Chapter 4
Just as he was about to undo the last button, I shoved him away right on cue and dug out a little sculpture I'd carved myself from my bag.
It was a mother and child clinging to each other for comfort. The carving was rough, nothing fancy, but it looked just like the one that haunted Alexander.
Sure enough, all the heat vanished from his eyes, replaced by pure anger. He stared at the sculpture, his face twisted in a stormy glare.
"When I was helping you with your clothes, I saw a broken sculpture you'd wrapped up like it was some kind of treasure. I figured it must mean a lot to you, so I tried making one just like it..." I said softly.
Before I could even finish, Alexander suddenly grabbed me by the throat, fingers digging in hard.
"Who said you could touch my stuff?" he growled, voice low and dangerous.
Weirdly enough, as his grip tightened, I almost felt relieved.
Rich heirs like him always had endless tricks to keep me under their thumb.
Maybe I could slip away this time, but next time? No chance.
But what if I took the place of that thorn in his heart?
That sculpture was a birthday present from his mom, but she jumped off the building, clutching it tightly to her chest.
The sculpture was shattered into pieces. Her mom must have been in agony.
And Alexander must have felt that pain, too.
I just looked up at him, not even trying to fight back, my voice coming out in a strangled whisper. "I'm sorry... I couldn't make you happy."
His eyes widened for a split second, and his hand dropped from my throat, just like that.
Air flooded back into my lungs, and right then, I knew I'd got him.
Alexander raised the sculpture, looking ready to smash it, but in the end, he just couldn't.
At that moment, I knew I won.
I casually let my sleeve fall back, letting the scars on my hand—some deep, some faint—show as if by accident.
Every scratch was one I'd made myself while carving that sculpture.
When Alexander's eyes landed on my scars, his lips started to tremble uncontrollably.
Finally, he lashed out and kicked the table over, sending his phone crashing to the floor.
"Are we still doing this?" I asked softly.
He threw his jacket over my shoulders, scowling, then snatched up his phone and started typing furiously.
Another 300 thousand dollars landed in my account.
"This is for your trouble. Don't think I owe you anything," he said, his tone icy.
On his way out, Alexander grabbed the sculpture and took it with him.
His mind was a mess, and I could see it.
After the SAT, I sold every piece of jewelry and every bag he had given me.
The money piled up—enough to fund my studies abroad, enough to start over completely, far away from here.
Alexander had let his guard down. Now it was my turn to end things.
The controller was in my hands now.
The next day, Alexander invited our entire class to a lavish birthday party in my honor.
His original plan was simple: play that compromising video of me in front of everyone, to get revenge for Roxanne.
The vibe was supposed to be suffocating.
But today, the whole place was decked out with my favorite roses, and there was even a cake he'd baked himself.
Roxanne stared at those unmistakably personal touches, pulling him aside.
"Did you sleep with her?" Roxanne demanded, her voice low and sharp.
"No," Alexander said quietly, lowering his head.
Roxanne let out a sigh of relief, but her eyes were still burning with impatience.
"So the video's ready? Hurry up and play it for everyone! You're killing me here!" she urged.
The silence was absolute, a void where sound had ceased to exist.
Sunlight cut across his refined figure, leaving half of him in light, half in shadow.
Not far away, I dipped a finger into the cake's frosting. Yeah, that was sweet.
Roxanne's voice was getting louder and shriller as she kept arguing with Alexander, but I just poured myself a drink. and knocked it back in on shot.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Roxanne shove Alexander in a fit of rage, but instead of him, I was the one who suddenly collapsed.
A weird, electric numbness shot up from my gut, and that was when I realized something was seriously wrong.
Damn, they spiked my drink!
The ground came rushing up, and I slammed down onto the cold floor.
"You bitch, I've got plenty of tricks to ruin you!" Roxanne sneered, her grin twisted as she closed in. She snapped at a few guys to haul me off into the room.
"Do whatever you want, just make sure you get it all on video," Roxanne ordered, her voice dripping with malice.
Through the haze, I heard Alexander's furious roar.
"That wasn't the plan!" he shouted.
"Plan?" Roxanne scoffed, saying, "Alexander, seriously, don't tell me you're actually catching feelings for her?"
"I... I haven't," Alex stammered, his voice faltering.
"Alright, Alexander, just tell me—me or Madeline? Who's it gonna be?" Roxanne shot at him, her voice sharp and full of challenge.