Chapter 54 AN ALPHA'S BLIND SPOT
Asher's POV:
I woke with a sharp groan, clutching my head, my body stiff against unfamiliar sheets.
My head throbbed like it had been split open.
I stared at the ceiling above me for a long moment before it clicked—
I was at my penthouse.
I shut my eyes and released a low hiss as I pushed myself upright.
The movement sent a fresh wave of pain crashing through my skull, sharp enough to make my jaw clench.
I breathed slowly—measured, controlled—like I was trying to steady a spinning room.
“ Maera,” I called hoarsely, pressing my fingers to my temple.
“ A cup of coffee, please.”
Silence.
I frowned slightly but didn’t open my eyes. A few seconds passed. Then I heard it—the soft click of the door, followed by the muted thud as it shut behind someone.
Thank goodness.
I stayed still, eyes closed, waiting.
Footsteps approached. They stopped directly in front of me.
I opened my eyes.
A cup was extended toward me. Without looking up, I took it from the hand and brought it to my lips, taking a slow sip, letting the warmth settle—
I froze.
This wasn’t my coffee.
The taste was wrong. Lighter. Sweeter.
Familiar in a way that sent a cold ripple down my spine.
My fingers tightened around the cup.
I slowly lifted my gaze.
Elsie?
She stood in front of me, a small, tentative smile on her lips - one that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
My breath caught.
The room tilted.
I didn’t even realize I’d jerked back until the cup slipped from my hand.
It hit the marble floor and shattered violently, the sound echoed loudly across the room.
Elsie flinched, stepping back instinctively.
Her smile vanished.
“ Asher—” she started.
But I wasn’t listening anymore.
The sound of breaking porcelain had unlocked something.
Clara’s screams slammed into my head without warning.
Raw and desperate.
Echoing through the warehouse.
“ Help! Please—someone help me!”
My chest tightened as the memory surged forward. The construction site. The locked door.
Her voice breaking as she screamed for help—or maybe she hadn’t even known I was there yet.
I remembered slamming my shoulder into the door, once… twice… the wood groaning under the force.
“ I’m here,” I had shouted.
“Clara—hold on!”
Then—
Pain.
A sudden, blinding impact at the back of my head.
The world tilted violently.
Darkness swallowed me whole.
I sucked in a sharp breath, my hand flew to the back of my head as if I could still feel it - the blow, the fall, the helplessness.
My eyes snapped back to Elsie.
She looked unsettled now, her hands clasped tightly in front of her, eyes searching my face.
“ You… you collapsed,” she said quietly.
“ You were bleeding. I didn’t know what else to do.”
My pulse thundered in my ears.
“ Clara,” I said immediately, my voice rough. “ Where is she?”
Elsie hesitated.
That single pause told me everything.
The air in the room felt colder as dread settled deep in my chest, heavy and unforgiving.
Without another second of thought, I swung my legs off the bed.
Pain screamed in protest, but I ignored it. I staggered upright and moved past Elsie, my shoulder brushing hers as I went. I didn’t stop. Didn’t apologize.
I slammed my bedroom door open and headed straight for the stairs.
My head pounded harder with every step, a brutal reminder that I shouldn’t even be standing - yet all I could think about was Clara.
I need to see her.
I need to know she’s okay.
That was all that mattered.
My feet hit the stairs fast, reckless. The room spun slightly, but I gripped the railing and forced myself forward.
I was almost at the door when I heard hurried footsteps behind me.
“ Asher, wait—hold on!”
I didn’t slow down.
“ You need to rest,” she shouted, her voice strained.
“ You’re severely injured!”
I reached for the door handle.
Then—
“ Clara’s fine, Asher!”
The words sliced through the noise in my head.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
My hand fell from the handle as I slowly turned around.
Elsie stood a few steps behind me, chest rising and falling, eyes fixed on my face.
I narrowed my eyes at her, my heartbeat thundering so loud I could hear it in my ears.
“ Fine?” I said slowly. “ How sure are you?”
She rolled her eyes, clearly irritated.
“ Seriously, Asher? You don’t believe me?”
I didn’t answer.
I just stood there, staring at her—silent, unmoving, watching every flicker of her expression.
