Page 42 of The Alpha's Crimson Vow

The words are so absurd, so completely out of left field, that for a moment I think I’ve misheard him. “Wh-what?” The word stumbles out of me, barely audible.

“I am not some janitor, Katherine. I never was,” he says, his voice steady and detached. “For the past year, I’ve been undercover at your company. Gathering the information I needed for my mission.”

The words slam into me, sharp and painful, my mind spinning so fast I can barely hold myself upright. “What mission?” I ask again, somehow managing to get the question out despite the lump in my throat.

“That isn’t something that is of any concern to you,” he replies curtly, his tone colder than I’ve ever heard it.

What the hell is happening? I can’t wrap my head around it. This man, this Alex—my Alex—is unrecognizable.

“Everything you told me… everything that happened… it was all lies?” My voice breaks, the fury and anguish bleeding into every word. “All part of your mission?”

He doesn’t answer. Doesn’t even flinch. He just stands there, immovable, a statue of indifference.

The silence tears at me, infuriating and unbearable. “Damn it, Alex!” I shout, my breath ragged, my anger bubbling over. “Was I just some pawn in your mission? Were you using me this entire time?”

There’s a beat, a moment where the world seems to hold its breath, and I find myself hoping—for what, I don’t even know. A denial? An explanation? Something to pull me back from the edge of despair.

But when he finally speaks, it’s like he takes whatever fragile hope I had left and shatters it beyond repair.

“Yes, Katherine,” he says, his eyes unwavering and merciless. “I have been using you.”

The words hit me like a physical blow, and my heart… it doesn’t just break. It collapses, shatters, and burns in the same instant.

“You… You said we were fated. You said we had a bond.” My voice comes out lighter than I want it to, weaker. “You talked about the thread I’ve been seeing, the things I’ve been feeling.”

He looks at me, his expression unreadable, void of anything I can hold on to. “Some things are just more important than that, Katherine.”

My heart stumbles, then plummets. “What are you saying?”

He stands there for a moment, silent, as if giving me one last second before the blow lands.

“I’m saying that this, you and I… it doesn’t matter anymore.”

It’s like an anchor drops in my stomach.

“I just found out my parents were murdered… and now… this,” I whisper, the words tumbling out like I’m talking more to myself than anybody else.

For a fleeting second, something flickers across his face—remorse, guilt, something. But just as quickly as it appeared, it’s gone, buried beneath that same impenetrable mask. Whatever part of Alex I thought I recognized is gone. And it’s never coming back.

I force myself to stand taller, bracing against the storm raging inside me. “Well,” I say, my voice trembling but determined, “I hope you’ve gotten everything you need, Alex. As for the contract, you can consider it over.”

He doesn’t respond. He doesn’t move. He just stares at me with that same cold, unyielding expression.

“Leave my house,” I say, my voice firmer now, stronger than I feel.

The silence that follows is almost unbearable. He doesn’t move at first, just stands there, staring at me.

“I said leave!” I shout, my voice raw with anger, with something far more painful beneath it. “I never want to see you again. Ever!”

He inhales deeply, his chest rising and falling in a slow, deliberate motion. Then, without another word, he turns and walks toward the door. He brushes past me, his steps heavy. The sound of the door of the apartment clicking shut behind him is like a final blow, sealing the space between us.

And then, I fall apart.

My legs give out, and I sink to the floor, my back hitting the wall with a dull thud. My head falls forward, and the tears come in full force now, uncontrollable, unstoppable.

I weep. Loud, ugly, heartbroken sobs that wrack my entire body. My chest aches, and my hands tremble as I clutch at nothing, grasping at the empty air where my heart used to be.

The apartment feels colder now, emptier. Like all the warmth has been sucked out along with him. I lean my head back against the wall, my tears sliding down my cheeks and pooling at my chin, but I don’t bother wiping them away.

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