Chapter 83: Chapter 84

Chapter 0084 +25 BONUS Chapter 0084 Ella POV My phone buzzed, and I glanced at the screen. It was another direct message from a young woman I had never met, someone whose name I didn’t recognize. Her profile picture showed a pretty blonde, smiling in a way that made me feel uneasy.

I didn’t have to read the message to know what it would say Are you dating Alexander Black? You should dump him. Hos bad news. You can’t trust him! You have no idea what he’s really like. Please believe me–I don’t want him to do to you what he did to me.

It was the sixth message like this I had received in the last two days. Nadia had only been the first. More women, each with their own warnings, seemed to be coming out of the shadows to “protect” me from Alexander.

I had to admit that it bothered me, even though I had known it would happen.

“You’ve gotten popular lately,” Elizabeth said, glancing at my phone as it buzzed again. “It just keeps going off.”

I smiled apologetically. “I should just silence it. It’s nothing important.‘

“Are you sure?” she asked, her voice laced with obvious concern.

Η Alexander had an important meeting and was busy all day, but I had come to the Capitol anyway, hoping to spend a little time with Elizabeth We texted constantly now, and our conversations had become a bright spot in my day. It was comforting to have a true friend to rely on when everything else felt so strange and complicated.

“It’s really nothing,” I insisted, brushing it off.

“Is it... more of those women?” she asked softly.

I turned my gaze away, unable to meet her eyes.

I should have known things with Alexander were going too well. We’d had so much fun together in the first couple of weeks of our fake relationship–more fun than I ever imagined when this whole charade began.

Then, Nadia approached me in the food court, and the reality of everything came crashing down. Alexander had a past, one he couldn’t just outrun or pretend didn’t exist.

Many women who had been involved with Alexander were coming forward, sharing their experiences with the media. Most of the stories were minor complaints–that he was selfish, flighty, forgetful, just not a good boyfriend. But some were more damaging.

I had a hard time believing that Alexander could be the violent, vindictive man they described. I had attempted to do some research on the women, but some of them had no social media presence, which struck me as suspicious. I read the stories about Alexander’s odd behavior–how he would disappear for days without a word, refusing to explain where he had been. How he always seemed too busy with work, even when he had made plans and promised he’d show up for a particular date or event.

Many of these women had warned me that they believed Alexander had been cheating on them, It was the only explanation they could find for his strange behavior. I had to admit, I couldn’t think of a better one. I knew Alexander worked hard, and running a large, powerful pack came with immense responsibility, but that didn’t explain him vanishing in the middle of the night. It didn’t explain staying away for days on end, without so 1/2 +25 BONUS Chapter 0004 much as a word of explanation.

It bothered me to think that Alexander might be the kind of person who could do that. I couldn’t help but wonder if I had chosen the wrong person to aid in the campaign for king. After all, if Alexander really could betray his lover, why would be be loyal to the kingdom?

It shouldn’t bother me, of course. Our relationship wasn’t real. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

I didn’t want to believe I had traded one cheater for another “Ella,” Elizabeth said gently, interrupting my spiraling thoughts, “do you want to talk about what’s going on with you and Alexander?”

“Nothing’s going on with us,” I aid quickly. “Everything’s been great between us, honestly. He’s better than I could have imagined. It’s just... these stories that are coming out about him. I’m not sure how I should feel about it all, you know?”

“Of course, that makes sense,” Elizabeth said. “You have feelings for him, but you don’t want to be a fool and ignore the warning signs. I’m sure it’s a very complicated position to be in.”