Chapter 8

Inside the spacious black sports car. Vivian pulled her hand back from Alexander', flashing a polite smile. "Thanks for earlier, Mr. Brooks. You really saved me back there... and even pretended to be my boyfriend." The emptiness in his palm hit Alexander harder than he expected. He forced down a wave of possessiveness and said flatly, "No need for thanks." Her smile had felt so sincere... Her tone had been so gentle... Was it all just for show? A strange frustration settled in his chest. Avoiding her gaze, Alexander turned to stare out the window. "Would you mind dropping me off at a hotel?" Vivian asked softly. His head whipped around. "A hotel?" "Yeah... I don’t want to go back to the Grant house. I figured I’d just stay at a hotel for the night and start looking for a place tomorrow." Vivian’s voice was steady, her expression serious. Truthfully, she didn’t hate the idea of holing up at Alexander’s villa, being treated like the pampered canary everyone assumed she was. All the warmth she'd ever known… came from him. With him around, it didn’t matter where she lived. Still, the painful memories from her past life reminded her—she couldn’t just be sheltered and hidden away like last time. She needed to stand beside him, not behind. He was sick. She trusted his feelings for her, but she couldn’t let him keep seeking out the darkness to numb his pain. She was going to heal him. With love. "...My place is big," Alexander murmured. The unspoken message: You could stay with me. His fingers curled into fists, and his voice came out stiff. He was scared—scared of her turning him down, scared of the ugly parts of himself surfacing again... Scared he’d scare her off. Vivian looked down, lips curving in a shy smile. “That’s not really appropriate, Mr. Brooks. Only married couples live together, you know?” "Then let’s get married," Alexander said without missing a beat. Vivian blinked. "..." Just like last time... In their last life, Alexander had dragged her back to the villa and disappeared for three whole months. When he finally showed up again, the first thing he heard was a maid mocking her—saying she was just a toy he'd bring home for a few days, and that he'd never actually marry her. Without a word, he told Ethan to kick the maid out, and then took Vivian straight to the courthouse to get married. Thinking about all of that made Vivian’s heart swell with a familiar sweetness. Still, she shook off the temptation. "Marriage comes after love,” she explained patiently. “You know, two people meet, get to know each other, fall in love... and then think about forever. We… we’ve only just met." Alexander frowned. Three steps? Seriously? After a long pause, he asked, his voice low: "Is there any way... to skip all that?" He was done waiting. Vivian stared at him like he’d grown a second head. "Are you trying to hook up first and deal with the consequences later? What, you planning to be some kind of player?" “Cough, cough…” Ethan, who was driving, practically choked. He held back his laugh with everything he had. If he laughed out loud now, he might just end up being the first guy ever to die from holding it in. Alexander’s face tightened, and with a sharp motion, he pulled the divider between the front and back seats shut. “We’ve already met. So next… getting to know each other?” But what did that even mean? He’d ask her. As long as she didn’t hate him, as long as there wasn’t someone else… he could be patient, do whatever steps she wanted. "Getting to know each other means you understand me, and I understand everything about you too," Vivian replied with a soft smile. But as soon as the words left her lips, she caught the way Alexander’s pupils suddenly shrank. A sharp ache spread through her chest, like something invisible and jagged was piercing her heart.