Page 39 of Her Possessive Dominant Fake Husband

“I’m sure you think so,” I said. “However, I have somewhere to be.” This time I didn’t let her stop me. The envelope felt heavy in my hands. I couldn’t breathe. She walked off with a laugh, as if my words meant nothing to her. I’m sure they didn’t.

This… wasn’t going to work. I didn’t belong here. I didn’t have Alexander’s backing or whatever the heck it was that had Allison here.

Before I realized what I was doing, before I realized what it meant, I tore the envelope – and the request - in half.

The paper’s tear felt like a final, agonizing cut.

But it also felt like the first deep breath I’d taken since Alexander offered me a deal that sounded too good to be true. I should have listened to my gut then.

But now.... I couldn’t pretend anymore. Not for him. Not for my family. I needed out, needed to escape before he destroyed my sense of self, my confidence, mylife.

I didn’t know how I made it back to the penthouse, but I was in a rush. I tore through the place, packing my things with a breathless urgency. My things. Not the gifts he’d given me. I left the card on the counter.

Every frantic second something inside me whispered what I refused to acknowledge—I couldn’t do this anymore. Not afterwhat happened between us, or his sudden, endless coldness. I was leaving. And this time, it was real.

I didn’t know how I’d survive it, didn’t know how I’d fix the mess. My mother’s bills, my brother’s tuition—what if I couldn’t keep up? What if I let them down, just when I thought I was saving them? Just when I thought I was saving myself?

But even that fear couldn’t make me stay. My pulse pounded, aching, a warning that I couldn’t do this anymore. Not with him. Not when I knew how it would end. Not when he’d shown me exactly what I was worth to him.

Nothing.

Not only that, but now I knew for certain how easy it would be for him to discard me when this was over.

I needed out. Now. Before it destroyed me.

The enormity of the pain twisted in my chest, sharp and aching, as I crammed clothes and shoes into my bag, each piece a reminder of how much I’d given up to be here. Each piece a reminder of how little it had mattered.

I didn’t know what I was doing, didn’t know what I was thinking. I only knew that if I didn’t leave now, I wouldn’t be able to. Pain, fear, worry swallowed every rational thought, every logical plan. I’d find a way to keep mom’s house. To keep Michael in school. I had to. I couldn’t lose everything. I’d find a way.

I’d have to.

I was so caught up in the panic of my own making, I didn’t realize he was watching me until it was too late.

“You went to the office today.”

The sound of his voice, the presence of him in the room, sent a jolt through my body. I spun around, my heart leaping to my throat, my hands freezing mid-pack. Of course the detail were following me, but they were like ghosts; I didn’t even know they were there.

He stood there, controlled, unruffled, the way he always was. The way he always would be. No matter where I stood in his life.

I couldn’t look directly at him, but I couldn’t look away. He was too calm, too steady, and it made the chaos inside me unbearable.

“Claire,” he said, and the sound of my name broke something inside me.

I wanted to laugh, wanted to cry, wanted to scream. I needed to run.

But instead, I shrugged. I didn’t trust myself to speak, to say anything that wouldn’t show him just how close I was to losing it.

His gaze shifted, falling to the torn request on the floor. He bent to pick it up, pulling the page from the envelop carefully, his eyes scanning the two halves of the paper with an intensity that made my breath catch. When he was done, he looked at me again, this time with something unreadable, something like restraint.

Then, silence. I couldn’t bear it. I couldn’t bear him.

He was back to watching me, too still, too quiet—like he was forcing himself not to move.

I turned away, my chest tight, my fingers numb as they fumbled with the strap of my bag. I had to get out. I had togo before I broke, before I cried, before he saw just how far I’d fallen.

“I’m done.” The words came out raw, edged with the hurt I couldn’t hide, the hurt I didn’t want to give him the pleasure of knowing he’d caused me.

Alexander tensed—so faintly it almost went unnoticed. He didn’t react. Didn’t reach for me. Didn’t fight. Didn’t say a damn thing to stop me.

---