as she read, disbelief and amusement mixing on her face.
The chat with Alexander was open.
Right at the top was the photo.
Gavin’s hand wrapped around Mia’s.
Beneath it, the message Harold had sent—still bright and bold on the screen.
‘This is what happens when you upset your wife. Your replacement is already here! Hahahha!’
The words looked louder somehow, the bold font practically screaming off the glass.
Mia’s stomach dropped so suddenly it made her dizzy.
Hazel lifted the phone higher, her wrist tilting so the glowing screen was unmistakably visible to everyone. The harsh light reflected in her eyes as she burst into even louder laughter, her shoulders shaking, breath coming out in sharp, disbelieving bursts. She glanced from the phone to Harold, incredulity written all over her face.
“You sent himthistext?” she demanded, still laughing. “Are you actually serious right now?”
Harold opened his mouth, clearly about to explain—
But before Mia could even process what was happening, Alexander reached the table.
In one swift motion, he bent down, his grip firm as he lifted Mia cleanly off her feet, and in the next second, her world flipped as she was thrown over his shoulder.
Mia gasped, the air rushing out of her lungs.
She was so shocked she forgot how to breathe. Everything happened too fast—the couch gone beneath her, the floor tilting, her feet leaving the ground before her mind could catch up to what was happening. Her hands instinctively grabbed at his jacket, knuckles whitening.
“Alexander!” she cried, pounding lightly at his shoulders, panic and disbelief lacing her voice as she struggled. “Put me down!”
He didn’t listen.
He didn’t even turn his head.
He didn’t spare Harold or Hazel so much as a glance.
