Zander’s POV.
I was in my office early in the morning, going over reports and attempting to drown out the lingering frustration that had been building over the past few days.
Aria had a way of testing every ounce of patience I had, always pushing boundaries, challenging me in ways no one else dared. But right now, none of that mattered. What bothered me was the nagging feeling that something wasn’t right. It had been sitting in the back of my mind all day, gnawing at me, and I couldn’t shake it. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it had to do with her.
That unease turned into irritation when Sarah suddenly burst into my office without knocking, her heels clicking sharply against the hardwood floor. She didn’t even bother to apologize for the interruption-of course she didn’t. Sarah never cared about boundaries.
“Zander, you’re going to *want* to see this,” she said, her tone dripping with mock concern, although her lips curled into a smirk that betrayed her real intentions. She held Aria’s phone in her hand, the screen angled just enough for me to see a faint glow. Her perfectly manicured nails tapped against the side of the device as if she was savoring the moment.
I narrowed my eyes at her, already irritated by her theatrics. “What is it, Sarah? I don’t have time for this.”
“Oh, you’ll make time,” she said smoothly, striding over to my desk. She placed the phone in front of me like it was some damning piece of evidence and stepped back, crossing her arms as though she were waiting for fireworks. “I found this in Aria’s room. Just… take a look. You’ll see why I couldn’t keep this to myself.”
My jaw tightened as I picked up the phone. The screen was already unlocked, and my eyes immediately landed on the messages.
“I like you.”
“You deserve better than Zander.”
“Your green eyes stole my heart.”
“I can’t wait to see you by coincidence.”
The words stared back at me, taunting me, fueling a rage I could barely contain. My grip on the phone tightened as I reread the messages, each one hitting me like a punch to the gut. Someone had been texting Aria. Someone who clearly had more than just casual interest in her. Someone who was watching her, thinking about her, fantasizing about her.
And the part that infuriated me the most? She hadn’t told me.
“Where is she?” I demanded, my voice low and cold, barely concealing the fury bubbling beneath the surface.
Sarah’s smirk widened, her satisfaction evident in the way she leaned casually against my desk. “She’s in the shower,” she said, her tone light, like she wasn’t fully aware of the storm she’d just unleashed. “I thought you’d want to handle this right away.”
I didn’t bother responding to her. I stood abruptly, the chair scraping loudly against the floor as I pushed it back. My footsteps were heavy and deliberate as I left the office, my mind racing with thoughts I couldn’t control. The messages replayed in my head, each one stoking the fire of my jealousy and anger.
I reached Aria’s room in a matter of seconds, my hand gripping the doorknob so tightly I thought it might snap. I didn’t hesitate-I pushed the door open and strode inside, my gaze immediately landing on the faint steam wafting out from under the bathroom door.
The sound of running water filled the room, and for a brief moment, I stood there, trying to steady my breathing. But the anger wouldn’t let me think clearly. Without knocking, I pushed the bathroom door open, the humid air hitting me in a wave as I stepped inside.
“Zander?” Her voice called out, startled and confused. It came from behind the frosted glass of the shower, muffled by the sound of water.
I didn’t answer. My hand shot out to grab the shower door, yanking it open without a second thought. Steam billowed out, curling around me as my eyes locked on her. She stood there, completely exposed, water cascading down her body, her green eyes wide with shock and a flicker of fear.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Aria shouted, her voice trembling as she reached for the glass door in an attempt to shield herself.
I didn’t move, my gaze steady, my anger suffocating every ounce of rationality I had left. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I growled, my hand still gripping the door.
“Tell you what?” she snapped, her voice rising in both confusion and anger. She stepped back slightly, water dripping from her soaked hair onto the tiled floor. “What are you even talking about, Zander?”
I held up her phone, the screen still lit with the incriminating messages. “These,” I hissed, my voice sharp and cutting. “Don’t play dumb, Aria. Someone’s been texting you, and you didn’t bother to tell me. Care to explain why?”
Her expression shifted, her shock giving way to something more defensive. She wrapped her arms around herself, her cheeks flushing-not from embarrassment, but from anger. “You went through my phone?” she accused, ignoring my question entirely.
“I didn’t go through anything,” I snapped, stepping closer to the shower. “Sarah brought it to me. She found it in your room. What I want to know is why you’ve been hiding this from me!”
“I wasn’t hiding anything,” she shot back, her voice shaking even as she tried to sound firm. “I just-I didn’t know how to tell you, okay? I didn’t want to freak you out!”
“Freak me out?” I repeated, my tone dripping with disbelief. “You’ve got someone sending you messages like this-someone watching you, wanting you-and you *didn’t think I needed to know*?”
“I was going to tell you!” she insisted, her voice cracking slightly. “I just needed time to figure out how!”
“Time?” I growled, stepping even closer. “You think this is something you can sit on? You think I’m going to stand here and let someone take what’s mine?”
Her eyes narrowed at that, her anger finally matching mine. “I’m not something you own, Zander!” she yelled, her voice echoing in the small, tiled space. “And don’t you dare make this about your possessiveness. This isn’t about you-it’s about me, and I didn’t ask for this!”
