Page 58 of The Alpha's Crimson Vow

Silence.

I swallow hard. I have no answer for that.

She presses on, her voice unwavering. “But you know what? I will thank you, Alex.”

She straightens in her chair, holding my gaze. And for the first time, there’s no coldness, no sharp edge—just sincerity.

“You saved Pinnacle Group. You saved my position. And for that, thank you.”

I hear the honesty in her voice. She means it. But then the steel returns, anger simmering beneath the surface as she continues.

“And maybe that makes you think you have the right to walk around here with your guards, flaunting your power and wealth. Maybe it makes you think you can come into my office and demand a conversation.”

Her eyes harden, and when she speaks again, her voice is firm, unyielding.

“But let me be very clear, Alex—whatever you’ve done, whatever you’ve fixed, whatever power moves you’ve made—none of it gives you the right to stand here and tell me I owe you anything beyond work.”

She switches her attention back to her computer, her fingers moving over the keyboard with quick, decisive strokes. “Now, if there’s nothing else. I’d like you to leave my office.”

Her words ring in my ears. For a moment I just stare at her, even as she doesn’t spare me a look. It only hardens my determination. I have to get through to her.

“I’m not going anywhere until I say what I need to say.” I reply.

She freezes for a fraction of a second, her body tensing before she turns her eyes back to me. And damn if it doesn’t hurt, the way she looks at me—her eyes shimmering, not with longing, but with something sharp and painful.

She reaches forward, shutting down her computer with a decisive click, and starts gathering her things.

A quiet panic tightens in my chest.

I can’t let her leave. Not without telling her everything.

“Katherine…” I take a small step forward, watching her shove files into her bag. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going home.” Her tone is flat. “If you won’t leave, then I will..”

And then she moves. Heading for the door, walking past me like I’m nothing but air.

Every fiber of my being screams at me to stop her. To reach out, to pull her back, to touch her. Just once. To remind her, and myself, of how she feels in my arms.

I don’t.

But I try to hold her with my words instead.

“Katherine, that day you overheard me on the phone—” The words rush out before I can think. “I never meant to hurt you. I’m sorry. I only did it because—”

She stops.

And then she turns.

Her eyes lock onto mine, and the fire in them nearly scorches me where I stand.

“Do you even know what you did to me that day?”

Her voice is different now. Low. Trembling. Something in it makes my chest tighten.

She takes a step closer. “Do you have any idea what you did to me, Alex?”

I swallow, my throat dry.

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