The next morning, Alexander could feel a change in Eva’s behavior towards him. It seemed as if she didn’t want to interact with him much. Maybe she was upset after having overheard his conversation with his mom. With so much work to wrap up in a day, he didn’t have the time to talk to Eva. Maybe he would before leaving for home.
He left after an early morning breakfast while Eva was still in the washroom. He couldn’t afford to wait for her, even if he wanted to.
Eva released a deep sigh on hearing the front door shut. She had been feigning sleep, knowing he was getting ready for work. She couldn’t face him knowing that his career was in grave danger because of her. If his parents wanted him to marry Beatrix, then so be it. She didn’t want Beatrix to harm him in any way.
The hotel had offered her a guide and a chauffeur at Alexander’s insistence, and Eva left after breakfast. She roamed around the entire morning, missing Alexander immensely. She didn’t want to go in the first place, but she needed something to keep herself occupied the whole day. At lunchtime, Alexander called her to take an update, and it melted her heart. Why did he have to be so caring? If he were a jerk like before, she could have easily avoided him.
“Did you have your lunch, Eva?” Eva could hear voices from near him. She felt overwhelmed knowing he might still be in a meeting, yet he thought about her!
“Yes, Alexander. I had pizza. Did you have lunch yet?”
“Not yet. I’m going out to lunch with my client in a short while. Much as I’d like to go with you, I’m truly sorry that it can’t happen.”
“That’s okay. We can have dinner together. So when is our flight?”
“We’ll leave at 7 after dinner. Our flight is at 9:30.”
“When will you be done for the day?” she asked with a deep sigh, tired of roaming around on her own.
“Why? Are you missing me?” he murmured, his voice husky and low.
“Obviously yes! I’m coming back to the hotel.”
“I’ll come back by 5.” After Alexander disconnected the call, Eva spent a couple of hours at the Palace Of Versailles and returned to the hotel. It was nearly four, and she took a refreshing shower and waited for Alexander to arrive.
Alexander returned a little late and found Eva sleeping on the sofa. It was already 6 o’clock, and they needed to check out of the hotel and head to the airport. He took a quick shower and had just changed when their dinner arrived. “Eva, wake up. We need to leave,” he said, gently waking her up. Eva woke up with a start and looked around in confusion.
“Oh, my gosh! How did I fall asleep? Are we late?” she asked, looking at the time with concern.
“No, we have time for dinner.” They ate while they discussed what they had both done all day.
“The client was rude and uncooperative and made me lose my temper!” said an annoyed Alexander. “It made me mess up the other meeting as well. Maybe we will lose the tender and the marketing team will have something to crib about.”
Eva sighed, knowing that she was the reason he was going through this. “I’m sorry, Alexander! It’s all because of me you’re going through this.” Alexander stopped whatever he was about to say and gave her a look of disbelief.
“How are you responsible? This has nothing to do with you. If Beatrix hadn’t rushed me, I would have taken my time and prepared, but her threats and messages made me upset. I didn’t sleep well last night, nor did I prepare myself well.”
“Why is she threatening you? Does she love you?” Alexander shook his head while Eva looked even more curious.
“No, she hates me just as I hate her! I don’t know why she is so determined to marry me.” They ate in silence and freshened up before checking out of the hotel. It was time to bid goodbye to the City of Lights. Disappointment coursed through Eva’s body, remembering how excited she had been to come here with Alexander. It was a memorable trip, no doubt, and had too many cherishable memories for her. It was a city where she found love, only to lose it again forever. She could never forget this trip or Paris.
They boarded the flight later, and she sat quietly, listening to music, to get a grip on herself. She couldn’t let others see her true feelings. Alexander, too, seemed lost in his own world and hardly looked up from his laptop except to eat or sleep.
“We’ve landed, Eva. Wake up,” Eva opened her bleary eyes to see that they had landed in New York. After getting their luggage, they climbed into a cab and sped away towards home.
“I’ll be going over to see dad. He’s been calling me non-stop. I wonder what’s up!” said Alexander, checking his phone. Eva noted the ten missed calls from his father and seven from Beatrix. Her heart filled with a feeling of dread as she looked out of the window, watching the cars whizz past.
“F*ck! I knew it,” Alexander swore angrily, making her turn to look at him.
“What happened?” she asked him with concern, not liking the scowl on his face.
“Someone has taken our photograph outside the airport and sent it to Beatrix.”
“Oh! What will happen now?” she gasped with shock, her worst nightmare coming true.
“She’ll try to harm me in some way,” said Alexander gruffly. Eva felt guilty about causing his problems and sat quietly as he spoke to Stefan over the phone. The cab dropped them at their condominium and she went inside with her luggage as Alexander was busy talking to Stefan. Eva rang the doorbell, wondering what she would tell Alyssa when she opened the door and gaped at her with surprise.
“Hey! How did you return so early? Weren’t you supposed to come two days later?” she asked, taking in Eva’s upset face.
“Alexander has work to take care of.” Eva went to her bedroom, leaving Alyssa gaping after her.
She was about to close the door when the elevator stopped and Alexander stormed out towards her, looking menacing and furious. Alyssa rolled her eyes at him. Couldn’t he be happy for a change after returning from a vacation to the City of Love?
“What are you doing here?” he growled, entering her apartment and banging the door shut.
“What are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to return after two days?” she asked, looking confused by his behavior.
“Good that I returned, isn’t it? At least I could catch you red-handed,” he growled, his hands clenched into fists with anger. Alyssa’s face paled, and she stared at her brother with dread. Did he see Nicholas on his way out? Their timings had clashed and there was a probability of him meeting Nicholas. Panic gripped her heart, and all she wanted was to escape her brother’s wrath.
“What do you mean?” she asked him bravely.
“What the f*ck was Nicholas doing here? I think I asked you not to have anything to do with him,” Alexander demanded angrily while Alyssa stared at him, dumbfounded by his words. Her worst nightmare had now come true.
“I grabbed his collars and demanded an explanation for his presence, and he admitted to having come over to your place for dinner. Can you explain that to me, Alyssa?” Alyssa was shocked to the core and gaped at her brother. She couldn’t understand why Nicholas had to blurt out the truth when he could have made up some excuse.
“I saw his blue Bentley. Wasn’t it the same car that dropped you earlier?” barked Alexander, trembling with fury. He was already upset and the encounter with Nicholas made him furious.
“Why don’t you answer me, damn it?” yelled Alexander, punching the wall beside her.
“He is the one chasing me, Alex.”
“Is he now? Then how does he claim to be your boyfriend?” demanded Alexander in a low growl that had Alyssa cowering with fright. Her face paled more, and she gaped at her brother. How could Nicholas tell him everything, knowing how angry he would be with her?
“It’s a lie. He isn’t my boyfriend.” Alexander stared at her in disbelief.
“Tell me the truth, Alyssa. Are you having an affair with that as*hole? Do you know he is just using you to get to me? How can you be so dumb? He’ll use you and throw you out of his life like trash. Don’t you have any self-respect? I’m terribly disappointed in you. I’ll have a word with your employer and you will leave the job immediately and return to California. You will not waste your life after Nicholas Donnelly,” barked her brother.
“Why can’t you believe me? Nicholas is bluffing. He is the one who’s chasing me, making up stories about me. I won’t leave my job because of him. You can’t dictate to me, Alexander. You explained your viewpoint to me. So let me handle this my own way.” She stormed angrily away and locked herself in her bedroom. Alexander didn’t wait for a second longer. With his father calling him non-stop, he picked up his car keys and drove away to confront him.