Chapter 83 Roxy Exposed
Alexander.
"Dr. Hughes, I need you to understand something," I said coldly. "This test must be conducted under the most strict supervision. I don't care whatever excuses she makes, what bathroom privacy she claims she needs. You must stay with her throughout the entire time."
"Mr. Graham, I assure you, our facility follows all protocols--"
"Your protocols aren't enough." I cut him off. "I've known Roxy Briggs for years. She's very cunning and manipulative. If there's a way to fake this test, she'll definitely find it."
Dr. Hughes was silent for a moment. "You really think she would go that far?"
"I Know she would." My grip tightened on the phone. "That's why I'm paying you triple your normal rate to personally oversee every single step. So make sure she doesn't leave your sight. She doesn't touch anything you haven't verified. Am I clear?"
"Crystal clear, Mr. Graham."
"Good. I'll have her at your clinic in two hours."
I hung up and immediately dialed Walter. "It's done. Dr. Hughes is expecting us. Get the car ready."
"Sir, are you certain about this?" Walter's voice was cautious. "If Miss Briggs is indeed pregnant--"
"She's not."
"But if she is—"
"She's not, Walter." I turned to the glass window, my reflection staring back at me with cold certainty. "I always used protection. Every single time. And the timeline doesn't match. She claimed she found out two weeks ago, but we haven't been together in more than a month."
"Then why would she lie about something so easily disproven?"
"Because she's desperate." I grabbed my jacket from the chair. "And desperate people do stupid things."
The truth was, Roxy's announcement had been eating at me since the moment I heard about it. Not because I believed it, but because of what it meant for Dandelion. The hurt in her eyes when she confronted me, the doubt, the pain.
That fake pregnancy claim had done exactly what Roxy intended. It had driven a wedge between me and Dandelion, just when we were about building trust.
And I was about to make Roxy pay for that.
Two hours later, I walked into the private medical clinic with Roxy beside me. She'd been surprisingly cooperative when I had called, she's probably thinking this was me accepting responsibility.
Well she's wrong.
"Alex, I really don't think this is necessary," she said softly as we entered. "I already have confirmation from my own doctor."
I ignored her completely, seeing her made me remember how disappointed dandelion looked and it made me irritated.
Dr. Hughes greeted us in the lobby. He was a stern looking man in his late fifties, someone whose reputation for thoroughness was legendary. Exactly why I chose him.
"Mr. Graham. Miss Briggs." He nodded to us both. "Please, follow me."
Roxy's heels clicked against the tile floor as we walked down a sterile hallway. I noticed her hand trembling slightly as she clutched her purse.
Good. She should be nervous.
"Miss Briggs, I'll need you to come with me," Dr. Hughes said when we reached a private room. "Mr. Graham, you can wait in my office."
"Actually," I said, my tone leaving no room for argument, "I'll be observing."
Roxy's eyes widened. "What? Alex, that's completely inappropriate--"
"Not the test itself," I clarified. "But I'll be right outside the bathroom door while Dr. Hughes supervises. I want to make sure there's no chance of tampering."
"Tampering?" Her voice rose, rage mixing with panic. "You think I'd cheat on a pregnancy test? How dare you--"
"If you have nothing to hide, then it shouldn't matter, Also you have a chance to say the truth now Roxy, because after the test I'll be unforgiving." I said coldy barely containing the rage inside me.
Her mouth opened and closed. I watched the calculations running behind her eyes, trying to find a way out of this corner.
"Fine," she finally snapped. "Let's just get this over with."
Dr. Hughes handed her a sealed testing kit. "This is a hospital grade test. Much more sensitive than anything you can buy over the counter. Miss Briggs, I'll need you to provide a sample. I'll be in the bathroom with you to ensure protocol is followed."
"This is humiliating," Roxy muttered, snatching the kit from his hands.
"It's necessary," I corrected coldly.
I positioned myself outside the bathroom door while Dr. Chen accompanied Roxy inside. Through the thin door, I could hear muffled voices.
"Miss Briggs, I need you to open the sealed package in front of me."
"I know how to take a pregnancy test."
"Nevertheless, please open it now."
A rustling sound. Then silence.
The bathroom door opened after what felt like an eternity. Dr. Hughes emerged first, holding the test carefully with gloved hands.
"We need to wait three minutes for the results," he said.
Roxy came out behind him, her face flushed, avoiding my eyes. She leaned against the wall with arms crossed defensively.
Those three minutes stretched impossibly long. I watched the clock on the wall tick forward, each second feeling like an hour.
Dr. Hughes checked his watch. "It's Time."
He looked down at the test in his hands. His expression didn't change, but I saw the slight tightening around his eyes.
"Well?" I demanded.
"It's....Negative Sir." He held it up for both of us to see. One clear line. Not two. "Miss Briggs is not pregnant."
The words hung in the air like a guillotine blade.
Roxy's face went white. "That can't be right. There must be a mistake--"
"There's no mistake," Dr. Chen said firmly. "This is a hospital-grade test. The accuracy rate is over ninety-nine percent."
