Chapter 76

[Evelyn’s POV]

“I don’t want you anyway near Michael, going forward,” Alexander said sternly.

His voice cut through the serene silence I’d been working in since early that morning.

I was certain that the moment Micheal had left, the house itself was finally able to relax. Unfortunately, Alexander’s disposition had remained sore and disgruntled.

Even when I had told him that there was nothing for him to worry about when it came to Michael, I don’t think he fully believed me. I was hoping that things would have gone back to the way they were before Michael ever came to visit.

But no.

Alexander still kept himself hidden away in his office and very rarely did we take meals together. Nina and Wendy were claiming that it was nothing more than him needing to catch up on work. But I knew better.

He was still heavily bothered by his Stepbrother’s presence. And it certainly didn’t help the fact that Michael and I, somewhat, already knew each other in advance. I’d done my best to assure Alexander that nothing was going on when it came to Michael and me.

But it was obvious that my own word wasn’t good enough for him.

I’d really hoped that he was able to believe me, considering that it was the truth. But if I had learned anything from living with him these past several months, it was that Alexander was stubborn beyond reason.

My heart lodged into my throat as I stared back at the man who’d been unconsciously avoiding me for days. My entire body seized up as I stood, leaning over my hibiscus plants in the greenhouse.

I half-hazardly glanced over my shoulder to find Alexander stationed in the doorway. His unreadable expression told me that he was completely serious about this demand.

“What?” I asked, feeling numb.

“You heard what I said. You are not permitted to see Michael going forward,” he reiterated.

This time, I was able to pull myself back. My brows drew together in total bafflement.

“You’re actually being serious?”

All he did was arch a firm brow in response. I let out a humorless laugh and shook my head.

“Alexander, why on earth—”

“Because I said so.”

“That is not a viable excuse!” I countered back loudly.

Alexander’s stoney resolve began to crack. Anger pinched at the corners of his eyes.

“I am a grown woman. You cannot simply tell me that I am no longer ‘allowed’ to see or not see someone all because you’re the one with the problem,” I stated. “Now, if you were willing to actually take a moment to speak with me about what you’re thinking, then perhaps we could come to some kind of agreement. But until then, my answer is no.”

Well, I should have known that kind of response was going to go over like a lead balloon with him. Alexander looked like he was seconds away from lunging at me had it not been for the wheelchair he was sitting in. From what I could guess, no one had ever told Alexander no before, nor had anyone ever refused an order he’d given them.

But I wasn’t another one of his soldiers. I wasn’t one of his staff members. I wasn’t even his literal family.

I was his wife. I was meant to be someone whom he could confide in—someone who was meant to help me sort through the troubles in his life in order to ease the ongoing pressures.

Yet, he refused to acknowledge me as such. Instead, he thought he could get away with treating me like some kind of child. Well, that’s where I was ready to draw the line.

Alexander spoke through clenched teeth. “Michael isn’t someone that can be trusted.”

“Why?”

I planted my hands on my hips and matched his stare. Come on. I was really trying to get him to open up about this. I couldn’t understand why all of a sudden we were having a hard time talking to one another.

“This is not something that is up for discussion,” he said passively. “Why can’t you accept what I’m telling you?”

I narrowed my eyes on him. Now, my own anger was beginning to rise.

“Because I’m not some mindless follower that’s going to hang on to your every word without so much as a literal explanation,” I said back. “Do you understand? That is what I’m asking of you. I want you to explain to me why you believe I should keep away from Michael.”

“Because I have reason to believe that he’s the one responsible for that fucking car accident all those months ago!” he shouted.

All that was heard was the sudden audible gasp that tore from the back of my throat. My eyes were wide and my jaw fell open.

Holy shit.

I didn’t know what to say to that. Alexander had to have known that this was a huge accusation to make, especially if he didn’t have any evidence to support his claim. But surely, he would have been able to gather something viable by now. Right?

Regardless, the thought of Michael committing such a heinous crime was almost unthinkable. Our interactions were seldom few at best. But in both instances, Michael never made me feel particularly uncomfortable or unsafe for that matter.

Hell, he was the one who helped me back at the market. Had it not been for him, I would have very likely ended up falling to the ground due to my lightheadedness.

This is the same guy who is working with medicinal plants to better the health of those around him. And, yet, I was to believe that he was some kind of psycho?

However, Alexander was purely convinced that it was his own Stepbrother who planned to have him killed.

“A-Are you certain of this?”

His voice was seeped with hostility. “Does my word all of a sudden hold no value to you?”

What concern I felt toward him was instantly sucked out and replaced with that same anger this whole conversation started with.

“Well, considering my word means very little to you, I’m going to have to ask if you gathered any sort of evidence that would help in backing up your claim.”

Again, the silence that fell between us was deafening.

Good God. At the rate we were going, I would have had better luck trying to pry literal teeth out of his mouth.

I should have known that he would be reluctant to share something as important as that with me. But I was really hoping that he would. Silly me.

“You know what? You’re obviously not going to share anything else with me about this, so I’m going to have to ask that we please cut this conversation short so I can return to what I was doing before.”

I didn’t wait to hear another possible word from him as I turned back to resume watering my plants. When I heard the sound of the door slamming shut behind him, I finally allowed my hidden emotions to come through. Small tears began to prickle in the corners of my eyes.

What the hell had happened to our budding relationship? One moment we were making out like a pair of teenagers, one barely being able to share the same space with the other.

I needed to talk to someone to figure out what to do because there was no chance that Alexander and I were going to be able to go on like this.