She shifted under my gaze.
Then she sighed. “ Mrs. Brooklyn dropped a memo today,” she said. “ That’s how I knew.”
My jaw tightened. “ And… Clara?”
Elsie lifted her eyes to mine. “ I just said she’s fine, Asher,” she replied, almost sharply.
“ You could call and ask if you don’t believe me.”
I said nothing.
“ She didn’t give details,” Elsie continued, her tone softer now. “ Just said classes and lectures are cancelled for today. Everything resumes tomorrow.”
The room went quiet.
I stayed where I was, staring at nothing in particular, my chest rising unevenly as everything settled in.
Fine.
Alive.
Breathing.
Relief crept in slowly, cautiously—tangled with lingering fear and a deep ache I couldn’t shake.
I glanced back at Elsie.
Even though I didn’t want to believe her… I knew her well enough to know when she was lying.
And this wasn’t it.
Still, the worry didn’t leave.
I released a deep breath.
One I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding until it left my lungs.
Some of the tightness in my chest loosened—but not completely. It couldn’t.
Not when I knew Clara would have to face the school authorities on her own. Not when she’d definitely be questioned about why she was at a restricted construction site at that hour.
And worse—
Why were there rumors that I had sent her there.
It didn’t sit right.
None of it did.
Why would she believe that?
Who told her that?
I lifted a hand to my head and winced as my fingers brushed against something rough.
I paused.
Then frowned.
Bandages?
I lowered myself onto the couch slowly, the cushions dipped beneath my weight.
Only then did it hit me how sore I really was - how heavy my body felt, like it had been dragged through concrete.
Was it that severe?
My brows knit together as I rubbed my temples gently, trying to ease the throbbing that refused to let up.
My head stayed lowered, gaze fixed on the floor as I let out a low groan.
“ The doctor could’ve been kind enough not to tighten this bandage like he was trying to crush my skull,” I muttered.
A soft chuckle answered me.
I stiffened.
“ It wasn’t any doctor, Asher,” Elsie said lightly as she sat down beside me.
“ I did it myself.”
My head snapped up.
She was closer than I expected.
Too close.
“ You caused me a lot of trouble, you know,” she continued, her voice calm—almost fond.
“ I found you bleeding on the floor. I had to drag you all the way down here myself.”
Her hand lifted.
Fingers touched my chin.
I froze.
Slowly, carefully, I leaned back just enough to look at her properly -:really look at her.
She was smiling.
Not wide. Not warm.
Just… fixed.
I gently but firmly moved my face away from her touch, my body instinctively putting space between us as I studied her warily.
Something was off.
I should’ve felt relieved. Grateful, even.
After all, she helped me. Took care of me.
But instead, a strange unease settled in my gut.
Elsie had made it clear - we weren’t close anymore. Not like before. She’d drawn that line herself.
So why did this feel like she’d crossed several?
My eyes drifted around the penthouse.
Too quiet.
Too still.
The place felt hollow - empty in a way it never did.
Where was—
I snapped my gaze back to her.
She was still watching me. That same eerie smile sitting comfortably on her lips, like it belonged there.
Questions began stacking in my head, one after another, faster than I could stop them.
“ Where is Maera, Elsie?” I asked.
Something changed.
Her jaw tightened.
Just for a second - but I saw it.
All traces of her smile disappeared.
My pulse picked up.
I pushed myself straighter, eyes scanning the penthouse again as suspicion curled tighter around my chest.
“ And how did you even find me?” I continued slowly.
“ Scratch that—how did you know where I was?”
She didn’t answer.
“ My penthouse,” I pressed, my voice dropped.
“ How did you locate it? You’ve never been here.”
That did it.
Her entire body stiffened.
She sat perfectly still beside me, hands folded on her thigh, staring straight ahead - not blinking, not reacting.
Not a word.
The silence stretched.
And in that moment, every instinct I had screamed the same thing—
Something was very, very wrong.
I ran a hand through my hair, frustration boiling hotter with every second she stayed silent.
Why isn’t she responding?
The quiet pressed in on me, thick, and something in my chest snapped.
