The Promotion

Chapter Fifty-Eight

From the moment we left Lucinda's office to the second we arrived home, I couldn't stop replaying her words. They clung to me, looping over and over in my head like a cruel echo I couldn't shut out. No matter how hard I tried to push them away, they crept back in, louder each time.

There were moments in the car when Alexander spoke to me—small comments, gentle questions—but I barely registered them. I nodded when I was supposed to, murmured responses out of habit, yet my mind was nowhere near him. It was still trapped in that office. Still standing in front of Lucinda. Still hearing the poison she'd poured so effortlessly into my thoughts.

When we stepped inside the house, the door clicked shut behind us, the sound final and heavy.

"What's wrong?" Alexander asked.

I forced a smile that felt tight and unnatural. "Nothing."

I heard him let out a long, slow sigh behind me. I didn't turn around, but I felt him close the distance between us. His hands landed gently on my shoulders, steady and familiar, and he turned me to face him.

The moment our eyes met, I knew I wasn't fooling him.

"Louisa," he said softly but firmly. "Something's wrong. You took ages getting your phone, and when you came back you looked... disturbed. Talk to me."

My chest tightened. I turned my head away, staring at the wall instead of his face. I didn't trust myself to look at him without everything spilling out at once.

He moved his hands to my cheeks, warm and grounding, guiding my face back until I had no choice but to meet his gaze. His brows lifted slightly, silently asking me to let him in.

I exhaled shakily.

"Did you tell me the truth?" I asked.

The words escaped before I could stop them. The second they were out, I wished I could pull them back.

He frowned, confusion flashing across his face. "What?"

"Do you want kids?" I blurted. "Do you actually want a family with me?"

The questions tumbled out of order, messy and panicked, but they felt urgent—like if I didn't ask them now, I'd suffocate.

"What?" he said quietly, clearly thrown. "Louisa, what is this? Of course I do. You know that. Why would you even ask me that?"

My throat burned. "Lucinda told me you never wanted children. She said you isolated her. That you cheated on her."

The moment I said it, everything shifted.

His hands dropped from my face like he'd been burned. He took a step back, staring at me as if I'd just shattered something fragile between us.

"Are you seriously believing her over me?" he asked, his voice strained.

Tears filled my eyes instantly. "Can you blame me?" I snapped back, my voice shaking. "I was cheated on, Alexander. My whole world fell apart once already. I'm scared it could happen again."

"So was I," he shot back, rubbing the bridge of his nose, his eyes squeezing shut.

The air between us felt thick, charged with hurt and misunderstanding. This wasn't like us. We had never spoken to each other like this before. I had never seen him look so angry—so wounded.

I took a step toward him instinctively, wanting to fix it, wanting to take the words back—but he turned away from me and headed toward the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked, my voice breaking.