Chapter 0066 âDonât I?â His voice dropped, his usual playfulness replaced by something more serious. âWell, itâs the truth. Davidâs erratic behavior isnât just troublingâitâs dangerous.â
I sighed, sinking back into my seat. âYeah, Iâve just been looking at his latest posts. Heâs doing everything he can to make things worse.â
âNot just worse,â Alexander muttered, his voice tinged with disgust. âDid you see the one he posted just now?â
I blinked in surprise. âJust now? No, I hadnât checked.â
There was a pause, and his voice softened again, almost as if he didnât want to burden me with it. âI donât recommend you look.
Itâs cruel.â
I swallowed hard, his unexpected gentleness catching me off guard. âIâm used to his cruelty,â I said bitterly, the familiar sting of Davidâs manipulations cutting deep, even now.
âThat doesnât mean you have to keep letting it hurt you,â Alexander said firmly. âThereâs no point torturing yourself with his anger.
But... thatâs not the only reason I called.â
I frowned, curiosity sparking in me. âWhat do you mean?â
There was a tension in the silence that followed, something unspoken hovering between us. When he spoke again, his voice was lower, more serious than I had ever heard him before. âItâs been long enough, hasnât it?â
My heart pounded. âLong enough for what?â
âI canât sit by and let him drag your name through the mud any longer,â Alexander growled, anger simmering beneath his calm facade. âIf Iâm going to publicly reveal how I feel about you, I canât let people think I stood by while he slandered you.â
My breath caught. He sounded genuinely outraged, offended on my behalf in a way that no one else had been. It wasnât part of the plan, not reallyâhe was playing a role, I knew thatâbut the way he spoke made my chest tighten, a dangerous thrill running through me.
âWhat did he say?â I asked quietly, my voice barely more than a whisper.
âSomething vile,â Alexander spat, frustration radiating through the phone. âBut you donât need to hear the details. I just want you to know that Iâm going to respond. Publicly.â
A mix of emotions surged through meârelief, confusion, maybe even hope. Alexander knew how to handle the public, how to spin things in our favor. If he thought it was time, who was I to argue?
âI trust your judgment,â I murmured, but my hands trembled as I reached for my phone. âLet me take a look.â
With a few taps on my phone screen, I pulled up Davidâs profile. His latest post, from just a couple of minutes ago, had already garnered nearly a hundred reactions, As my eyes scanned the words, I felt my heart begin to race.
âItâs nice that so many of you are having fun at my expense,â he posted, âbut youâre wrong about Ella. I know her better than anyone. Sheâs a coldâhearted Ice Princess, and no one could love her. Sheâs useless as a Luna; she doesnât even have a wolf.
None of the men youâre all gossiping about want her. Not even the ones that are complimenting her, like Alexander Black.â
A cold feeling settled over me as I read his words. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I felt a small sense of relief -it wasnât the worst thing he could have saidâbut the harshness and public nature of his statements offended me deeply. After all, he was the one who had wronged me. What gave him the right to drag my name through the mud in a desperate attempt to salvage his reputation? How could he possibly blame me for his actions?
1/2 +25 BONUS Chapter 0066 âElla,â Alexander said gently, âare you still there?â
âYes,â I answered. âIâm here. I think youâre probably right. He canât be allowed to keep saying these kinds of things without us responding. Iâll leave it to you to decide the best way to handle this,â I added.
âGood,â
Alexander said firmly. âI know exactly what to do.
Chapter 0067