Chapter 187

Alexander POV

“It shouldn't change anything.”

I thought of Ella’s words bitterly as I made my way down to the office. It wasn’t fair for me to feel bitter about this.

Ella was right—the fact that we felt the pull shouldn’t change anything between us. I had already come to terms with the fact that I cared about her.

I thought she cared for me too.

Maybe I had overestimated myself.

Of course, now that I knew the truth about her, it made sense. Ella was avenging her own death—and the death of her father. She was angry, hurt, and determined.

Once again, I found myself admiring her.

If I were in her position, I doubted I could have been so calculated. My anger would have gotten the better of me. I would have acted rashly, violently. But not Ella.

She formulated a plan and executed it flawlessly. Falling apart now, when we were so close, would be foolish.

That didn’t mean her words didn’t sting.

Then there was the blonde woman she had mentioned. A scandal that ruined me. It could only be Sabrina.

Supermodel good looks and the power to destroy my life—no other woman fit that description.

I thought I had learned my lesson from her, but it seemed I had repeated my mistakes with Ella. I let myself fall for her, and now I was caught between my heart and my logical mind.

I knew what I should do in response to all of this.

I should have Ella committed, rid myself of our false marriage in a way that made me look pitiable rather than cruel. It was essentially a get-out-of-jail-free card—if I was cold enough to use it. And maybe, once, I would have been.

But now?

I wasn’t.

Ella had changed me more than she could possibly know.

I only hoped it was for the better.

August was already waiting in my office when I arrived.

Today was the day we finally announced the plans for the solar farm. Ella’s father had been working hard, meeting with Derrick Lake and other officials in the area to ensure that everyone was on board with the project.

It would generate a lot of money and good publicity at a time when many desperately needed it.

I couldn’t afford to mess up the announcement just because my head was swimming with everything I had just learned. I had to hold myself together and put on a good front.

Having August working in the background would help. I knew I could trust him to handle things behind the scenes so that I could face the moment at hand.

“Sir,” August said the moment I walked in, his expression laced with concern. Of course, he could read it on my face.

“Everything’s fine,” I said. “I’m ready to head to the press conference, but I need you to take care of something for me in the meantime.”

“Of course.” The concern in his face was quickly replaced by determination.

“I need you to be as discreet as possible,” I said firmly. “No one can get wind of this. Not a soul. Is that clear?”

“Absolutely, sir,” August said without hesitation. “You know you can trust my discretion.”

“I need you to look into Ella’s background.”

His eyes widened slightly. He hesitated for only a moment before asking, “Has something happened? Surely, the background check we did before your arrangement was confirmed would have revealed any—”

“Medical history. School records. Everything,” I interrupted. “I need to know if there’s even a hint of any issue in her past that could have been covered up. Something our initial research may have missed.”

The emotions flickering across August’s face were unmistakable. He was my advisor, my best friend—normally a master of maintaining a stoic front—but right now, I saw it clearly.

Concern.

And a hint of smugness.

He was dying to say, I told you so.

August had never trusted Ella. I could already imagine what he was thinking—that I had finally discovered something to prove her true motives were underhanded.

I couldn’t exactly correct him. Not without revealing something that might hint at the truth Ella had just confided in me.

As uncertain as I felt about all of this, I wouldn’t betray her trust.

Still, I had to be absolutely certain that what she told me was the truth—that there wasn’t some underlying mental illness or family history of psychosis that I had missed.

I believed her. She’d been so sincere. I didn’t think it was possible for someone to fake that kind of emotion. But I had to be 100% sure.

Part of me just didn’t want to believe it, because it meant I was going to have to deal with Sabrina again. And I had hoped never to see her perfect face for the rest of my life.

The way things had ended between us, it was only natural that I felt this level of animosity—at least, that’s what I told myself.

"One other thing, August."

"Yes, sir?"

"I need you to see if you can track down Sabrina."

At the sound of her name, August’s eyes widened, and a flicker of anger crossed his face.

"Why?"

I stared at him, disbelief clearly written on my face. August never questioned my orders. He asked for clarification at times, but he never outright questioned me.

"Ella has heard from her… mysterious sources that Sabrina could become a problem for us in the election," I said carefully, ensuring that I didn’t lie to him while also not revealing too much.

"And you believe her?"

"She doesn’t know Sabrina," I pointed out. "I’ve never spoken about her with Ella. Never mentioned her. There should be no way for her to know. And yet, she told me that a beautiful blonde woman is going to unleash the scandal that will destroy my political career. Who else could that possibly be?"

August was silent for a long moment. Then he simply said, "Yes, sir."

"Thank you," I said softly. None of this was pleasant for August. He’d been with me through the worst of my depression after things ended with Sabrina. He was possibly the only person who truly understood how much this troubled me.

"I have to go," I muttered, rubbing my temple in firm, slow circles to stave off the headache building behind my eyes. "I can’t be late."

"Of course," August said. "The car is waiting. Send me a text if you need anything else, and I’ll get started on that work immediately."

"Very good," I said, grabbing the cup of coffee waiting for me on my desk before turning toward the exit.

The idea of facing Ella’s father right now was daunting. Not only had I just heard from Dr. Brianna McIntyre that there had been a plot to kill him, but Ella had just told me that, originally, he really had died.

His daughter had confessed things to me that she hadn’t told another living soul—not even him, despite how close they were. In a way, I almost felt like I had overstepped.

Why Ella chose to confide in me and no one else was beyond me. True enough, her story was difficult to accept, but her father seemed like such a loving, devoted parent. I just couldn’t imagine him dismissing her—or worse, rejecting her.

I forced those thoughts out of my mind. Now wasn’t the time for any of this.

I needed to put on that same charming smile I always used when facing the public—the one that got me out of trouble 90% of the time and helped me cover up when my personal life was falling apart.

I had to play the part of Alexander Black, no matter how uncertain I felt of myself at the moment.