"Then the test is defective! Run another one!"
"Miss Briggs--"
"I'm pregnant!" Her voice cracked, desperation bleeding through. "I know I am! I took three tests at home, they all said positive--"
"Then those tests were tampered with?, How desperate can you be Roxy." I said quietly in a dangerous tone.
She turned to me, and I saw the moment she realized there was no way out. The panic in her eyes, the way her whole body seemed to deflate.
"Alex, I can explain--"
"Explain what exactly?" I stepped closer, my voice dropping to that deadly calm tone that made board members sweat. "Explain how you lied about being pregnant? Explain how you tried to manipulate me with a fake child? Explain how you showed up at my company, made a scene in the fucking lobby, and tried to destroy my marriage?"
"It wasn't supposed to be like this," she whispered, tears starting to stream down her face. "I just...i just wanted you back."
"So you lied about a pregnancy."
"I love you!" The words burst out of her like a confession. "I've loved you for years, Alex. We had something good, something real, and then you just threw it away for her. For some scandal-ridden actress with a fake marriage--"
"Watch your mouth." The warning in my voice made her flinch.
"But It's true, isn't it?" She was crying openly now, her mascara running down her cheeks. "Your marriage is fake. You barely even go out together in public"
"Whether my marriage is real or fake it's none of your concern."
"I thought if I told you I was pregnant, you'd leave her," Roxy sobbed. "I thought you'd realize you still wanted me. That what we had mattered."
"What we had, was a physical arrangement. Nothing more. I made that very clear from the beginning."I said each word plainly so that it would stick into her brain.
"But I fell in love with you."
"That's not my problem." I felt no sympathy watching her fall apart. Only cold, hard anger. "You knew the terms. You agreed to them. And then you tried to trap me with a lie."
"Alex, please."
"You manipulated me. You lied about a child. You tried to destroy my wife's reputation with your fake pregnancy announcement at the lobby." I took a step closer, my voice dropping to barely above a whisper. "Do you understand what you've done? You didn't just lie to me. You hurt Dandelion. You made her doubt our marriage. You caused her pain."
And that, I realized, was what I couldn't forgive. The lie was bad enough. But watching Dandelion confront me with tears in her eyes, believing that I had gotten another woman pregnant, thereby destroying the little trust she had in me, that was unforgivable.
"We're done, Roxy." The words came out final as a death sentence. "Not just whatever physical arrangement we had. Everything. Don't you dare call me ever again. You don't text me. You don't show up at my office, my penthouse and my home. And don't even think of speaking my name to the press. Are we clear?"
"You can't just throw me away--"
"I can and I am." I pulled out my phone and made a call. "Security, I need an escort to Dr. Hughes' clinic. Immediately."
Her eyes widened, she tried reaching for me, "No. Alex, wait--"
I moved away, "If you ever try to contact me again, I'll file a restraining order. If you speak to any media outlet about this, I'll sue you for defamation. If you go anywhere near my wife, I'll make sure you cease to exist."
I didn't show any sign of pity because I know Roxy more than she knows herself, she's very vile and would do anything to get what she wants. Me not arresting her and sending her to the deepest part of jail or worse ordering for her elimination, was the calmest punishment and a second chance for her to move in with her life.
Because God knows if she dares to meddle with my life or worse my wife ever again, I would make sure her corps won't be found.
The door opened and two security guards entered. Roxy looked at them, then back at me, and I saw the exact moment she realized I meant every word.
"You're going to regret this," she said, her tears drying up, replaced by something harder and venomous. "Both of you. You think you can just humiliate me like this and walk away?"
"I think you humiliated yourself."
"She doesn't love you, Alex." Roxy's voice turned cruel. "Your precious wife is only with you for what you can give her. The money, the power, the revenge against her family. The second she gets what she wants, she'll leave you."
The words should have stung. Maybe months ago they would have. But now, thinking about Dandelion crying in the library, the way she'd melted into my arms when I held her, the jealousy in her eyes when she thought I'd gotten Roxy pregnant, I knew Roxy was absolutely wrong.
Whatever was between me and Dandelion, it had stopped being fake a long time ago.
"Get her out of here," I told the security guards.
They moved forward. Roxy jerked away from their grasp, glaring at me with pure hatred.
"This isn't over," she hissed. "You'll see. Both of you will see."
Then she was gone, escorted down the hallway, her threats echoing behind her.
Dr. Hughes cleared his throat awkwardly. "Mr. Graham, I'll prepare the official documentation for your records."
"Send it to my office." I was already heading for the door. "And Dr. Hughes? This conversation never happened. If anyone asks, you've never heard of Roxy Briggs."
"Understood, sir."
I walked out of the clinic into the bright afternoon sun. Walter was waiting by the car, and I could see the question in his eyes before he even opened his mouth.
"It was negative," I said calmly. "As expected."
"I'll prepare a statement for the press--"
"No statement. Let Roxy's own humiliation speak for itself." I got into the car. "Take me home. To the estate."