Chapter 60 I don't need your protection!
Dandelion.
I slipped back quietly into the Graham Estate through the side entrance, my heart was still racing from the audition.
The disguise had worked perfectly, the oversized sunglasses, baseball cap, baggy clothes that hid my figure. No one at the studio even recognized me only the director knew my real identity and he loved my performance. For the first time in months, I felt like myself again.
I felt like Dandelion Williams the actress, not just Alexander Graham's contract wife.
I pulled off the baseball hat as I walked down the hallway, relief flooding through me. The role was definitely mine if I wanted it, and heck I really want it, it's going to be my chance at a real comeback, a chance to prove that I'm not finished.
"Did you go somewhere interesting, Mrs. Graham?"
I froze.
Slowly I turned to see walter who stood at the end of the corridor, his expression unreadable. My stomach dropped immediately.
"W--walter---"
"Mr. Graham is waiting for you in his study, He's been waiting for two hours." His tone was professional, but I caught the warning underneath it.
My mouth went dry, did he already find out?, dammit why do I feel like I'm being stalked by this man.
"uhm did something happen Walter?" I asked, trying to act Innocent.
But walter didn't answer. He simply gestured toward the study.
I sighed and followed behind him quietly, every step felt heavier than the last. I tried to prepare myself, tried to think of what to say, but my mind went blank. How the hell did he find out? I had been so careful.
I thought he would have called me or Lilian to ask of my whereabouts, but I was surprised when I didn't receive any call at the studio, so it turns out he already found out, gosh that Demon.
The study door was already open.
Alexander sat behind his desk, his jaw clenched, eyes fixed on his laptop screen. He didn't even look up when I entered.
Walter left without a word, leaving just the both of us, the silence stretched painfully between us and I felt like I was about to suffocate.
"Close the door," he finally said quietly.
I obeyed, my hands trembling slightly. "Alex, I---"
"Sit."
The coldness in his voice made me flinch. I've heard him angry before, but this was different. This was controlled fury, the kind that felt more dangerous than shouting, the same authoritative tone he used on me the first time we met at his penthouse then recently when he ordered me to call Lillian.
I slowly sat in the chair across from him, clutching my bag tightly. God I hate it when he's like this, it really terrifies me.
He suddenly turned the laptop toward me. The Security footage played on the screen: it was me leaving the estate in my disguise, getting into a taxi. Then another clip of me entering the film studio. Another angle showed me removing my sunglasses inside, talking to the director.
He actually stalked me.
"Walter tracked you the moment you left the estate grounds."He said flatly.
Heat flooded my cheeks. "You had me followed?"
"You frickin went alone." His eyes finally met mine, and the anger there stole my breath. "Without security. Without telling anyone where you were going. Do you have any idea how reckless that was?"
"But I told Lilian and besides I was careful---"
"Careful?" He stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor. "You wore a disguise to a public studio. If anyone recognized you, if the media found out, everything we've worked for would be destroyed."
I shot to my feet, anger replacing my guilt. "I had to do something! I can't just sit here playing house wife forever!"
"Playing house wife?" He laughed bitterly. "Is that what you think this is?"
"What else should I call it?" I threw my bag onto the chair. "I'm trapped in this estate, playing your fake wife, while my career dies and my family steals everything that's mine!"
"So you had to sneak around behind my back?" He moved around the desk, closing the distance between us. "Didn't I tell you to be patient, You think you can just do whatever you want without consequences huh?"
"I don't need your permission for my own career!"I snapped
"You need to use your fucking brain!" His voice rose higher than usual for the first time. "One photo, Dandelion. One leaked picture of you at that studio and Chase would know exactly where to find you. Your family would know you're planning a comeback. Every scandal blog would run stories about Graham's mysterious wife being the disgraced actress Dandelion Williams!"
It suddenly dawned on me. He was.... actually right.
"But I was careful enough" I insisted.
"No, You were dumb! By going there in the first place"
The word hit me like a slap. Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
"How dare you---"
"How dare I?" He stepped closer, his presence became really overwhelming. "How dare you put yourself at risk like that? How dare you sneak out without security when there are people who want to destroy you?"
"I can take care of myself!" I retorted, my eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"Like you took care of yourself when you jumped into Glass Lake?"
Silence crashed between us.
I stared at him, feeling greatly wounded. Why did he have to throw that in my face, why did he use my lowest moment as ammunition.
His expression flickered with regret, maybe. but he didn't take it back.
"That's not fair," I whispered in a trembling voice, that could crack any moment from now.
"Neither is you risking everything we've built because you're impatient."
"Built?" I laughed bitterly. "You mean the lie we're selling to your grandmother? The contract marriage where I follow your rules and sleep in separate rooms and pretend to be happy?"
"You signed that contract willingly I never forced you."
"Because I had no choice!" My voice cracked. "Because everyone abandoned me and you were the only option left!"
"Then maybe you should remember that before you go sneaking around!"He yelled.
I bit my lip hard restraining my tears as hard as I could.
He ran his hand through his hair, frustration radiating off him. "Do you think I enjoy this? Do you think I want to monitor your every move?"
"Then why do you?" I quizzed. "Why do you care where I go or what I do? This is just business, right? A contract?"
"Because---" He stopped himself, his jaw clenched.
"Because what?"
"Because I'm trying to protect you, okay" The words exploded out of him. "Because if something happens to you, if Chase finds you, if your family hurts you again, if the media tears you apart---"
"I never asked you to protect me!" I yelled, my tears finally spilling over. "I never asked for any of this! I just wanted to audition for one role, to feel like myself again, and you turn it into some crime!"
"You could have at least told me!"
"Why? So you could say no? So you could add another rule to your precious contract?"
"So I could send security with you!" His hands clenched into fists at his sides. "So I could make sure you were safe! So I wouldn't spend hours thinking something happened to you!"
The raw emotion in his voice stopped me cold.
We stared at each other, both breathing hard, the air between us crackling with everything unsaid. The kiss from days ago hung between us like a ghost. My jealousy over Roxy. His confession that I drove him insane. All of it bubbling just beneath the surface.
"Why do you care so much?" I asked quietly. "It's just a contract."
Something flickered in his eyes. Something deep that made my heart stutter.
"I don't know," he admitted, his voice rough and low. "I really don't know anymore."
The confession hung in the air.