Chapter 0205
Chapter 0205
Ella POV
When I reached the end of the hallway, Diana came into view. She noticed me immediately, and a guilty look flickered across her face.
“What are you gossiping about?” I asked, my tone sharp as fixed her with a steady gaze.
Diana straightened her posture and gave a tight smile. “Oh, nothing of consequence, dear. Just a little light conversation.”
“That’s good to hear,” I said evenly, though my voice carried a warning edge. “I’d hate to think you were still worrying about old rumors. We’ve discussed all of that already.”
I could feel my mother’s eyes on me, but I didn’t take my gaze off Diana. My anger simmered beneath the surface, threatening to spill over. Alexander and I had worked so hard to win my mother over. Her hesitancy about him was just starting to fade, and now this.
Diana’s smile turned sweeter. “We’re just chatting,” she said, her tone light. “You’ll understand one day when you have children. You never stop worrying about them.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to hold back my temper. I wanted to argue against Diana’s statement, to call out how her comments didn’t show concern for Alexander at all. In fact, they felt more like an attempt to turn people against him.
But that didn’t make sense–why would she want to do that? I knew I must be wrong about her intentions, but whatever her motivation, I didn’t like hearing her talk about him that way.
And I wasn’t going to allow it to continue.
I knew now that I had no choice but to tell Alexander about the things she had said–both at their house and what I had overheard today. That was a conversation I wasn’t looking forward to having, but it couldn’t be avoided.
My irritation simmered, growing stronger with every second of silence.
“I’m starved,” my mother said suddenly, breaking the tension in the room. “Do we need to take care of anything else while we’re here, or are we ready to head off to meet Alexander for lunch?”
I let my breath out slowly and turned to my mother. Concern was evident in her eyes, though, as always, she remained calm in the face of difficult situations. Her composure was both comforting and grounding.
“I don’t think there’s anything else we need to take care of today,” I said, forcing a steady tone. “And I think we could all use something to eat.”
“Yes,” Diana agreed quickly, her tone light. “Tempers can certainly flare on an empty stomach, and I know none of us mean to upset each other.”
I smiled tightly at her. “Of course. I think we can be on our way, then. Alexander should be waiting for us, right?”
“When he texted me back, he said he was leaving the office so he should arrive around the same time we do,” Diana replied. She added with a faint laugh, “You know him–always at the office, always working.”
“It’s admirable,” I said. “Very few people have the kind of work ethic that Alexander does.”
Diana gave me a strange smile, one that made my irritation flare again. “Yes,” she said, her tone oddly measured. “Very few people work the way Alexander does.”
There was something in her voice–an undercurrent of meaning I couldn’t quite place–but I was too tired of the
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+25 BONUS
Chapter 0205
tension to press her on it. Instead, I let it go.
“Is the car ready?” I asked, turning to my mother.
“Yes,” she confirmed. “Let’s not wait any longer.”
She put an arm around me, giving me a quick, reassuring squeeze. Together, the three of us headed toward the exit.
As we stepped outside, a sudden wave of anxiety swept over me. Memories of our last wedding dress trip flashed through my mind–the fear, the chaos, the moment we were kidnapped on our way home.
