Chapter 97
Elizabeth's POV
After hanging up, the private room fell completely silent.
I suddenly had no idea how to face him anymore.
The space with just the two of us always carried a suffocating intensity, especially when Alexander looked my way.
"Mr. Windsor, thank you for speaking up for me earlier. Otherwise, I don't know how long Aiden would have kept pestering me."
Alexander had indeed defended me just now, but the atmosphere between us had inexplicably shifted into something heavier.
I glanced at him with growing unease, my nerves beginning to fray.
His mood seemed darker than before, and the warmth I'd seen in his eyes earlier had vanished entirely.
A sense of foreboding crept through me.
Alexander suddenly said, "He's harassing you like this, and you haven't thought about doing something about it?"
It took me a couple of seconds to process what he meant.
My goal had always been to make Aiden feel the pain I once endured, but with so much happening around me, I hadn't been focusing on him lately.
In fact, staying in the safe haven Alexander had built for me, I'd grown more and more relaxed.
"Of course I haven't forgotten. I'll make him pay for everything."
The wounds from the past still ached in my heart, but I understood now—if I truly wanted to destroy someone, I had to stand at the highest point first.
If I had nothing, Aiden could simply find a powerful backer and easily brush aside any trouble I caused him.
Like before, when so many business partners canceled their contracts because of me.
Aiden's company had lost numerous projects and nearly went bankrupt.
But now? He'd found a backer and solved everything in no time.
All my efforts seemed meaningless, and I'd even given Aiden more room to maneuver.
Seeing that outcome made me realize deeply that I had to keep climbing.
I had to completely crush him underfoot, to hold all the power firmly in my own hands.
Only then would the damage I inflicted be truly fatal.
"Mr. Windsor, I won't give up." I wasn't sure why Alexander was bringing this up, but I wanted to convey my truest thoughts to him.
When it came to Aiden, I had never once considered abandoning my revenge.
Alexander frowned, and the temperature around us seemed to drop several degrees.
I'd always felt an instinctive wariness and fear toward him, and now, sensing the aura radiating from him, I had no idea what to do.
His eyes seemed to pierce right through me, scrutinizing the truth of my words.
"Elizabeth, I think you still care about him." Alexander's single sentence left me frozen in place.
I stared at him, disbelief flooding my eyes. "You think I care about him?"
The incredulity nearly overwhelmed me as I looked at him, trying to see through him.
I couldn't understand why Alexander would reach such a conclusion, but it left me shaken.
Aiden calling me, harassing me like this—none of that was within my control.
Every time, I'd done my best to keep my distance from him.
Yet Alexander would say something like this.
"Mr. Windsor, I think you've misunderstood something. All I feel for Aiden is hatred."
Even the feelings I once had for him now made me sick to my stomach.
Alexander pushed the utensils back toward me. "Let's eat first."
I still couldn't read what he was thinking.
Then again, from the very beginning, there had never been equality between Alexander and me.
His thoughts were beyond my comprehension, and as for why he suddenly said that, I had no way to argue, nor was it appropriate to keep pressing him on it.
After that phone call, the atmosphere between Alexander and me turned strange once again.
After lunch, I silently followed him back to the company.
Because we had to appear close in front of our colleagues, I forced myself to suppress my nervous feelings and stay by his side.
Alexander glanced at me from the corner of his eye, and just as I was about to return to my own office, he pulled me back.
"Come chat for a bit." He spoke in a voice only the two of us could hear.
I pressed my lips together and, under several suggestive gazes, followed him into his office.
Alexander sat down at his desk and looked up at me.
Ever since that phone call, the tension between us hadn't eased at all.
And I had no idea what had happened—I even felt a bit wronged.
Normally, during conversations like this, I could sit beside him naturally and talk.
Now, I stood stubbornly in place, refusing to even look at him.
"Sit." Alexander's voice was crisp, devoid of any commanding tone, yet it carried an overwhelming sense of pressure.
I hesitated for a moment, then sat down on the chair beside him, still refusing to meet his gaze.
"Do you need my help with the project?" Just when I thought Alexander would remain as cold as before, he suddenly spoke.
I froze slightly, frowning as I looked up at him.
What did that mean?
Saying something like that out of the blue—was he concerned about me?
I blinked, trying hard to read the expression in his eyes.
In the end, I was shocked. "Mr. Windsor, I think something's off with you. Very off."
Ever since he said those strange things to me out of the blue in the restaurant, up to his sudden concern now.
Alexander had never been like this before.
Had something upset him?
I glanced down at my abdomen, frowning slightly.
Was it because of the baby?
Was Alexander's concern for me because of the child?
Unable to find an answer, I grew hesitant.
"I'm talking about the project." Alexander looked away, his tone becoming perfectly natural. "Didn't Aiden just say so? People like me care most about profit."
"Watching you succeed with the project—that's my goal, isn't it?"
Technically, what he said wasn't wrong, but hearing it come from Alexander's mouth felt oddly strange.
"Don't worry about the project. I'll do my absolute best, and the funding won't be an issue either." I repeated myself.
These were things I'd already discussed with Alexander before, and he'd had no reaction then. Why was he suddenly bringing it up now?
Alexander seemed dissatisfied with my answer. He frowned and asked, "How are you handling the money situation?"
I hesitated for a few seconds before immediately responding, "I've saved up some money over the years. It'll definitely be enough."
Alexander wasn't ready to drop the subject. "Aiden said he'd give it to you. What do you think about that?"