Alexa's POV The screeching sound of my car tires continued reverberating in my head a few minutes after the crash. I bent my head on my steering wheel and remained in that position as I tried to regain my balance. The commotion outside continued. I could hear people screaming for someone to call 911. Someone was knocking frantically on my car window. Another one was asking if I was alright. I ignored them all. I definitely was not in the right state of mind to answer any questions. But it seems like they wouldn't let me be because the next second, someone was already pulling at the door. I had no choice but to raise my head and wind down my glass. I nodded at the middle-aged man looking at me with his curious eyes. It was a way of telling him that I was alright even without asking, since I knew that would be his next question. Regardless of my foreclosure, he went right ahead and asked me the very question I was avoiding. "Are you alright, miss?""Y-yeah. I'm fine," I answered i
Don Antonio's POV The phone call had been a shock to the system. Little Alexa in trouble with the law? It was a scenario I'd never considered. The girl I'd watched grow from an intelligent child to a stunning young woman, now entangled in a mess of her own making. My mind raced, a whirlwind of emotions and concerns swirling within me.I'd arrived at the police station feeling disoriented. I was angry at her reckless disregard for her own safety, and so worried for her well-being. But the sight of her, tear-streaked and vulnerable, deflated the anger. What remained was a deep-seated concern.Her confession, delivered in a broken whisper, painted a picture of a young woman lost and desperate. The details of the night, the near-miss, the alcohol. She was the unfortunate protagonist.I’d listened, my heart pounding in my chest. Each word she uttered was a dagger twisting in my gut. The girl I'd often seen as carefree and spirited was now a fragile being, teetering on the edge of a ridge.
Alexa's POV The demeaning look on my godfather's face told me I had messed up everything. My life. The previous relationship I had with him. The current romantic relationship I was supposed to have with him. Everything had somehow become a tangle of mess. "Answer me, little Alexa," he prompted me, "What do you mean by I was avoiding you?"I clamped my trembling lips together and looked down at my hands. "It's just this morning when I saw you… After what happened last night…""But you were the one avoiding me. You were the one acting all nervous when I came in. The awkwardness was so glaring that I decided to leave you alone."My jaw dropped at his explanation. "You thought I was avoiding you? Wait, you mean it was all a misunderstanding? But I thought you were the one avoiding me!"He chuckled, flashing me one of those dazzling smiles that got me drooling in my panties. He further intensified the heat between my legs by placing his hands on both my shoulders. I had no choice but to
Alexa's POV I couldn't believe it. Don Antonio had actually changed his mind along the way. He had switched lanes at some point and we were pulling into the parking lot of a secluded hotel. As he parked the car, I felt my body shaking from excitement about what's to come in any minute now. This was a line we'd never crossed before. It was dangerous, forbidden, and yet, it felt so right.We walked into the hotel, hand in hand. The lobby was deserted, save for a sleepy night clerk who barely glanced up from his newspaper. We took an elevator to the top floor, the air thick with anticipation.Our room was a luxurious suite, complete with a king-sized bed, a plush sitting area, and a large balcony overlooking the city lights. As I stepped inside, I felt a surge of excitement. This was it. This was the moment I'd been waiting for with him ever since I was a teenager.Don Antonio closed the door behind us and turned to face me. His eyes were filled with a smoldering intensity that sent a
Alexa's POV Tears stung at the corners of my eyes as his words reverberated through the large office space, bouncing back to my ears. I couldn't bear the harshness, nor could I bear the man from whom those words were coming. "You're a worthless piece of shit! Just take a look at what you have caused! We lost all those millions because of you!" he screamed. "Dad…" I began. "What is it, Alexa? Are you ready to explain how these documents were signed?" he demanded, flinging the papers at my face. The tears that had stung at the corners of my eyes now clouded them, threatening to spill down my face. "I don't know anything about those papers, Dad. I wasn't the one who signed them." He snorted at my words. "But those are your damn signatures! If you weren't the one who signed them, then who did? Who freaking did?" His eyes burned with fury as he glared back at me. I had to bend my head when I could no longer stand the heat of his gaze. Just then, the office doors opened, and t
Don Antonio Hell no was the answer I gave my dearest friend, Donald Bavarish, when he suggested that I invest in his fashion and lifestyle brand—The Bavarish. He had complained several times how my goddaughter was running down the businesses for years and needed to stop her before she ruined the business completely. I had said no because accepting the offer would mean Alexa ruining not just me, but the friendship I had maintained with her father for over thirty years. My good friend had crazy ideas. Not only had he begged me to invest my money, which is a piece of cake since I had too much of it running in billions. He wanted me to invest my time too, and in no other person but Alexa. How was I supposed to spend time with someone I should be avoiding? Alexa had everything any woman could wish for. A drop dead-gorgeous face, a banging body, and a well-working brain. Her fellow ladies would love to have what she has got, while most men lusted after her. Including me.I have lost c
Alexa's POVI sat down opposite him, stunned from his sudden change of mood. He didn't even wait for me to settle down properly on the chair opposite his before launching into a rundown of the business. It was all facts and figures, a fast-paced gush of information. He insisted that I had been so soft with my way of running the business, and that was why I failed."So, you see, your father was right. The company's bottom line has been slipping. It's clear you haven't been taking care of the right areas," he said, his voice a low growl.My dad had been on my case about it for months. I knew the numbers were off, but I had been focused on building up into new markets, on creating a vision for the company's future. My dad had always been worried about the bottom line, and now Don Antonio was singing the same tune."I know the numbers aren't where they should be, but we've been making progress. The new markets have huge potential. We just need to give it time," I said, trying to keep my
Alexa's POVThe hot water cascaded down my back, but it didn't wash away the lingering ache in my chest. It was the same ache I felt every time I remembered what happened to Mom. How Dad stole her rightful place and gave it to his new wife. I was fifteen when Dad decided to trade her in for a younger model. The divorce ripped our family apart. The pain of it was a gaping wound that never quite healed.Dad's new wife, Claire, was everything Mom wasn't. Blonde, bubbly, and with a smile that never seemed to falter. She was twenty years younger than him, and she'd sneaked her way into our lives with a charm that Mom never possessed.I hated Claire. I hated how easily she'd won Dad over. How she seemed to fit into his life so effortlessly. And how she'd used her beauty and cunning to get everything she wanted.Mom had been a mess after the divorce. She was always anxious, always on edge. She had these episodes, these sudden bursts of anger, and she'd lash out at everything and everyone. S