Chapter Fourteen: Alexander's POV

I returned to the hospital, trying to clear my head from the whirlwind of thoughts that had been clouding my mind since the meeting about the will. Something felt off, and I couldn’t shake the suspicion gnawing at my gut.

I knew I was missing something, and I hated that feeling.

As I made my way to the courtyard, A raised voice broke through my train of thought making my steps falter.

Aria.

Her voice carried a strain of irritation, sharp enough to pierce through the typical hospital noise. My jaw clenched, and a tightness coiled in my chest. Who was she talking to? My pace quickened instinctively, my body reacting before my mind had a chance to catch up, I rounded the corner, and there she was—facing a man who had his hands on her. That man…

Ethan.

Her ex-fiancé.

I can feel my blood boil instantly. Ethan’s hand was wrapped around Aria’s wrist, his posture invasive and aggressive. Every nerve in my body surged with a protective instinct that i couldn’t suppress. Without thinking, my hands clenched into fists.

Ethan was standing too close to her, his hand wrapped around her wrist like he owned her. My vision tunneled, anger surging through me. My pulse pounded in my ears, and I felt my fists clench at my sides. What the hell was he doing?

"What the hell is going on here?" The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, my voice cutting through the air like a whip.

They both froze.

Aria’s wide eyes met mine, and I could see a flash of something there—relief, maybe? But then Ethan had the audacity to turn to me with that smug smirk still plastered on his face, completely unfazed. That smirk made my blood boil even more.

Ethan’s face twisted into a mocking grin. "Oh, Mr. Sinclair, just in time. You’re rich, right? Then you can help your wife settle her debt."

I turned my head slightly, looking at Aria. Her face was flushed, her expression somewhere between anger and disbelief. But still, the questions lingered in my mind. How did Ethan know about Grandma’s will? What else had he been able to dig up about the Sinclair family?

“When did I ever owe you anything?” Aria’s voice broke through the tension, filled with indignation.

Ethan crossed his arms smugly. "When?" he echoed. "Let me remind you. I pursued you for three years, Aria. Three long years of paying for everything. Now you’ve gone and married someone else. I think it’s only fair you pay me back what I spent."

I turned my head slightly, looking at Aria. Her face was flushed, her expression somewhere between anger and disbelief

"I never asked you to spend a single penny on me! I never took advantage of you, and you know it." Aria angrily retorted.

I stepped closer, my body moving on autopilot, placing myself between them. I could barely contain my rage as I stared Ethan down. Every fiber of my being wanted to rip him away from Aria, to make him pay for touching her, for even looking at her like that. But I had to keep control.

I needed to understand what was really going on here.

“And what exactly do you mean by that?” I asked, my voice colder than ice. I could feel Aria’s eyes on me, but I couldn’t focus on her right now. All I could think about was Ethan—this man who had the nerve to show up here and claim Aria owed him anything.

Ethan’s smirk didn’t falter. He let go of Aria’s wrist with an infuriating slowness, like he wasn’t threatened at all. "She owes me, Mr. Sinclair. Three years of my life, spent chasing her, paying for her every whim. Now she’s with you, so it’s only fair you settle the debt, right?"

I could feel the jealousy rising inside me, as much as I tried to suppress it. Three years? Three years she spent with him.

“let’s call it a nice round figure. How about three million dollars,” Ethan continued, his voice grating against my nerves. “Small change for someone like you.”

“When did I ever owe you money?” Aria’s voice broke through the tension, filled with indignation.

Ethan let out a low, mocking laugh. "Oh, sweetheart, you might have forgotten, but I haven’t. Three years of me chasing you, paying for everything, doing everything for you… and what do I get in return? Nothing. I think you owe me, don’t you?"

I didn’t give Aria a chance to respond. I couldn’t stand listening to him any longer.

"You’re out of your mind,You think I’ll give you a single cent? Keep dreaming." I growled, stepping forward. I could feel the air between us grow tense as I towered over him, my fists clenched so tight my knuckles turned white. "If you were smart, you’d leave now, before I make you."

Ethan’s smug expression faltered, but he quickly recovered, leaning toward Alexander. "Come on, you’re the CEO of Sinclair Group. Surely you can spare a little cash, right?"

Alexander looked down at where Ethan had touched his arm as if it were contaminated, then casually wiped it away. "If you don’t have any money, don’t pretend to be a rich guy," he said icily, turning on his heel to walk away.

Ethan’s face twisted with frustration. "You think this is over?" he spat, raising his voice. "If you don’t pay up, I’ll make sure everyone knows the truth about your wife."

Alexander paused mid-step, his back still turned to Ethan. His voice, when he spoke, was dangerously quiet. "What truth?"

Ethan’s grin returned, malicious and gleeful. "That your precious wife has been with every man she could find before she married you. I’ll make sure the whole world knows she’s nothing but—"

That was it.

Before I even realized what I was doing, my fist connected with his jaw, sending him stumbling backward. The satisfaction that surged through me as he hit the ground was instantaneous. My hand throbbed, but I didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was that I had shut him up.

I didn’t stop there. I grabbed him by the collar, pulling him up roughly until we were face-to-face. His eyes widened, fear flashing in them for the first time. Good.

"Shut your mouth," I spat, my voice low and deadly. "You say one more word about my wife, and I’ll make sure you never say another."

Ethan stammered, "I-I was just joking, man. No need to get physical."

I shoved him back, disgusted by how easily he cowered. "Get lost. Now."

He scrambled to his feet, blood dripping from his lip, casting one last venomous glare at Aria before rushing off. I stood there, my chest heaving, fists still clenched as I watched him disappear. The anger was still coursing through me, but now, as the adrenaline started to fade, I turned to Aria.

She looked shaken. Her arms were wrapped around herself as if trying to keep it together, her eyes filled with emotions I didn’t know how to handle right now.

"I swear, Alexander—" she started, but I cut her off, unable to control the bitterness that spilled from me.

"I don’t care what’s going on between you two." The words came out harsher than I intended, but I couldn’t stop them. The image of Ethan standing so close to her, touching her, mocking her—mocking me—it was too much.

I could see the hurt flash in her eyes, and something inside me twisted painfully at the sight of it. But I was too angry, too suspicious to back down now.

"But if anything happens to grandma because of you, I won’t let you off."

She recoiled slightly, her face paling. "I would never hurt her," she said, her voice trembling. "You have to believe me. I care about her."

Something in her voice, in the way she looked at me—vulnerable, desperate—made me want to pull her into my arms, to tell her I believed her. But I couldn’t. Not yet.

Too many questions were left unanswered. Too many doubts clouded my mind.

“I get it, Alexander,” she whispered, lowering her eyes. “I’ll take care of her, I promise.”

I nodded stiffly, the war inside me still raging. I wanted to believe her. I really did. But the jealousy, the suspicion—they were like poison, slowly eating away at my trust.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” I said, my voice gruff. And then, without another word, I turned and walked away, leaving her standing there in the courtyard.

Every step felt heavier than the last, my mind swirling with everything I couldn’t understand, everything I couldn’t control.