Chapter 5
598words
It had been eight years since I left, and this was my first time back in the country. I had barely begun to adjust to the jet lag when my mother, deeply worried about her still single, over-thirty son, scheduled banquet after banquet in my name.
She called it expanding business connections. She said it would help my career. In truth, it was matchmaking.
I had no interest in any of it. I greeted the woman beside me with polite detachment and prepared to retreat to a quiet corner, but my mother's sharp look caught me mid-step and pinned me in place.
With a sigh, I reached out and invited my partner to dance.
My hand had just settled at her waist when a familiar, piercing voice cut through the music behind me. "Alex! Why are you here?"
Under countless gazes and surrounded by admirers, Selena pushed through the crowd. She wore an elegant gown, her movements frantic as she lifted her skirt and ran straight toward me. Her eyes were red.
She grabbed my hand, tears pooling as her voice broke. "Why did you leave me back then? Do you have any idea how long I searched for you? You disappeared without a word. What was I to you?"
The ballroom fell into stunned silence. All eyes darted between us as whispers spread like wildfire.
"How does he know Ms. Oxford? I thought she was aloof. She never approaches anyone."
"The Vaughn family is powerful too. Was this some secret alliance?"
"You don't know? Or are you pretending? Those two caused a huge stir back then."
Before anyone could dredge up every old detail, a single thought filled my mind: Get out.
I raised my hand, my expression calm. "Ms. Oxford, you must be mistaking me for someone else. I only returned recently. How would I know you?"
The woman who could decide a company's fate with a few sentences went red-eyed on the spot. Her voice trembled. "You don't know me? Then what were the years we spent together?"
What were they? When I was framed and she stood beside Mathhew, what were we then? When she climbed into another man's bed, what were we then?
We exchanged only a few words, yet every sentence struck like a blow. The crowd's expressions radiated anticipation, eager for scandal.
I had no intention of becoming their entertainment. I tried to pull my hand free, but she refused to let go.
For years, everyone had catered to her, especially men, always eager for even a fleeting glance. It had been far too long since anyone treated her with indifference, and my instinctive resistance cut deeper than any insult.
She bit her lower lip, hard.
"I won't let you leave again," she said. "Alexander Vaughn, I can't live without you."
A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
"Won't let me?" I said lightly. "Who are you to restrict my freedom? And perhaps we shouldn't be holding each other like this. If Mathhew sees it, you'll have a difficult time explaining."
The instant I said his name, she recoiled as if burned.
My chest tightened. So they really did end up together.
I did not want to prolong the scene. I shook free and walked quickly out of the ballroom.
The air outside felt cool and clean, yet the pain in my chest made it hard to breathe.
I reached for a cigarette when rapid footsteps echoed behind me.
"Alexander!"
