Chapter 81

[Evelyn’s POV]

Oh my God...

I cursed all the bad luck in the world that, for some reason, was determined to find me. Because what the actual hell was Alexander doing here??

He wasn’t someone who came to the open market like this. He had a whole fleet of staff members to run all of the inconsequential errands so there was never any reason for him to be in such a place.

So, why now? And why on earth did it have to be at the exact same time when Michael was standing no less than a foot away from me?

I almost didn’t want to turn around for fear of finding the state in which Alexander was currently in. He was enraged. His tone of voice gave that away immediately.

I just had to remind myself. I hadn’t done anything wrong. Even though my nerves were coiled and strained with worrisome guilt, these were circumstances that were not in my control.

I knew things were looking bad for me. He’d told me to stay away from his Stepbrother—an order that I had bluntly refused. In reality, I had no desire or intention to seek Michael out.

Turning around, I was met with a dangerously furious Alexander and a stern-looking Oliver. I fought to keep my resolve in place and treat this situation like there was nothing wrong. After all, we were in a public space where influxes of people were coming and going.

Alexander, being a private person naturally, wasn’t likely to cause a major scene. Right?

“Alexander, what are you do—”

“I told you. I told you that you were to not be around him,” he snarled. “And you deliberately went against my request.”

I let out a cool breath. “It was hardly a request,” I said calmly. “You demanded that I stay away from Michael. You spoke down to me as though I were a child.”

“Based on your actions, clearly, you need to be treated like one,” he said sharply. All the air was caught in my lungs. “I didn’t want you to speak with him, let alone meet up with him.”

“Alexander—”

“Do you think this is some kind of a game?!” he shouted angrily.

My blood filled with ice as I gradually felt every pair of eyes turning to glance in my direction. My chest felt like it was burning from the lack of oxygen that wasn’t able to cycle through properly. My hands curled into fists in order to hide the tremors that were running through me.

I was mortified.

“You deliberately went against my word and did this?!”

“I...”

I could barely speak. The words I wanted to say weren’t able to make it out quickly enough. Alexander merely took the opportunity to come down even harder on me.

“How many times have you been pulling this little stunt behind my back?” he questioned accusingly. “The whole ‘don’t worry, there’s nothing going between me and Michael’ was clearly nothing but a line of bullshit. I should never have allowed you to even leave the manor, knowing that he was still on break.”

My anxieties were growing more and more with every degrading word that came out of his mouth. Alexander made this whole situation out as though Michael and I were having some twisted affair behind his back. My stomach churned in knots, knowing that the crowd of spectators around us continued to grow.

I tore my eyes from him to glare back at Oliver, who I’d hoped was able to see through the false scene his boss was creating on his own. But no. The Beta stood there like a useless statue while I was torn to pieces.

“You claim that you’re not a child but, yet you insist on acting like one. Your disrespect and lack of regard for your actions leaves me no choice but to place you under house arrest until you can be trusted to act accordingly.”

My bottom lip trembled in shock. He was seriously punishing me for something that I hadn’t done. The world around me was growing fuzzing as my vision blurred. A horrible wave of nausea was rushing through me.

“Alexander, stop,” I whispered weakly.

His degradation brought me right back to all those horrible times when Isabella and Samantha would purposely embarrass me during all of those horrendous gatherings. I’d always leave feeling ashamed and hating myself for not being the way that I was expected to be.

Alexander tore through me without a single moment of hesitation while not paying an ounce of attention to the fact that we were all there, very much in public.

Yet, he kept going. He kept shouting and making all these false accusations about me and Michael. Michael, who appeared far more collected than me, simply looked at his Stepbrother as though this entire situation was humorous.

Maybe to him, it was. But me? I was desperate to crawl under the nearest rock and never show my face in this place ever again.

Michael finally stepped up. “Alright, are you done making your wife into a social pariah?” he asked.

Something dangerously lethal flashed across Alexander’s eyes.

“Michael, the only reason I’m not having you dragged out of here by the collar of your shirt is because I have no patience to deal with Caroline’s excessive complaining,” he growled back. “You’re smart, you’ll leave. And if you’re really smart, you’ll never make an attempt to see Evelyn again.”

Michael clenched his jaw. “I’ll leave. But may I suggest putting on a suit of armor for when Evelyn sets you straight? You have no idea about the mistake you’ve just made. Good luck...You’re going to need it.”

Michael carried himself off, leaving me to face the mess that Alexander had caused. I was shaking. It felt as though every bone in my body was literally vibrating from all the outraged emotions that were spiraling through me.

“We’re going home,” Alexander said bitterly.

It was then that Oliver finally moved from his spot to practically manhandle me toward the parking lot. At first, I was much too numb to feel anything. But the closer we got to the car, the more I was beginning to try and pull myself out of his hold.

Everyone around us kept staring, making me feel ten times worse than needed. I was shoved into the back seat of the car while Alexander instructed the driver to take us straight home.

The ride back was unbearable. Every word he threw at me felt like a slap to the face. Every accusation had me feeling ashamed and worthless.

I’m being punished. That’s what this is...He’s punishing me by humiliating me in public like this.

I refused to speak or even so much as look at him even though I could clearly feel his eyes burning into me.

When we crossed through the main gates, something inside of me snapped. Most of my shock wore off which only left me feeling a deep sensation of pure, unbridled rage. My hands remained clenched into fists and the rest of my muscles were locked in an intense feeling of vexation.

As soon as the car came to a stop, I threw the door open and charged my way toward the front doors. Alexander’s booming voice was quick to call after me. I refused to be subjected to any more of his cruel taunting.

Within moments, I felt the strong pair of hands yank me back, stopping me from seeking the privacy of my own rooms.

I couldn’t take it anymore. All the feelings I held back came rushing to the surface and I screamed out.