Chapter 162

Ella POV

The rest of the day was consumed by phone calls and texting, especially with Elizabeth. She had known, of course, that her father planned to announce his retirement, but she hadn’t been able to say anything beforehand.

Now, she was eager to talk about it with someone. Her father had been king since before she was born; she’d never known any other life. I couldn’t blame her for having mixed feelings.

"I feel like it’s my fault," she admitted. "When I told him about Damien, I mentioned being worried about the paparazzi and the family’s reputation. I hope that’s not why he decided to do this."

"I’m sure it’s not," I replied. "This isn’t the type of decision anyone makes lightly. He must have had a lot of reasons for deciding to step down now."

"It makes me nervous," Elizabeth confessed. "My life is going to change so much. I’m excited about it, but I also don’t know if I’ll be able to adjust."

"You will," I assured her. "You’ll have help—Damien and I will have your back."

She giggled softly in response, and I rolled my eyes. Even the mere mention of Damien was enough to lift Elizabeth’s mood. I wondered what it was like to feel that kind of love-sick devotion.

Maybe once, I would have thought I knew. But now...

It was getting late, but Alexander still hadn’t come up from the office, so I wasn’t in any rush to get off the phone. Elizabeth and I hadn’t had a chance to talk in nearly a week, and it was nice to reconnect with her.

"It’s all over the news already," Elizabeth noted. "People are already speculating about the cause, starting rumors."

"I’m sure he was prepared for that, too," I said. "After we spoke to him, he said he needed to address the media."

"He did," Elizabeth said. "Didn’t you see the press conference?"

"No," I admitted. "My mind’s been occupied with other things."

Alexander had given me access to all the information he had on Dr. McIntyre, hoping something might click for me. So far, it hadn’t—except for remembering who her parents were.

Her father had been a doctor caught stealing medications and selling them on the black market. It wasn’t his first offense; he had a history of indiscretions as a young man. Due to his repeated violations, he’d been given a choice: relinquish his medical license or face banishment. He refused to give up his license, and the latter punishment was enforced.

Her mother had stood by him, and during the investigation, it was revealed that she had been involved in the scheme. She shared her husband’s fate.

Brianna, already an adult but still quite young, hadn’t been implicated in her parents’ crimes, so no action was taken against her. In fact, no one seemed to notice when she disappeared.

It was simply assumed that she’d moved to the capital or somewhere else to escape the scandal.

Alexander had explained to me that it’s relatively easy for someone without a high profile to disappear and start over. He believed Brianna had likely contacted someone in the Roguelands to create fake documents, allowing her to return under an assumed name.

The thought frightened me. I knew almost nothing about the Roguelands, only that it was a place to avoid at all costs.

The no-man’s land between the North and South Kingdoms was said to be filled with those banished by both. Some claimed it was a hidden society, while others insisted it was a lawless wasteland. The truth was probably somewhere in between, though I hoped never to find out.

I couldn’t imagine how desperate for revenge Brianna must have been to venture there.

“Ella, did you hear me?” Elizabeth asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

I shook my head to clear the haze and focused on the phone. “Sorry, I didn’t. What did you say?”

“I said there are already articles speculating about who’s going to run. Alexander’s name is high on the list.”

“That’s good,” I replied, keeping my tone steady. “He does plan to run. Your father’s already given his blessing.”

“And you’re prepared for what that’s going to entail?” she asked, her concern evident in her voice.

“Yes,” I said firmly. “I know it won’t be easy, but we’ve discussed this before our marriage. I knew what I was signing up for.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” Elizabeth said warmly. “Just know that I’m here for you if you need me—always just a phone call away.”

“Same goes for you,” I replied. “There are going to be a lot of changes for both of us in the next few months.”

“That’s very true,” Elizabeth said, and I could hear the excitement in her voice.

“Take it easy tonight,” I teased. “Don’t spend all night scrolling social media.”

“I’ll try not to,” she said with a laugh. “Goodnight, Ella.”

“Goodnight.”

We ended the call, and I placed my phone on the table before heading to the kitchen. I decided to prepare something simple for dinner. Normally, we would have eaten already, but I’d been waiting for Alexander.

At this point, I thought it best to make something he could eat whenever he finally came upstairs, so I decided on sandwiches.

I wanted to be annoyed with him, but I had no idea what was keeping him so busy. I was certain that if Alexander deemed it important, then it was.

Still, as the minutes ticked by, my worry grew. By the time the front door finally opened, long after I’d finished my meal, I sighed in relief and rushed to greet him.

He smiled awkwardly. “Sorry I’m late,” he said, his voice apologetic. “And sorry that I can’t stay.”

“What do you mean, you can’t stay?” I asked, glancing at the clock. “It’s nearly 10:00 p.m.”

“I know,” he said with a nod. “But I just got a very important phone call—something I have to take care of right away.”

“Some kind of emergency?” I asked, my concern rising. “It’s nothing dangerous, is it?”

Alexander shook his head. “It’s nothing you need to be concerned about.”

“Well, I made food,” I said uncertainly. “At least bring some with you.”

Alexander started to argue, but I held up my hand to stop him.

“You can at least take a sandwich,” I said firmly.

He smiled, looking amused. “All right. Thank you for cooking.”

He disappeared into the kitchen for a moment and reemerged with the food I’d prepared, wrapped in a paper towel. As he prepared to leave again, he stooped and kissed me on the cheek almost absentmindedly.

“Don’t wait up for me,” he said. “I don’t know how long this is going to take, and it’s already late.”

“Just be careful,” I replied, unease creeping into my voice.

“Always,” he said with a small smile before turning and heading back out into the night.

I walked into the living room and sank onto the couch, the uneasy feeling refusing to fade. This wasn’t entirely unexpected behavior. The women who had come forward with complaints about Alexander had mentioned something similar—that he would vanish in the middle of the night for hours, offering no explanation about where he’d been or what he’d been doing.

At the time, I hadn’t understood how upsetting this behavior could be. Now, as I sat there wondering where he was going in such a hurry, I found myself sympathizing a little more with his exes.

This was undoubtedly an odd habit—one that made me question, yet again, just how much I really knew about Alexander. I didn’t want to snoop into his business. But at the same time, I couldn’t help wanting to know what he was doing.

Was this about work? The election? The investigation into David or Dr. McIntyre?

Alexander had a bad habit of keeping things from me—things that were very much my business—until he was absolutely certain the information was accurate. That was probably what this was.

Still, something in my gut told me there was more to it, and I couldn’t simply let it go.