The air between us was thick with tension, the kind that felt like it might explode at any second. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her green eyes locked onto mine with a mixture of fury and frustration.
For a moment, neither of us spoke. The only sound was the steady drip of water from the showerhead, punctuated by the sharp edge of our breathing.
“Get out,” she snapped, her voice trembling but firm.
I grabbed her wrist firmly, pulling her closer to me with a force that left no room for argument, ignoring the way she struggled against me. Her protests were sharp and desperate, but they only fueled the fire raging inside me. My lips crashed down on hers, rough and unrelenting, every ounce of my anger pouring into the kiss. It wasn’t gentle, it wasn’t soft-it was raw and demanding. She gasped against my mouth, her hands pressing against my chest as she tried to push me away, but I didn’t let her. She wasn’t going anywhere. She was mine. She needed to remember that, and if she didn’t, I would remind her.
When I finally pulled back, her chest was heaving, her breaths coming in short, sharp gasps. Her green eyes, wide and blazing, locked onto mine with a mixture of fury and confusion. Her lips were swollen from the force of the kiss, trembling slightly as she struggled to find her voice. “What… what are you doing?” she hissed, her voice barely above a whisper, but it was trembling, unsteady. She yanked her wrist, trying to free herself, but I held on, my fingers tightening just enough to keep her still.
I glared down at her, my jaw clenched so tight it hurt. The storm inside me refused to calm, and my voice came out low, rough, and full of barely-contained rage. “You’re my wife,” I growled, each word deliberate and cutting. “Mine. Do you understand me? Whoever sent you those messages-whoever thinks they can have you, whoever’s watching you-they’re wrong. All of them. You belong to me.”
Her mouth opened slightly like she wanted to say something-an argument, an insult, maybe even an apology-but no words came out. She just stared at me, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson, though I couldn’t tell if it was from anger, embarrassment, or something else entirely. Her breathing was still uneven, her chest rising and falling rapidly as if she couldn’t decide whether to scream at me or back away.
I didn’t give her the chance to figure it out. My eyes flicked to the phone sitting on the counter-the phone that had been the source of all this madness. The phone that had brought those messages and the rage that now consumed me. Without thinking, without even considering any other option, I turned and grabbed it.
“Zander, what are you doing?” she demanded, her voice rising now, a sharp edge of panic cutting through her tone.
I didn’t answer. I didn’t owe her an explanation. My movements were quick and precise as I strode across the bathroom toward the toilet. She followed behind me, her bare feet slapping against the wet tile, still trying to grab my arm. “Zander, stop! Don’t-”
But it was already too late. I lifted the toilet lid and, without hesitation, dropped the phone into the water. The splash echoed in the small bathroom, loud and final, and for a brief second, the only sound was the faint hum of the shower behind us.
“Are you insane?!” she shouted, her voice breaking with disbelief. Her hands flew to her head, her wet hair sticking to her fingers as she stared at me like I’d lost my mind.
“You don’t need it,” I said coldly, my voice cutting through her outrage like a blade. I turned back to face her, my expression hard, unyielding. “If someone wants to talk to you, they can go through me. I’ll handle it. From now on, no one gets to you without going through me first.”
Her eyes widened even more, her lips parting as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. For a moment, she was completely speechless, the fire in her eyes flickering as she tried to process what I’d just done. Then, just as quickly, her shock turned to fury.
“What is wrong with you?!” she yelled, her voice bouncing off the walls. “You don’t get to control me like this! You can’t just throw my phone in the toilet and act like it’s fine! That’s not how this works, Zander!”
I took a step closer, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “It’s exactly how this works. You’re my wife. My mate. And I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect what’s mine.”
Her hands balled into fists at her sides, her entire body trembling with rage. “Protect me?” she spat, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “This isn’t protection, Zander. This is control. You’re not doing this for me-you’re doing it for yourself. Because you can’t handle the idea that someone else might want me.”
Her words hit harder than I expected, but I didn’t let it show. I refused to let her see how much her defiance stung. Instead, I just stared at her, my expression blank but my eyes burning with barely-contained fury.
She shook her head, letting out a bitter laugh that sounded more like a sob. “You’re unbelievable,” she muttered, her voice breaking slightly. “You think this makes you strong? All it does is prove how weak you are.”
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. The anger in me was too raw, too overwhelming, and I knew if I said anything else, it would only make things worse. So I turned and walked out, leaving her standing there, naked and furious, in the middle of the bathroom.
“Zander!” she screamed after me, her voice cracking with a mix of rage and desperation. But I didn’t stop. I didn’t look back.
As I walked down the hallway, my hands were shaking, my breathing uneven. My chest felt tight, the weight of what I’d just done settling heavily on me. But I didn’t regret it-not yet. She needed to learn, to understand that her actions had consequences. She was mine, and no one-not some stranger with a phone, not Asher, not anyone-was going to come between us. Not now. Not ever.