The billionaire's revenge marriage

Alex POV 

The moment Bella Laurent stepped through the glass doors of Blackwood International, Alex knew eight years had been a lie.

Not the kind of lie people told with words.

The kind they told themselves because the truth was too painful to accept.

He stood behind the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office, one hand resting against the edge of his desk, watching her cross the lobby below.

She was different.

He had expected that.

He had prepared himself for it.

What he had not prepared for was the way his chest tightened when he saw her.

Her long dark-brown hair fell over her shoulders, catching the afternoon light. She walked with the same graceful confidence he remembered, but there was something harder about her now.

Something he couldn't reach.

Good.

He needed her to be harder.

It would make this easier.

At least, that was what he told himself.

Behind him, the office door opened.

Marcus Reed stepped inside.

"She came."

Alex didn't turn.

"I can see that."

Marcus moved closer to the window and looked down at Bella.

"You're sure about this?"

Alex's jaw tightened.

"Completely."

Marcus studied him for a moment.

"You haven't said what you actually want from her."

Alex finally turned.

"I want the truth."

Marcus raised an eyebrow.

"That isn't what you told me yesterday."

Alex's expression hardened.

"Yesterday, I wanted revenge."

"And today?"

Alex looked through the glass again.

Bella had reached the private elevator.

She was standing there alone, waiting.

He remembered another elevator.

Another life.

Bella laughing beside him as they rode to the rooftop of his father's old building.

He remembered the way she had looked at him that night.

The way she had trusted him.

The way he had believed he could trust her.

Then everything had disappeared.

His father.

His family's company.

Their reputation.

His future.

And Bella.

He had spent eight years rebuilding everything.

Money.

Power.

Blackwood International.

But there was one thing he had never managed to rebuild.

The part of himself that had existed before Bella Laurent.

Alex turned away from the window.

"Today, I want to know why she's back."

Marcus watched him carefully.

"You already know why."

"Do I?"

"She came back to investigate her father."

Alex's eyes darkened.

"That's what she wants us to believe."

The elevator doors opened.

Bella stepped inside.

Alex watched until the doors closed.

Then he reached for the phone on his desk.

"Send her up."

Marcus didn't move.

"And Alex?"

Alex looked at him.

"If you're doing this because you still love her, don't pretend it's revenge."

Silence filled the office.

Alex's expression became unreadable.

"I don't love her."

Marcus gave a quiet, humorless laugh.

"I didn't ask whether you loved her."

He walked toward the door.

"I said don't pretend."

The door closed behind him.

Alex stood alone.

He hated Marcus for being able to see through him.

More than that, he hated himself for knowing Marcus was right.

A soft knock came at the door.

Alex straightened.

"Come in."

The door opened.

Bella walked inside.

For one brief second, neither of them spoke.

Eight years disappeared.

He saw the girl he had loved.

She saw the man she had once trusted.

Then her expression changed.

Cold.

Guarded.

Professional.

"Mr. Blackwood."

Alex felt something inside him crack.

Mr. Blackwood.

Not Alex.

Not even Alexander.

He had earned that distance.

"Bella."

She remained standing.

"You said you wanted to talk about my father."

"I do."

"Then talk."

Direct.

Still stubborn.

Still Bella.

Alex gestured toward the chair opposite his desk.

"Sit."

"I'd rather stand."

His mouth almost curved.

Almost.

"You always hated being told what to do."

"And you always enjoyed telling me."

The words hung between them.

For a moment, Alex could almost hear her younger voice teasing him.

Then the memory vanished.

He walked toward his desk.

"You've been asking questions about the Laurent investigation."

Bella's eyes narrowed.

"How do you know?"

"I know everything that happens inside my company."

"I didn't ask anyone at your company."

"You didn't need to."

He watched her carefully.

She was hiding something.

He knew it.

The question was what.

Alex picked up a folder from his desk and placed it between them.

"Your father wasn't guilty."

Bella froze.

There it was.

The reaction he had been waiting for.

Hope.

Suspicion.

Fear.

All at once.

She looked at the folder but didn't touch it.

"What is this?"

"Information."

"About my father?"

"Yes."

"Why would you have it?"

"Because I've spent eight years looking for the person who destroyed my family."

Bella finally picked up the folder.

Alex watched her fingers tighten around it.

"And you think that person wasn't my father?"

"I know it wasn't him."

She looked up.

"Then who was it?"

Alex held her gaze.

"That is what I intend to find out."

Bella's eyes searched his face.

"And where do I fit into this?"

There it was.

The opening.

Alex had rehearsed what he would say.

He had imagined this moment countless times.

But looking at her now, the words felt heavier than they had in his head.

"You're going to help me."

Bella gave a quiet laugh.

"After eight years of blaming my family, you suddenly want my help?"

"No."

He stepped closer.

"I want you close enough that neither of us can hide the truth anymore."

Her expression hardened.

"Why?"

Alex looked directly into her eyes.

"Because I have a proposal for you."

Bella waited.

He let the silence stretch.

Then he said the words that would change both their lives.

"Marry me."

Bella stared at him.

For the first time since she entered the room, Alex saw genuine shock cross her face.

And beneath it, something else.

Something he couldn't identify.

He had expected anger.

He had expected disbelief.

He hadn't expected the tiny flicker of something that looked dangerously close to fear.

Alex kept his expression calm.

He had spent eight years preparing for revenge.

He wasn't going to let one look from Bella Laurent destroy his plan.

Not again.