Chapter 69

Ella POV

Alexander's show of dominance melted away quickly after that. We enjoyed a romantic candlelit dinner, and he acted so warm and attentive that I could almost convince myself that what had happened with Lily was nothing more than a figment of my imagination.

I sat in the passenger seat of his sports car as he drove me home. It was already well past midnight, and he was probably right—people had seen the posts online about our engagement and likely reached out to my parents, who were most likely waiting up for me.

"How do you think your parents will react?" Alexander asked.

"I’m not sure," I admitted. "My mother’s already expressed some concerns about our relationship, so I don’t know if she’ll be happy about this. Still, my parents are so doting, I doubt they’ll try to stand against it."

"I’ll simply have to find a way to win your mother over," Alexander said with a smirk.

We were nearly at my parents' house. I had been scrolling through social media to see the early reactions to our engagement. Naturally, people had posted about seeing us at the restaurant and witnessing the proposal. Given the recent attention on Alexander and me, it was no surprise.

I slipped my phone back into my bag and turned to him. "And how do you plan to win my mother over?"

"By treating her little princess right," he said, smirking suggestively.

I felt my cheeks heat and looked away. "You play too much," I muttered.

"I’ve only just begun," he teased.

It was pitch black when we pulled up to my father’s house, where a guard stood near the end of the driveway. He approached the car until he recognized me and then, smiling, waved us forward.

Alexander pulled up to the walkway and put the car in park. "Tonight went well," he said.

"It did," I agreed. "You planned it beautifully."

A strange expression crossed his face as he smiled. "We’re being watched," he muttered, leaning forward to kiss me.

I knew it was just an excuse, but I didn’t call him out. Instead, I kissed him back briefly before stepping out of the car.

"I’ll call you in the morning," Alexander said. "Sleep well."

"Drive safely," I replied, shutting the door and hurrying toward the house.

As I opened the front door, I could already tell my parents were still awake—the living room light was on.

I wasn’t sure how they’d react, but I could tell as soon as I saw them standing in the living room—they were excited. Despite their misgivings about Alexander and the speed of everything, my father couldn’t hide the smile spreading across his face.

Without a word, I broke into a huge grin and rushed to him, throwing my arms around him in a tight hug. He hugged me back just as tightly and kissed the side of my head.

“I didn’t think we’d be planning another wedding so soon,” my mother said, sounding amused.

“Neither did I,” I confessed. “I know it seems fast, but I hope you don’t disapprove.”

“Some people are engaged for years before they actually get married,” she pointed out. “Just don’t feel like you need to rush into making things final.”

I pulled away from my father’s embrace and looked at my mother. There was concern in her eyes, but I could tell she wasn’t angry.

“We haven’t discussed a timeline yet,” I said, “but I promise I’m thinking things through.”

“I trust your judgment,” she said gently. “I just worry.”

“I know,” I replied, moving to hug her as well.

She wrapped me in her arms and held on tightly. "We don’t know a lot about Alexander or his pack," she said. "He makes me nervous."

"Won’t it be a good match, though?" I asked, pulling away from her embrace to look at her. "His pack is very powerful."

"That’s true," my father said. "But there’s very little known publicly about his pack. They’ve always had a friendly but distant relationship with us. Your mother’s right—this is uncharted territory."

"We just have to proceed carefully, that’s all," my mother added. "I know he makes you happy, and that’s what matters most to us."

"He does make me very happy," I said, feeling a slight blush rise to my cheeks. I couldn’t deny the truth of my words. Spending time with Alexander had quickly become my favorite thing. I never intended it to be that way, but I couldn’t deny that I was happy about it.

Pretending to be deeply in love with him was easy.

"I want to do what’s best for the pack," I said sincerely. "Alexander does make me happy, but if it ever seems that being with him will hurt the pack, I’ll break off the engagement."

"I don’t think it will come to that," my father said.

"But it’s very mature of you to see that the good of the pack is what matters most," my mother said, smiling proudly at me.

"You’ve learned so much from the hardship you’ve been through," my father said. "Many people would have allowed their heartbreak to get the better of them."

"I can’t afford to give up," I replied. "I have too much that I need to protect."

My father gave me a strange look at that, and I wondered if I had said too much. But it was true—everything I had been doing was to protect my family. I would endure much more if I had to.

"We’re proud of you and happy for you," my mother said softly. "But it’s very late, and I have a feeling we’ll be making announcements in the morning—and likely have many visitors."

"That’s very true," my father agreed. "We’ll all need our rest."

I nodded.

Each of my parents hugged me again before we parted ways to our rooms. It was late, and after such an eventful day, I felt drained. As I changed into my pajamas and lay down, I realized that I was still smiling. In fact, my cheeks ached from how much smiling I’d done.

That realization frightened me. This was certainly too much, especially considering that none of it was real. I was setting myself up for failure—and heartbreak—if I let my feelings get the better of me.

When Alexander and I spoke again, I’d have to re-establish the boundaries between us. It was the only way to ensure we both got what we wanted without getting hurt.

Third person POV

Amanda stared at her phone, the only source of light in her darkened room. News of Ella's engagement was spreading fast. People were flooding her social media with congratulations, praising her for moving on and finding something real after such a devastating betrayal.

Amanda scrolled through the comments, barely registering the names or the empty compliments—just the sheer number of them.

Each one added fuel to the anger simmering within her, anger that was now almost too much to contain. Spoiled princess Ella, always getting everything she wanted. The praise, the attention, and now… Alexander Black.

Amanda had lost everything she cared about. And Ella? Her life only seemed to get better. How was that fair? What was it going to take for her to finally lose?

The thought crossed her mind—was the only way to bring Ella down to kill her?

No. That would be too easy. Amanda didn’t just want Ella gone. She wanted her to suffer, to pay for every moment of happiness she had stolen. To feel the same deep, festering pain Amanda had endured.

There had to be a way to make it happen. She wasn’t done with Ella Rowan yet.