Chapter 93
Elizabeth's POV
I should've thrown myself into work immediately, but my mind was too scattered to focus on anything.
After struggling with it for a while, I gave up and quietly crept to my office door, wanting to hear what was happening outside.
Alexander was handling work—surely he wouldn't let Tiana linger there too long, right?
After all, his tone with her earlier had been so curt. He could easily find some excuse to send her away.
The more I thought about it, the faster my heart raced.
Finally, I heard movement outside. My body moved faster than my brain—by the time I realized what I was doing, I'd already pulled the door open.
What greeted me was Tiana's face, streaked with tears. She came running out of the CEO's office, sobbing like she'd suffered some terrible injustice.
I blinked, watching her rush past me, her figure disappearing down the hallway.
Tiana had run off crying. After confirming this outcome, the anxiety that had been weighing on me inexplicably lifted.
Just as I was about to head back to work, Charles suddenly appeared before me, gesturing politely.
"Ms. Spencer, Mr. Windsor would like to see you."
I looked toward the closed door of the CEO's office and couldn't help swallowing hard.
Calling me over this quickly? It had to be about Tiana.
But she'd only started crying after talking with Alexander—he wouldn't take it out on me, would he?
With that thought, I pulled myself together and followed Charles toward that office.
The moment I stepped inside, Charles tactfully retreated, gently closing the door behind him.
The sound of the door clicking shut made my nerves spike immediately. What was this setup supposed to mean?
"Mr. Windsor, you wanted to see me?" I tried to keep my voice steady as I spoke first.
Alexander narrowed his eyes at me. "What did you say to Tiana?"
I froze, trying to parse the meaning behind his question.
Could it be that Tiana had been crying because of what I'd said to her?
Not because of Alexander? So was he questioning me now? That wasn't impossible...
"I didn't say much to her. She, on the other hand, said plenty to me. I just suggested she come ask you directly, and then she did."
As I spoke, I tried to maintain my composure, not wanting to give him any ammunition.
Alexander's expression was as inscrutable as ever—even looking him straight in the eye, I couldn't read his thoughts.
Time ticked by, and he remained silent, as if deliberately testing my patience.
I grew more and more anxious.
Suddenly, he stood and walked toward me, step by step.
That invisible pressure made my heart race, and my feet instinctively moved backward.
"Mr. Windsor, we can talk this through—there's no need to be angry with me over something like this, is there?"
"Why are you nervous?" Alexander looked at me, the corner of his mouth seeming to hold a hint of amusement. "I didn't say I was blaming you. I just want to know what exactly you and Tiana talked about."
He stopped less than a step away from me, looking down. "Tell me. What did you two discuss?"
The aura radiating from him left me no room to resist. Reluctantly, I came clean. "She asked if you were the one investing in my project. I denied it, then told her to come ask you herself."
"She was reluctant, so I just brought her over."
As for those accusatory things Tiana had said about me, I didn't mention them.
Maybe it was pride—I didn't want to discuss those things with Alexander.
But he didn't seem ready to let me off that easily, moving even closer. "Nothing else?"
His tone suggested he was certain I was hiding something.
I looked at his lowered gaze, so focused on me, and after a few seconds of hesitation, I admitted it. "There was something else."
"She thought I wasn't good enough for you, so she said some nasty things."
"What did she say about you?"
Alexander's brow furrowed, his expression darkening as if he'd suddenly gotten angry.
I looked at him and decided to just get it all out, "Nothing special—just that I don't have an impressive family background, that I'm not worthy of standing beside you. What else could she use to humiliate me?"
For some reason, as I spoke, a wave of grievance washed over me.
It wasn't like I'd chosen what happened to my family. If I were still the pampered young lady of the Spencer family, maybe no one would dare look down on me like this.
Was everything I'd endured only because I'd lost my family's protection? It was so unfair.
I didn't know why Alexander had to push me to say all this—did he just want to see me upset like this?
I wanted to escape.
The moment that thought surfaced, I turned to leave, but my arm was suddenly caught.
Without warning, Alexander pulled me into his embrace, and his unique, clean scent immediately surrounded me.
It took me a while to process what had just happened.
Alexander's embrace was warm—warmer than any time before.
In this office with just the two of us, we did not need to put on an act with intimate gestures. Yet under these circumstances, he'd voluntarily pulled me into his arms.
This was a comforting embrace.
Was he holding me like this because he felt sorry for me?
I froze completely, my mind racing, trying to figure out his true intentions.
Alexander's voice sounded in my ear, "Don't mind her."
His deep voice carried a gentleness that didn't match his usual image. As he spoke, his warm breath brushed against my ear, making me shiver involuntarily.
What did he mean by this?
I wanted to ask, but maybe because his embrace was too warm, I found myself reluctant to pull away—I just wanted to stay a little longer.
I didn't know how much time passed before Alexander shifted slightly, and I took the opportunity to step back from his arms.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I didn't dare meet his eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Windsor. I know you were trying to comfort me."
Even with this ambiguous atmosphere between us, I deliberately avoided thinking of it in romantic terms.
Maybe Alexander wasn't as cold as the rumors suggested—perhaps he was fundamentally a gentle person?
After all, ever since learning about my pregnancy, he'd been taking good care of me. Now that I wanted to do this project, he'd really assigned top talent to help me, and hadn't even mentioned what would happen if the project lost money.
At this moment, I could only attribute all this to him being a good person—I didn't dare hope for any other possibility.
"Are you and Ms. FitzRoy very close?" I kept my head down, deliberately not looking at him, my heart racing again as I asked.
Alexander chuckled softly. "Not really. It's more her idea than mine."
Though he said that, his tone sounded more like he was joking.
"Well, you don't need to lie to me about it—after all, our relationship is just pretend." I still didn't look at him, the tension in my chest growing heavier.