Chapter 2
676words
Before I could answer, the yacht's deck lights dimmed for the fireworks display. Conversations hushed. In the sudden darkness, Felix's hand brushed against mine on the railing—a touch so brief I might have imagined it, yet electricity shot up my arm.
"Be careful with Alexander," he said, his voice barely audible above the waves. His face was inches from mine, features half-shadowed. "He collects beautiful things, but he doesn't preserve them."
The first firework exploded overhead, illuminating Felix's face in flashes of gold and crimson. The concern in his eyes seemed too personal, too intense for a man I'd met only twice before. A muscle in his jaw tightened as he glanced toward where Alexander stood, now with his hand on the small of Vivienne's back.
"I can take care of myself," I lied, my fingers gripping the railing until my knuckles turned white.
Felix's lips curved into a sad smile that creased the corners of his eyes. "I hope that's true."
He disappeared into the crowd, leaving me with the unsettling feeling that he knew more than he was saying.
Twenty minutes later, I found myself searching for Alexander. The deck had grown crowded, bodies pressing together as the fireworks continued overhead.
I pushed through the crowd toward the master cabin, where Alexander had gone to "take an important call." My heels clicked against the polished wood, each step more determined than the last. The door was ajar, a sliver of golden light spilling onto the corridor floor. Voices drifted out—one male, one female—both hushed but intense.
"—can't keep playing this game," Vivienne's voice, sharp as cut glass. "The girl is pregnant, for God's sake."
I froze, my hand halfway to the door.
"A complication, nothing more." Alexander's voice, cold and dismissive. Something thudded against the wall. "Once the merger is complete, I'll handle it."
"Handle it?" Vivienne laughed, the sound like breaking crystal. "Like you handled the others? Don't be naive, Alexander. A baby changes everything. She'll sink her claws in and bleed you dry."
"She's not like that," Alexander muttered, sounding almost defensive.
"They're all like that," Vivienne hissed. "Your little art restorer is no different. She saw a Blackwood and struck gold. The pregnancy is probably a trap."
My blood turned to ice. I pushed the door open with trembling fingers.
They sprang apart like guilty teenagers, but not before I saw Vivienne's lipstick smeared across Alexander's mouth, his hand tangled in her hair. Her dress was hiked up her thigh, his tie askew.
"Lyra," Alexander straightened, smoothing down his jacket with practiced ease. His face composed itself so quickly it was terrifying—from passion to business in the blink of an eye. "We were just discussing—"
"The merger?" I cut him off, my voice surprisingly steady despite the earthquake in my chest. "Or how you'll handle your pregnant complication?"
Vivienne didn't bother straightening her dress. She leaned against the mahogany desk, arms crossed over her chest. Her perfect features twisted into a sneer, eyes raking over me from head to toe with such venom I could almost feel it burning my skin.
"Oh, honey," she purred, each word dripping with poison. "Did you really think he loved you? You were just convenient—a pretty little placeholder until I returned." She laughed, the sound like glass shattering. "And now you've gone and ruined yourself with a baby. How desperately common."
Alexander stepped toward me, his hands outstretched in a placating gesture that made my skin crawl. "Lyra, let me explain—"
"Don't touch me!" I backed away, bumping into the deck railing. The metal pressed cold against my lower back. "It's over, Alexander. All of it."
His handsome face hardened, the mask of civility slipping to reveal something ugly beneath. He grabbed my upper arm, fingers digging into flesh.
"You're carrying my child," he hissed, close enough that I could smell Vivienne's perfume on his breath. "Nothing is over until I say it is."
