Chapter 15
Stephanie's Point of View
The air in the room was heavy, as if the walls of the palace were closing in on me with every word he uttered.
The difference in their surnames was baffling, but his calm voice pierced my silence, shattering me: "Cedric and I are biological brothers."
A chill ran through my limbs. "How?" I whispered in shock.
"I was using my mother's maiden name," he answered, his eyes tracing my confused features.
"Why? Was there a reason?" I asked, curiosity mingling with fear in my chest.
"Because I didn't want anything to connect me to this family," he said, his eyes darkening slightly.
The maid broke my train of thought as she placed a cup of coffee before him and withdrew silently. I looked at him at the man I thought I knew. "That's why you chose your mother's name... so no one would know you belong to this family."
"Yes..." He took a deep breath and continued, "And I didn't want this life. That's why I chose teaching."
I smiled despite myself; memories of the classroom flashed before my eyes like a faded film. "You were a wonderful teacher."
His hand stopped stirring the coffee, and he looked at me with a gaze that made my heart skip a beat. "And you were a brilliant student." I felt a sudden heat rush to my cheeks and looked away, but he pressed on: "You loved drawing so much... do you still draw?"
I swallowed hard, lacing my fingers together nervously. "I studied design at university. I used to draw many designs... I graduated but unfortunately couldn't find a job."
"Mmm... I can find a job for you."
"Thank you, but I don't want to trouble you," I said quickly, trying to put distance between us.
"It's no trouble at all."
I couldn't stay silent any longer; the question was burning in my throat. "Is that why you disappeared? I mean... that you returned to your real life and left teaching?"
"Yes, exactly," he replied with lethal calmness. "But I want to know something... have you forgiven me, Steph?"
My body went rigid. His question was as sudden as a cold slap. And the way he called me by that name damn it made my heart race. I tried to gather my composure and said in a wavering voice, "I was young, and it's been almost six years."
But he didn't back down. He leaned in slightly and said, "You didn't answer... have you forgiven me?"
I didn't know the answer. Did he realize how much I had cried for him? How many nights I spent in deep depression, trying to pick up the pieces of my broken heart? And now he stands before me simply asking for forgiveness!
"Answer me," he urged in his deep, resonant voice.
"There's no need for such a question, Alex," I said without thinking. Damn... I called him by that name again.
In an instant, he moved closer and suddenly grabbed my hand. He looked deep into my eyes and said, "I'm sorry, Steph." I felt an electric shock surge through my entire body.
That touch sent me back six years; the same feelings, the same look, the same scent that used to intoxicate me, and the same passion I thought had died. I pulled my hand away quickly as if I had been burned and said in a choked voice, "Fine."
He retreated to his spot, physically distant but still piercing me with his gaze. "You've changed a lot."
I arched an eyebrow, trying to regain my strong mask. "Really? How?"
"You've changed... that's all I can say."
A strange feminine curiosity overcame me. "Come on, tell me."
A smirk played on the corner of his mouth. "You won't get angry?"
"I have a thick skin," I challenged.
He scanned my body with a bold gaze that made me want to cover myself. "You've matured... your breasts have become larger... and your ass is more prominent."
My eyes widened in shock, and the words froze in my mouth. Did he really just say that? Does he still remember the minute details of my old body so well that he noticed the difference now? I found no response; I felt embarrassment and anger mingling inside me.
"Are you angry?" he asked calmly, watching my fluster. "I didn't want to say it... you forced me."
"Fine," I replied shortly and dryly.
He was silent for a bit, then asked in a serious tone, "Why didn't you want Cedric to know that we know each other?"
"Because there's no need for him to know," I said, trying to stand steady.
"Why?"
"Because it was in the past."
He looked at me deeply, and with a tone that carried an underlying threat, he said, "The past can come back to life."
"What?" I asked, my heart thumping violently.
But he evaded the answer and looked toward the window. "The weather is beautiful today."
I shook my head, trying to process his terrifying sentence. "Fine... excuse me, Mr. Alexander. I want to go to my room."
"Very well."
I turned and practically ran toward the stairs. I entered the room, locked the door, and leaned my back against it. My heart was pounding wildly. "Damn it!" I whispered to myself, placing my hand over the heart that had betrayed me the moment he touched my hand.
"Enough, Stephanie... you forgot him... he was in the past... he must stay in the past!"
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Alexander's Point of View
I remained seated on the sofa, my body present but my mind following her out of the room. I looked out the window, watching the guards patrol outside, and sipped the remainder of my coffee, which had turned to gall in my mouth.
I never imagined not even in my wildest nightmares that I would meet Stephanie again. And where? In my brother's house, under the Volkov roof that I had tried to escape my whole life. And even worse, to find her pregnant by him!
Is fate playing this dirty game with me? Has it decided to increase my torment by placing me in this impossible situation?
I closed my eyes tightly, trying to banish the image of her trembling under my gaze.
I thought I had moved on; I had convinced myself for years that she was just a "passing whim" in a distant past, a chapter I closed when I was living under a false identity away from my family's blood.
I was "Alexander Thorne," the quiet teacher who entered into a relationship with Stephanie that young, delicate girl who knew nothing of the world's filth, never realizing that the man she loved was the scion of a family of "Devils."
And now, she returns as the mother of my brother's heirs.
The world suddenly shrank until it choked me. How will I be able to look into her eyes every day while she carries pieces of Cedric inside her? And how will I hide the fires of jealousy that ignited within me the moment I saw her hand pull away from mine?
The past I thought I had buried has returned to demand its price... and the price this time might be our total destruction.