Twelfth floor, Eric’ office.
When Lucas knocked and walked in, Eric was standing by the window, staring down at the street.
Hearing the door, he turned slightly and asked casually, “She’s gone?”
Lucas nodded.
“Did she say anything?”
Lucas hesitated, clearly unsure how to put it.
Eric glanced at him sideways, his tone a bit impatient.
“Why are you suddenly so wishy-washy?
What did she say?”
Swallowing nervously, Lucas answered in a low voice, “Mrs.
Reeves asked me to apologize on her behalf…
She said…
the pork weren’t rinsed when she cooked them.”
Eric froze in place.
*****
Of course the pork had been cleaned—Amelia had made that up just to mess with Eric.
Serves him right for breaking his promises.
Just imagining the look on Eric’s face made her mood skyrocket.
He’s probably freaking out now, wishing he could scrub his insides clean with bleach.
But her petty victory didn’t last—karma hit real quick.
The ride-share she was in got sideswiped on the way home.
After that nasty rear-end incident on the overpass, she’d developed a bit of driving anxiety and had been sticking to cabs lately.
Who would’ve thought even that could go wrong?
The crash wasn’t too serious on its own—just a routine insurance claim once the accident report was filed.
But the other driver had a terrible attitude.
The moment he stepped out, he started throwing punches, and the ride-share driver didn’t take it lying down—punched right back.
What should’ve been a traffic matter escalated straight to the police station.
As a witness, Amelia ended up getting taken to the station too.
She gave her statement truthfully, explaining that the sedan driver started the fight and went at it multiple times.
The cab driver only fought back to defend himself.
Once she signed the paperwork, she finally got to leave the station.
Samantha had the day off and called her, teasing that she had “big news” and told her to come home early.
Amelia hung up and opened her ride-hailing app.
Rush hour was brutal—there were already 60 or 70 people waiting ahead of her.
No telling when a car would show up.
She looked down to see if there was a bus nearby that could take her closer to her apartment, when suddenly someone yanked her hair from behind—and her face took a hit from a swinging handbag.
A woman’s voice screamed in her ear, full of rage.
“You nasty bitch!
What lies were you spouting at the police station?!”
Pain shot through her scalp.
Amelia raised her elbow, ready to strike back, but the moment she saw the woman’s pregnant belly, she pulled back just in time.
Grabbing the woman’s wrist tightly, Amelia said through clenched teeth, “Let go.”
She yanked harder on Amelia’s hair and yelled, “You’re in cahoots with that cabbie, aren’t you?
You lied to the cops and got my husband arrested!
He just got promoted to department head—now he’s screwed!
You evil whore!”
Amelia was stunned by the irrational outburst.
She didn’t dare shove her hard because of the baby, so she gritted her teeth and said, “You were in the car too.
You didn’t see what your husband did?
If you really cared about him, you should’ve stopped him then and there.
With a temper like his, you should thank your stars it was just a fender bender.
Otherwise, both of you might not have made it out alive.”
“Shut your mouth!”
The woman snapped and raised her purse again, ready to strike Amelia’s head.
Amelia instinctively closed her eyes.
Great.
Just her luck today—getting ambushed by a lunatic.
But the expected blow never landed.
Instead, a familiar male voice came from above.
“Pretty sure it’s still illegal for pregnant women to assault people.
Hands off.”
“Who the hell are you?
Mind your own business!”
Alexander let out a small chuckle.
“Just a guy doing the right thing.” As he spoke, he twisted the other man’s wrist sharply, making him wince and reflexively release Amelia’s arm.
He gently pulled Amelia behind him, arm around her shoulder, and asked in a soft voice, “Are you okay?”
Only then did Amelia recognize him—it was the man she’d seen on the rooftop at NS Hospital the other day.
She shook her head wordlessly.
The woman’s face turned red with anger as she snapped, “You bitch!
Calling for backup, huh?
Think I’m scared?
Try touching me, see what happens!”
Amelia opened her mouth to respond, but Alexander held up a hand, stopping her.
He pulled out his phone, his tone calm but the words cold enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.
“I just caught you hitting someone on camera.
Sure, you’re pregnant, so maybe the cops will go easy on you—just a minor charge, nothing serious.
But what if this video goes viral online?
Think the internet will let you off because of your baby?
What kind of life will it have, cursed before it’s even born?”
The woman’s face paled, clearly shaken.
Alexander reached into his pocket and offered a business card.
“By the way, I forgot to introduce myself.
I’m a journalist.
Got a little influence if you get my drift.”
She backed off immediately, didn’t even dare to take the card.
“Lucky today, that’s all.” With that, she grumbled under her breath and walked away, carefully holding her belly. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Alexander turned back around.
The intimidating aura he had moments ago faded in an instant, replaced by a warm, gentle look.
“You’re bleeding,” he said, motioning towards her neck.
Amelia took out her phone, using the camera to check, and saw faint scratches with drops of blood still seeping.
“I have a first aid kit in my car.
Let me help you clean it up.”
Given that he just helped her out big time, Amelia couldn’t really say no.
She said quietly, “Thanks, I appreciate it.”
Alexander gave her a small smile.
“No trouble at all.”
Once in the car, he grabbed the first aid kit and started disinfecting the wound.
Amelia instinctively pulled back, murmuring, “I can do it myself.”
He didn’t push and just handed everything over like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Once she was done treating the wound, she looked at him and asked, “So, you’re a journalist?”
Alexander paused, then broke into a laugh, shaking his head.
“Nah.
Someone handed me that business card ages ago.
I didn’t even record anything just now.
Just bluffing to shut her up, or she’d never leave you alone.”
He honestly didn’t look like a reporter—who drives a Bentley to chase stories?
She couldn’t stop a small laugh.
“You were pretty convincing.
I almost bought it.”
He blinked, then chuckled softly.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Just then, his phone started ringing.
He gave her an apologetic smile and answered.
“Alex?
Where’d you disappear to?”
*****
Natalie barged into the room just as Eric was rinsing his mouth.
“Eric!
Why did Amelia show up at the office today?”
Eric glanced at her with clear irritation.
“Don’t you know how to knock?
When did you toss your manners out the window?”
“The door was half open,” Natalie muttered under her breath.
Then she took a second look at his face, eyes narrowing.
“Hey, are you okay?
You look awful.”
He could’ve ignored it, but the mention made his stomach churn all over again.
He shot her a withering look.
“What do you want?”
Natalie pouted.
“Alex won’t answer my calls.
Lend me your phone.”
“Out.”
“Come on, help me out!
If I end up with Alex, and the Monroe and Reeves families join forces, wouldn’t you finally stop worrying about the second branch of the family rising too much?”
Eric cut her off coldly.
“He’s not interested in you.”