“ I fucking asked you something, Elsie,” I said sharply, my voice rising despite myself.
“ What the hell did you do?”
I lifted my hand in a sharp, impatient gesture.
That seemed to jolt her out of whatever trance she’d fallen into.
She blinked, slowly, then looked at me like I’d struck her.
“ What do you even mean by what did I do, Asher?” she asked, her voice low, wounded.
“ Everywhere went silent the moment you woke up, and suddenly I’m the villain?”
She stood abruptly, words spilling now, trembling with what looked like hurt.
“ I saved your life,” she continued. “ You were bleeding on the floor, unconscious. And the least I could get is a thank you—not these false accusations you’re throwing at me.”
Her words landed hard.
I stared at her, my anger faltering, confusion flooding in its place. For a moment, I couldn’t even form a response.
Then I exhaled, long and tired, my shoulders sagging.
“ I—I’m not throwing false accusations at you, Elsie,” I said, softening my tone. “ I just—”
She cut me off immediately.
“ It’s fine,” she said, waving it off with a tight smile that didn’t quite convince me.
“ You don’t need to deny it now or soften your tone. You already hinted at what you still think of me.”
She sat back down slowly, staring straight ahead.
I watched her, silently.
Then she licked her lips and looked away, gaze dropping to her fingers as she began to fumble with them - an old habit of hers.
“I didn’t meet anyone when I got here,” she said quietly. “ The house was empty. I didn’t even know Maera lives with you now.”
She smiled softly as she said it.
Something clicked.
Friday.
Maera always went grocery shopping on Fridays. She usually returned late.
My chest tightened as realization dawned.
She wasn’t lying about that.
Elsie continued, her voice steadier now.
“ I was informed by one of your students that you stormed off toward the warehouse. They didn’t tell me why.”
My brows furrowed.
“ I went to your class first,” she added.
“ I was just trying to return this.”
She extended a blue file toward me.
My heart dropped straight into my stomach.
I knew that file.
Dylan had given it to me.
Photos of Clara. Notes. Strategies. Timelines.
Ways to eliminate her swiftly.
How did it get into her hands?
Did she know what it contained?
“ Clara asked me to give it to you,” Elsie went on. “ That’s why I came looking for you in the first place.”
My pulse spiked.
“ I rushed down to the warehouse after,” she said softly, “ Only to find you lying on the floor. Bleeding… lifeless.”
She let out a low chuckle, one that didn’t reach her eyes.
“ I know you’re probably wondering how I dragged you all the way here,” she added.
“ Let’s just say I got a little help from some students around—and used your GPS.”
My lips parted slightly.
“ I drove your car,” she finished.
I couldn’t speak.
She sighed deeply, like she was carrying a weight far heavier than she wanted me to see.
“ I know you don’t trust me, Asher,” she said quietly. “ I mean—it’s that obvious. You think I’m still that woman I used to be.”
Her eyes finally met mine.
“ I’m not asking you to suddenly start trusting me. We both know it doesn’t work that way.” A pause. “But the least I expect is courtesy. Appreciation.”
Her voice wavered just enough to sound real.
“ I deserve that much.”
She scoffed softly. “ You thinking I’d hurt Maera… that’s truly absurd.”
Guilt hit me square in the chest.
I opened my mouth. Closed it again.
“ I—I’m sorry, Elsie,” I finally said. “ I didn’t mean it. I just—”
She stood before I could finish.
“ It’s all good, Asher,” she said, smoothing out her dress, that familiar soft smile returning. “ No hard feelings.”
She placed the blue file gently on the table.
Then, without warning, she stepped closer and wrapped her arms around me.
I stiffened instantly.
She pulled back just as quickly, as if she hadn’t noticed.
“ Take care of yourself,” she said calmly.
“ And don’t forget your medications.”
She turned toward the kitchen. “ I made something for you. It’s in there.”
Then she looked back at me one last time.
“ See you at college tomorrow.”
I stood there, rooted to the spot, words lodged painfully in my throat.
As I opened my mouth to say something—anything—she walked past me, opened the door, and shut it quietly behind her.
The silence that followed was deafening.
I released a deep breath.
And stared at the file on the table, dread crawled slowly up my spine.