Page 71 of The Arrogant's Redemption

Not once in a million years did I imagine her life might be at risk.

The moment my partner left the office, I called her mother. We spoke for nearly thirty minutes, and she explained Alexis’s condition.

The man in me gave way to the surgeon. The ex-lover gave way to the protector.

I would help her. Heal her. Save her. Maybe that way I could balance out the guilt of never going to see her face-to-face. Because after what Morrison told me, I realized that no matter what her stepfather had asked of me, I should have gone to her—if only to bring closure to what we had started.

The truth is, I always knew Alexis didn’t belong in my world.

From the moment we met, I knew she would be the chaos in my carefully structured life.

She didn’t give a damn about who I might be—even before she knew my real name.

When I told her I was a heart surgeon, she didn’t ask for details. She didn’t care about my family. She cared about me.

What we had was chaotic and uncontrollable—I could see it in the few days we spent together. And I don’t crave external chaos. It already exists inside me. It always has, long before the tragedies that hit my family.

I kept that part of me buried, hidden beneath a flawless façade. But during those few days with Alexis, it surfaced—raw and unfiltered.

The passion she awakened in me wasn’t welcome. The hunger I felt for her was untamable in its intensity, and I wanted to control it. I would’ve tried—I’m honest enough to admit that. If we had stayed together, I would’ve tried to manage it.

And I would have broken her. Because that’s what I do: I ruin beautiful things, just like I ruined Jodie. Morrison said she was unbalanced at the time of the accident, and I believe him—but who brought that madness to the surface? Before me, she lived a quiet life.

So what my cousin told me changed nothing.

That weekend with Alexis was the best of my life. If I didn’t go after her afterward, it was because I wanted to set her free from me.

The door to my office opens just seconds after my assistant announces her arrival.

And once again, through an unexpected meeting, our paths cross.

Alexis is stepping back into my life, and I know I’m the worst possible choice for someone like her—but this time, I’m not sure I’ll be able to let her go again.

Alexis

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

By the timeI’m waiting for his secretary to open the office door, I’m a dangerous combination of a combustible material and a ticking time bomb ready to go off.

I don’t know how to deal with the emotions I’m feeling, and I hate myself when I should actually be hating him—the traitor.

The moment the woman opens the door wide to let me in, I stand frozen for several seconds, unable to breathe.

In my dreams, LJ always returns to my memory. Awake, I never allowed myself to think about him again after the last time I tried to reach him through his sister. But now, standing face-to-face with him again, I realize my mind has been playing tricks on me—convincing me to find pieces of myself in Sedric when, in reality, I now have proof that he’s one hundred percent his father’s child.

I’m certain there’s not a soul on this planet who could see them side by side and not instantly recognize they’re father and son.

Every little detail I love in my boy is a small piece of his father—his square jaw, perfect nose, thick eyebrows, and those uniquely blue-green eyes.

“Alexis, how are you?”

His cold greeting finally yanks me back to the present.

I can’t think about Sedric now. At some point, I’ll tell him about our son, but right now, I need LJ’s help to stay alive—even if, once I’m well, that life is dedicated to despising him.

“Dr. Seymour, thank you for seeing me,” I reply formally, each word scraping my throat.

I vaguely register the secretary saying something to him, and I shake my head when she asks if I’d like water or a drink.

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