A Change In Plans?

FREYA'S POV

I stepped into Alex's office, my heels clattering softly on the smooth floor, the sound shattering the silence in the room. Alex had moved out of his office to another as they were renovating the room. The new office was large, tidy, and modern, but it lacked warmth—just like the man sitting blankly behind the desk in front of him.

His hands were joined together, his jaw clenched, and his brows furrowed. From his lingering gaze, I could tell that he was lost in thought.

I rolled my eyes.

He looked so pathetic.

"Alex, sweetheart," I mutttered, sauntering to the leather chair opposite him and settling in. Tracing a ginger in the mahogany desk, I licked my teeth. "You seem to have seen a ghost."

Nothing.

Not even a smirk of amusement on his lips.

I sighed and wrapped my legs around each other, smoothing my dress hem. "You might at least have the decency to welcome me, you know. I did have to take some time out of my very busy schedule to get here."

Silence.

I gazed at him for a moment, tilting my head to the side. He appeared exhausted. His usual dominant aura was gone, his eyes containing something indefinable—something I disliked.

I hated it when individuals were weak.

But I knew my game.

"Alright, let's start small," I said, leaning back into my chair. "How's business going?"

Silence.

I arched an eyebrow, waiting, but when he didn't answer, I tapped my nails on the armrest. "Come on, Alex. Spoil me. Is the business making millions? Losing millions? Are the stocks stable? Should I be stressing about investments?"

Nothing.

My patience thinned.

I leaned forward, setting my elbows on the desk, and glared at him. "Alright, alright. Drop the stupid silence. You're literally pissing me off right now."

Finally, he moved.

His fingers tucked into clasped hands before he lifted his head, his eyes locking onto mine. Something was pressing heavily within them, something I wasn't used to seeing.

Guilt.

"I, uh, just came back from the hospital, Freya," he grunted, his voice low, husky. "Sarah has had the babies."

For an instant, I stood still. And then a slow smile crept over my face.

"Well, isn't that just wonderful?" I said, my voice light. "Aren't you just over the moon? You're a father now."

He didn't respond, just gazed at me with that same unreadable expression.

I gasped theatrically and swept my hair around my shoulder. "So when are you picking her up? Tell me. I don't want her getting too comfortable with the babies."

Alex hesitated for a moment before finally speaking. "Six months."

I frowned, my smile fading. "Six months?"

"That's what we negotiated," he said.

I hissed. "That's too long."

I was already impatient. Sarah had humiliated me more times than I could count, and now that she was at her weakest, I wanted her shattered. The sooner we took everything from her, the better.

But then, after a moment of thinning about it all, I waved a hand in dismissal. "Fine, whatever," I said with a sigh as I settled back into my seat. "I guess we can wait six months. It'll be more fun watching her deteriorate slowly." I grinned, picking up the bottle of whiskey from his desk and pouring a shot. "This is the time for celebrating, Alex, not moping around. We're going to get everything out of her. Everything. And those twins?" I sipped slowly, the burn a welcome sensation. "They'll be the first."

A thick silence enveloped the room as I poured another shot.

And then—

"I don't think I should do it.".

The glass I was holding froze in midair.

I turned towards him slowly, narrowing my eyes as I digested what he'd just stated.

"…What?" I scowled at Alex, my fingers wrapped around the whiskey glass in my hand as his words reverberated in my mind.

'I don't think I should do it.'

I let the words hang in the air for a second or two, as my insides boiled with rage. Then, I erupted into curt laughter, setting down my glass with a brusque clink against the desk.

"Are you kidding me?" I said, tilting my head.

Alex rubbed the back of his neck, refusing to meet my gaze. "I was with them, Freya. At the hospital."

I laughed. "And?"

His jaw was tight, his fingers tapping against the desk in a slow rhythm. "I watched Sarah give birth." He exhaled, shaking his head as if the memory itself unsettled him. "I saw the pain she suffered, Freya-the exhaustion, the fear, the moment she had clutched those babies—" He ran a hand over his face. "I can't take them from her. No matter how much I have to make her suffer, that..." He swallowed. "That would be too much."

I leveled my gaze on him, my eye twitching slightly as my smile slowly faded.

"Too much?" I said slowly, my tone low and menacing.

Alex nodded, eyes still looking downward. "We can ruin her business. We can steal the rest of everything from her. But the twins?" His hand curled into a fist. "That's as far as I go."

I stood there for a moment as Alex's words settled within me.

And then, in one savage motion, I reached out and took the exquisite little porcelain vase that had sat on the table before me and smashed it to the floor. The sound of shattering echoed through the office, the sound causing Alex to finally look up.

Before Alex could even think, I was standing in front of him, holding his collar and shoving him hard into his chair.

You miserable little wimp," I snarled, tightening my arm around his neck as I brought the vase towards his neck. "I'm tired of this-tired of you acting like some spineless idiot who can't make up his own damn mind."

He grunted, instinctively trying to grab my wrists, but I didn't let him go.

I leaned in, my nails digging into his skin and the broken vase breaking through his skin. "You listen to me, and you listen good, Alex. I did not go this far—we did not go this far—just so you could get a conscience about some woman who ruined your life." My eyes flashed with fury as my jaws clenched. "We have a plan, and we are going to see it through. I don't care what you saw in that hospital. I don't care how much she cried or how much she suffered. That is not our problem."

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, his hesitation clear.

I growled. "You need to get your head back in the game or I swear I'll bench you and do this myself."

His fingers trembled on my wrists.

"Do you hear me?" I snarled.

He looked at me for a moment, his eyes conflicted. Then, at last, after what seemed like an eternity, he nodded rigidly.

I laughed and let him go, pushing him back into the chair. Backing away, I let the pieces of the vase fall from my fingers, my lip curling in distaste.

"Pathetic," I spat.