And for a moment, I just sat there, breathing unevenly, the weight of everything I had just said settling around me.
He still hadn’t spoken.
I didn’t know what I expected.
Agreement?
Understanding?
Something softer?
I didn’t get any of it.
I suddenly felt tired of standing there, explaining myself like I was trying to convince him of something I wasn’t even fully sure of myself.
I looked away first.
My grip on the towel tightened slightly before I shifted, pushing myself off the bed.
The floor felt cold under my feet, but I barely noticed.
I just needed-
Space.
Something that didn’t feel like this.
I took a step forward.
Then another.
Behind me, I heard him shift slightly.
And then-
“Where are you going?”
I paused without looking at him. “I need air.”
1/6
Chapter 381
“No,” Alexander said.
I looked at him.
“No?” I repeated.
“You’re not walking away from this conversation… this is serious, Faye.”
I felt irritated immediately.
+25 Points
I let out a short breath. “I’m not avoiding the conversation. I’m avoiding you. I can’t stand you right now.”
His jaw tightened.
“Really?”
I ignored him and tried to move on.
He stepped in front of me. “Faye, listen to me.”
I could hear my heart beating really fast now. “Move, Alexander.”
“We’re not done talking,” he said.
The room felt smaller.
“I said move.”
He caught my arm lightly, still trying to talk.
But the moment his hand closed around me, something flared–so fast.
My head tilted slightly, my gaze dropping to his hand like I didn’t recognize it there. His touch.
felt so wrong.
I looked back at him.
“Do you think I’m a child?” I asked.
His expression didn’t change.
“Right now? You’re acting like one.”
The words didn’t sit right with me.
Something surged through me–heat, pressure, something I couldn’t name–and it didn’t stop.
I couldn’t stop it. But I could walk away.
27/61
< Chapter 381
+25 Points
I yanked my arm free harder than I needed to and turned away before it could turn into something worse.
I walked into the closet.
My hands moved without thinking, dragging clothes on. I couldn’t focus. Everything felt… loud. Inside my head, under my skin.
I needed out.
I stepped back into the room.
Alexander was still there.
Of course he was. I didn’t say a word to him. I didn’t even look at him.
I moved for the door.
“Faye-”
I didn’t answer.
I didn’t even slow down.
Then his hand caught my wrist again.
And this time-
I snapped completely.
There was no pause.
No thought.
My hand came up-
And the sound cracked through the room.
Sharp.
For a second, even I stilled.
My hand hung there, like it didn’t belong to me.
Alexander’s head had turned slightly with the impact of the slap.
But he didn’t move… didn’t speak.
Slowly, he looked back at me.
376
< Chapter 381
And that was when something in me dropped
Not the anger… that was still there.
But underneath it-
Something else. I had no idea, and I didn’t care.
I stepped around him-
And walked out of the room.
+25 Points
ALEXANDER
I didn’t move.
She stepped past me like nothing in the room could hold her anymore.
I just stood there.
There was a slow, deliberate second where I turned my head back to where she had been standing, my eyes settling on empty space like my body hadn’t quite caught up to the fact that she was already gone.
Then the door.
The faint sound of it opening and closing.
I felt something…
It rose fast.
Because under any other circumstance-
If it had been anyone else-
That kind of disrespect wouldn’t have gone unanswered.
Wouldn’t have been ignored.
I could already feel it, the familiar pull of it under my skin, the part of me that didn’t tolerate that kind of behavior, that didn’t allow it to pass without consequence.
It would have been handled.
Immediately.
4/6
<Chapter 381
My jaw tightened slightly.
But this wasn’t anyone else.
This was Faye.
And that changed everything.
+25 Points
I exhaled slowly through my nose, my hand lifting just slightly before dropping back to my side again, like the reaction had started but didn’t have anywhere to go.
Faye would never do that normally.
The way it happened.
The speed of it.
The way she didn’t hesitate.
It didn’t feel like anger alone.
I replayed it without meaning to.
The look in her eyes.
The way her hand came up-
Like she hadn’t thought about it at all.
That didn’t match anything I knew about Faye.
She didn’t lose control like that.
My gaze shifted toward the door she had just walked out of.
For a moment, I considered going after her.
The thought came naturally.
But it didn’t stay.
Because whatever that was-
Whatever just happened in this room-
Chasing her right now wouldn’t fix it.
It wouldn’t even touch it. If anything, it would push her further.
576
< Chapter 381
And right now, she wasn’t just angry.
She was… something else.
+25 Points
I ran my tongue briefly along the inside of my cheek, feeling the dull sting settling there now.
A quiet breath left me as I finally moved, my hand brushing once against my jaw before dropping again.
1
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.