Alaric's POV
The office was a cage.
Julian was still leaning against the doorframe, smugly watching the chaos. His presence was a thorn I wanted to rip out. I didn't even glance at the lily he'd tossed onto my mahogany desk.
My eyes were locked on Valeria's hand, still clutching the bloodied bandages.
"Tell her, Alaric. Tell her Marcus told you to get rid of her," Julian said.
"Leave. Before I make sure you never walk again."
Julian looked at Valeria, ignoring me. "He is a cage, V. I am a key. Think about it."
He finally left.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Valeria dropped the used bandages into the trash with a dull thud.
"When he said rid, did he mean fire me? Or something more deadly?" she asked.
"Firing you is the kinder version of his orders." I stepped closer. "He thinks you're some kind of spy. I told you to stay put."
All of this because she wandered into that wing. If she had been caught entering the room, I wouldn't be looking at her. I'd be identifying her body.
"And what are you going to do?" Valeria snapped. "Follow orders like a good little son-in-law?"
She tried to push past me. I didn't let her.
I pinned her against the closed door, my hands gripping her waist. My shirt was still unbuttoned. Her breath hitched against my bare chest.
"I am keeping you in this office where I can protect you," I hissed. "Why, I don't even know."
"This is how you protect me?"
"I am this close to kissing you into shutting up. Don't test me, Valeria."
I leaned in, my nose brushing hers.
For three seconds, Marcus, revenge, and her dignity didn't exist. There was only heat.
The door handle turned.
Valeria shoved me away, her face flushing with heat and shame.
"Hey, baby!"
Fuck.
The hunger in my eyes vanished, replaced by the cold mask I hated wearing.
"Go play with your bride-to-be," Valeria muttered, smoothing her clothes. "I guess I'm stuck here. I have administrative duties to finish. Like filing the evidence of how much I hate you."
"Valeria…" I reached for my buttons, my pulse still erratic. "Don't go home."
🧚♀️
Valeria's POV
Seraphina marched in like she owned the air.
Behind her, a small army trailed after her—assistants carrying sample cakes, a florist clutching overflowing bouquets, and a woman in a sharp suit holding a legal notepad.
"Darling! I've been calling you to tell you Daddy moved up the wedding!" Seraphina chirped.
She practically bounced with excitement. She didn't even notice me.
I stepped back, just outside the threshold of Alaric's office, frozen. The room was suddenly filled with expensive perfume and the sugary smell of cake.
I felt like the other woman. Why the hell did I feel like the other woman?
It was definitely lust. That had to be it. I just need to get laid. That was all.
Maybe I should confront Seraphina. Tell her to call her father off. Or maybe pretend to be her friend,keep the enemy close.
Then I heard Alaric's voice from inside.
"Yeah, she's nothing, Seraphina. Stop bringing her up."
Did he just call me nothing?
My heart shouldn't sting. After all, I was here to ruin his world, not become a footnote in his wedding planning.
But God. Why did the air suddenly feel so thin?
I went to my office, my fingers digging into the strap of my bag as I searched for my burner phone to report everything.
[Unknown Number]: The wolf is sniffing the tracks. He's asking questions about you. What the hell did you do? Don't get too comfortable.
[Valeria]: Worry about your own tracks. Leave mine to me.
I started aggressively stuffing everything I owned into my bag, not even sure I'd be back tomorrow.
Well. My career was on life support. My boss thought I was nothing. And my identity was a ticking bomb. Wonderful.
I tried to slip toward the service elevator to avoid the wedding party. I came face-to-face with Seraphina. She had cake smear on her cheek.
Does this bitch have a GPS tracker on me?
"Oh, you're still here? I thought your incompetent self would've left already," Seraphina said.
"Okidoki, Daddy's girl," I said, stepping into the elevator before Wonder Woman could snap back.
In the dim, cold parking garage, I stopped ten feet away from Alaric's black Maybach, staring at the tinted windows. Then I turned toward the exit.
A heavy hand grabbed my arm.
It was Alaric. He had ditched the rest of his shirt, looking like he'd just crawled out of a cage.
"I told you I'm going home," I snapped. "Go back to your cakes and leave your nothing alone."
He stared at me.
"You heard me talking to Seraphina. Don't be a fool, Valeria. Did you expect me to tell her you meant anything?"
"I'm not a fool. Let go of this nothing and marry your princess."
I tried to pull away. "How did you even escape her?"
His jaw tightened.
"I watched the elevator doors close on the security feed. I knew you'd bolt."
Of course he did.
"Get in the car," he said.
"No."
He stepped closer.
"I am trying to keep you alive. Get in the car, or I swear to God, I will carry you across this garage in front of every CCTV camera in the building."
I looked at him. And realized he wasn't joking.
"I hate you," I whispered.
His face didn't change.
"Get in."
I slammed the car door, the sound echoing through the hollow garage.
The silence was worse than the shouting.
"Buckle up," Alaric said, his voice dropping to a low rumble.
I didn't move. I stared at the leather dashboard, my heart hammering against my ribs.
"I'm not going to your house, Alaric. I have a life."
"You have a target on your back," he snapped, shifting the car into gear. "Your life just became my problem. Deal with it."