Chapter 39 Chapter 40

Chapter 39 Chapter 40
Vanessa

The moment my ankle stopped throbbing enough for me to walk, I made a terrible decision.

I went looking for Alaric.

Not because I wanted to see him.

That was what I told myself anyway.

I was angry.

Furious.

The accident in the stables kept replaying in my head.

Someone had tampered with the latch.

Someone had wanted something to happen.

And somehow Alaric had managed to make me even more irritated by assigning two guards outside my room afterward.

Two.

Actual.

Guards.

Like I was a prisoner.

Again.

My temper carried me through the mansion until I reached his office.

The door wasn’t locked.

That surprised me.

I pushed it open.

The room was empty.

Huge.

Dark wood.

Floor-to-ceiling shelves.

A massive desk.

Several locked cabinets.

A wall covered in maps.

And in one corner—

A table stacked with cash.

Actual stacks of money.

My eyes widened.

“That’s ridiculous.”

A voice answered behind me.

“You should see the other room.”

I jumped.

Alaric stood in the doorway.

Great.

Just great.

His expression immediately shifted toward annoyance.

“What are you doing here?”

I crossed my arms.

“What am I doing here?”

His eyebrow rose.

“Yes.”

I pointed toward the guards outside.

“You assigned bodyguards to me.”

His face remained completely unreadable.

“And?”

“And?”

I nearly laughed.

“You can’t keep doing this.”

His gaze hardened.

“Doing what?”

“Controlling everything.”

The room suddenly felt smaller.

Alaric walked inside.

Slowly.

Calmly.

Which somehow made him more intimidating.

“I’m protecting you.”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“You’re deciding things for me.”

His jaw tightened.

“Someone tampered with the stables.”

“I know.”

“You could have been seriously injured.”

“I’m aware.”

“Then stop acting like this is a game.”

The sharpness in his voice surprised me.

I froze.

For a moment neither of us spoke.

Then my eyes landed on one of the locked display cases.

Weapons.

Of course.

This was Alaric.

Why wouldn’t there be weapons?

Something reckless entered my brain.

The kind of thought that appears right before disaster.

I limped toward the display.

“Vanessa.”

Warning.

I ignored it.

“Vanessa.”

I opened the case.

His expression immediately darkened.

“Put it down.”

I grabbed one of the unloaded training pistols.

My heart hammered.

I turned dramatically toward him.

“Maybe I should start protecting myself.”

For one second—

Nothing happened.

Then Alaric moved.

Fast.

Terrifyingly fast.

Before I could react, he was in front of me.

His hand closed over my wrist.

The training pistol slipped from my fingers and clattered onto the carpet.

My breath caught.

Not from fear.

From surprise.

He stared down at me.

Furious.

“What are you doing?”

“I was making a point.”

“A stupid point.”

His grip wasn’t painful.

But it was firm.

Impossible to ignore.I could feel the heat radiating from his body . I could feel the tingling sensation from where he held me . I wanted to tell him to get away from me but I felt like I was in a trance. His eyes roamed my body for the longest minute and settled on my breasts . My body betrayed me , it wanted him closer -impossibly closer .

The room became very quiet.

Too quiet.

As if he had read my mind he moved closer pulling me to him.

Close enough to see the faint scar near his jaw.

Close enough to notice the exhaustion hiding behind his cold expression.

Close enough to realize he looked angry…

And worried.

The second realization startled me.

I frowned.

“Why do you look like that?”

His eyes narrowed.

“Like what?”

“Like you’re angry at me for getting hurt.”

A strange silence followed.

Alaric released my wrist immediately.

As if the contact had burned him.

He stepped back.

Distance.

Control.

His favorite things.

“You don’t think before acting.”

I stared.

“That’s not an answer.”

“It is.”

“No.”

I took a step forward despite my ankle.

“You were furious.”

His gaze locked onto mine.

“And?”

“Why?”

The question hung between us.

Heavy.

Dangerous.

For a moment, I thought he wouldn’t answer.

Then he looked away.

Just briefly.

The smallest crack in the armor.

“You were injured.”

The words came out low.

Simple.

But somehow they carried weight.

My pulse quickened unexpectedly.

Neither of us moved.

Neither of us looked away.

The tension wasn’t romantic.

Not exactly.

It was something stranger.

A constant collision.

Two people who couldn’t stop fighting.

And couldn’t seem to stay out of each other’s lives.

Finally, Alaric sighed.

The sound shocked me more than anything else.

“Go back to your room.”

I blinked.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

A tiny smile tugged at my lips.

“I think you’re losing your touch.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Dangerous statement.”

“Maybe.”

For the first time all day, I felt slightly victorious.

Then the office door opened.

Emma walked inside.

The smile vanished from my face immediately.

Her eyes moved between us.

Calculating.

Watching.

Understanding more than she should.

And when her gaze landed on the dropped training pistol on the floor…

A very small smile appeared on her lips.

The kind of smile that meant trouble.

The kind of smile that meant she had just found a new way to use this situation against me.

And suddenly, I had a feeling the war was far from over.

You can add this scene immediately after Emma walks into the office:

Emma’s eyes lingered on the training pistol lying on the floor before slowly lifting to me.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

The silence was uncomfortable.

Heavy.

Dangerous.

Then Emma laughed softly.

“Should I be worried?” she asked lightly.

I rolled my eyes.

“Trust me, if I wanted to shoot him, I would’ve had better aim.”

The joke slipped out before I could stop it.

Alaric didn’t look amused.

Emma, however, smiled.

“Oh?” she said sweetly. “So you’ve already thought about it?”

My jaw clenched.

Of course she would twist my words.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?”

Before I could answer, Alaric stepped forward.

“Enough.”

His voice cut through the room instantly.

Emma’s smile faltered for half a second.

Only half a second.

Then it returned.

“I was only joking.”

“No,” Alaric said coldly. “You weren’t.”

The room fell silent again.

Emma’s expression froze.

Not because he had raised his voice.

Because he had contradicted her.

Publicly.

I saw the flash of anger in her eyes before she quickly hid it.

Interesting.

Very interesting.