Alexandria Alexander sat in front of the vanity mirror as pale and stiff as the naked marble statue of Venus standing on the balcony of her plush room. Elegant eyebrows knitting together, she raised her eyes to the face reflecting on her mirror and found herself staring straight into a pair of hazel-green eyes.
The eyes of the devil, she thought, clenching her fist into tight balls until her knuckles turned white.
Despite herself, she managed to summon a smile to her lips, the best she had that had men prowling over her knees. But the man simply stood there, unimpressed. His chiseled features were dark, and his lips were drawn into tight lines. His gaze bore at her with piercing lethality. If looks could maim, she dropped to the pristine tiled floor, bathing in a pool of blood.
"I want a divorce, Alexandria." Lucas said tightly, his cold voice piercing through her.
The smile on her lips died down.
A shiver of fear ran down her spine. "No!" she gasped, whirling towards him. The force of her movement sent the chair sprawling down on the floor. "You can't do this to me, Lucas." She screamed. Fury, panic, and disbelief contorted her aristocratic features.
"You know damn well I can." He smiled, but it barely reached his eyes. It looked more of a sneer to her than a smile.
“It will cause a scandal!” Alexandria argued, almost screaming the words. Realizing she'd almost sounded so violent, she lowered her voice into a whisper. “Society will talk about you!” She tried to sound gentle, but the words still came off harshly.
“They're talking now.” He replied. There was a short pause before he continued. “The details of your scandalous affair with the governor—a married man will be all over the papers tomorrow. The worst had happened. I have nothing more to lose now.” He added. He was speaking so calmly now and it was terrifying watching him that way when she would have preferred him to lash at her than listen to him in that tone.
Alexandria turned deathly pale. Her lips trembled with alarm. She'd been careful with her extramarital affairs. She'd been extremely careful with her lovers, too. They come and go unnoticed. No one knew who they were. Where did she go wrong this time?
She swallowed deep and hard. The realization of how deep she was in trouble slapped her with force. Her legs trembled. It felt weak, as though it would collapse soon. Only her tight grip on the dresser kept her on her feet.
When Lucas first knew of her affair, he caught her in the middle of foreplay. Naked in the Master's bedroom with an equally naked man on top of her. Lucas had shot her lover and demanded a divorce right away.
Alexandria had been terrified to the bone. She wasn't concerned about her lover at all. She has a long list of men waiting for their turn. Losing one wouldn't hurt. But it was the prospect of losing the luxuries she was accustomed to that terrified her. Furious and desperate, she blackmailed him using the child in her womb. If he divorces her, she will get his child aborted.
Lucas had succumbed to her blackmail. It was his child who's involved, anyway. He didn't pursue divorce. In one condition, no one will know about her affairs and she will never have another lover again.
Alexandria had broken the only rule he set on her and now she's doomed. Her blackmail had worked well the first time, but this time, there's nothing she could do to stop him from divorcing her.
“And by the way, you will get nothing from me after the divorce. Also, I will have sole custody of our child.” The words painfully rang to her ears. It's as though he just announced it was the end of the world. Her world in particular.
