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Chapter 17: Behind the mask

Author: Aish
last update Last Updated: 2024-11-21 23:08:56
ALEXANDER'S POV

Rain cascades down the massive floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse, blurring the city skyline into a haze of light and shadow. I stand with a tumbler of bourbon in hand, staring out at the chaos below. From up here, the city looks insignificant, like an anthill waiting to be crushed.

But tonight, my mind is far from the city. My thoughts are consumed by her.

Olivia Harper.

I swirl the amber liquid in my glass, savoring its warmth as I replay the moment I first saw her. She was just another face in a crowd of students, sitting in the third row during that seminar. I hadn’t planned on paying attention to anyone, much less her, but there was something about her that snagged my interest.

Not her face—it was pretty enough, I suppose, in that fresh, innocent way. But it was her body. The kind of body that doesn’t know its own power. Hidden under dull, modest clothes, her curves still managed to tease, to tempt.

She didn’t know it, but every shy glance, every
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