Chapter 13

At night, Alexander always slept on the inner side of the bed. Half-asleep, his arm instinctively reached out, expecting to find the familiar warmth he had grown used to. Amelia settled against him, and the air was filled with a subtle, carefully chosen fragrance. Something was wrong. The familiar, burning warmth he remembered was nowhere to be felt. The scent was wrong, missing that faintly sweet, natural trace that belonged only to her. Even the subtle rhythm of breathing felt unfamiliar. Eleanor was always extremely restless in her sleep. Without realizing it, she would grab the blankets, curl into him like a tiny creature seeking warmth, and entwine her arms and legs around him. Alexander's eyes snapped open, and a sudden wave of repulsion surged from deep within him. For the first time, he almost rudely pushed Amelia away, swung his legs out of bed, and said with a subtle edge of coldness, "Go to sleep. I just remembered an urgent file I need to handle." He didn't wait to se