Chapter 75
Elizabeth's POV
I froze in place, watching Alexander's face—he clearly wasn't joking.
"Pretend to be your girlfriend?" I couldn't help but repeat it, just to make sure I'd heard him right.
Watching him nod, I pressed my lips together. "If it's just pretending, I'm fine with it. But why are you suddenly asking this?"
With Alexander's status, what kind of woman couldn't he get?
Even if it was just pretending, it shouldn't be my turn.
Alexander didn't look like he was joking at all. I was getting more and more curious.
Alexander's face showed no emotion, as if my question didn't affect him at all.
I wasn't even expecting him to answer me, but surprisingly, he spoke quite seriously.
"Last time you were seen by people from The Windsor Family, so it can only be you."
Alexander walked toward the garage on his own, and I hurried to follow.
I heard his voice drift back, "I don't want people thinking I'm some jerk who's playing around with multiple women."
I don't know if it was just my imagination, but Alexander seemed to say this through gritted teeth.
Like he was hinting at something.
The one who'd been playing around with multiple women had always been Aiden.
Aiden was also a total jerk, no doubt about it. Alexander knew about what happened between him and me, and saying something like this now sounded like he was deliberately pointing it out to me.
"Of course, I can cooperate. After all, there's already plenty of gossip about the two of us at the company."
Working at The Windsor Family, my past had been dug up completely. At first, those people looked at me like I was entertainment.
But gradually, they started to become wary and afraid.
A woman who could be by Alexander's side was someone to be wary of, no matter what.
So gradually, another kind of talk emerged.
According to rumors, Alexander and I had an unusual relationship—the kind of unusual relationship between a man and a woman.
I didn't pay attention to it, and of course, I didn't deliberately avoid suspicion either.
The misunderstanding just kept spreading between him and me, even getting worse.
"Mr. Windsor, you want me to pretend to be your girlfriend—do you need me to act more intimate?" I looked at Alexander, my eyes showing undisguised innocence.
With my relationship with Alexander, I just wanted to keep things simple, as simple as possible.
"You don't need to overthink it." Alexander's voice was dry and cold. Hearing it made my heart sink a little. After a light laugh, I hurried to keep up with his pace.
"I'll be careful," I said, staring at the pale nape of his neck, adding, "I promise I'll do exactly what you say, won't cause you any trouble, and will fully cooperate with you."
Alexander glanced back at me, his eyes showing something I couldn't quite read, making me pause for a moment.
That look...
"Get in the car. Let's go home."
I quickly looked away and got in the car under his gaze, shrinking into the far side of the car, trying my best to minimize my presence.
Alexander sat down beside me quite naturally and closed his eyes to rest.
The whole ride was silent. Just when I was about to relax, he suddenly spoke, "What are your thoughts about Aiden now?"
This question seemed very strange to me. Of course, I only felt hatred toward Aiden.
But the way he asked it—why did it sound like he was doubting me about something?
I pouted at him a bit unhappily, only to find he still had his eyes closed, as if he didn't care about my answer at all.
"As for Aiden, of course I want revenge, and I'm thinking about the best way to do it."
Aiden couldn't threaten me now. Most importantly, I needed to think carefully about how best to make him suffer.
Back at The Windsor Family mansion, I realized I'd unknowingly relaxed quite a bit as I returned to my room.
This place had somehow become like home, even giving me the illusion that there wasn't much distance between Alexander and me.
Pretending to be Alexander's girlfriend—though he said it that way and I agreed, when it came down to actually doing it, I still wasn't sure how to act.
The next day, at The Windsor Family.
I was about to go to a meeting when Charles knocked on my office door, looking like he wanted to say something but was hesitating.
"Ms. Spencer, please go to Mr. Windsor's office."
As I got closer, he suddenly leaned toward me and said quietly, "It's Mr. Carter Windsor. He's here again. Mr. Windsor says you should act more convincing."
I understood immediately.
Yesterday, when Alexander asked me to pretend to be his girlfriend, it was mainly in front of the Windsor Family people. He must have been talking about the current situation.
I'd met Carter once before. At first glance, I didn't really feel anything, but my instinct told me he wasn't someone easy to deal with.
Thinking about this, I quickened my pace. Standing at the CEO's office door, I took a deep breath, then put on a smile and walked in.
"Honey, you wanted to see me?" I walked in with a bright smile on my face, then pretended to be surprised when I saw Carter, freezing in place.
Alexander responded naturally to my intimate way of addressing him, then waved me over.
I pretended to be nervous, walking to his side with my head down.
Before Alexander could say anything, Carter spoke first, "How far are you planning to take things with her? Engagement?"
Hearing those two words, I couldn't help but open my mouth wide.
An engagement was something I absolutely didn't want to go through again.
And given the Windsor Family's status, an engagement party definitely couldn't be done casually.
Holding that kind of large-scale engagement party would definitely make it known to everyone. If something went wrong, then I'd be the one left as the target of everyone's criticism.
I looked at Alexander, wanting to use my eyes to convey my refusal, but Alexander just glanced at me lightly and laughed, "When the feelings are right, these things aren't a problem."
Did that mean we might actually get to that point?
Alexander smiled at me, narrowing his eyes, "If that's the case, then it's worth looking forward to."
I pressed my lips together, trying my best not to say anything.
Carter stood up, his tall, slender figure moving closer and closer to me.
That naturally gentle aura he carried, far from making people relax, made me feel immense pressure instead.
I instinctively moved closer to Alexander, and suddenly bumped right into his arms.
Just as I was about to pull away, Alexander pressed down on my back, making me press even closer into his embrace.
His voice came from above my head, "Uncle Carter, Elizabeth is timid. Don't scare her."
That voice was incredibly gentle, unlike any tone he usually used, blowing into my heart like a spring breeze. I couldn't help but look up at his eyes, wanting to confirm whether this gentleness was real.
Alexander saw me looking at him and smiled at me.
His deep, handsome face was absolutely devastating when he smiled—ridiculously handsome.
In that moment, I admitted that my heart wavered simply because of how handsome he was. A bit of red spread across my cheeks, and a long-lost shyness spread from my heart. I immediately lowered my head.
I didn't want Alexander to see my reaction.