CHAPTER THREE
Another week slipped by, and Alina's strength slowly returned, thanks entirely to Alix, who never left her side. When he finally took her to his mansion, she couldn't hide her astonishment.
The place was vast, elegant, and more than she ever imagined. Though her tummy had only begun to round, her body craved the peace of rest. Alix prepared a special room just for her.
"How did you find me? I'd been pondering about that?"
Alina asked curiously.
"I saw you on the other side so I had to bring in another dead body"
The more Alina got confused.
"Someone else died in the fire?" she raised a brow.
"ya, a lady but she was burned to the core so I had to wear her your ring so they won't suspect a thing".
It was understandable after his explanation.
"Thank you, Alix," she whispered with a small smile.
He simply shrugged. "No problem."
"Why are you being so kind to me?" she asked as she lay properly on the bed.
Alix's expression hardened. "Because we share something in common."
Her brows furrowed. "And what's that?"
"I lost my family… because of the Blackwoods." His fists clenched at his sides. The bitterness in his voice was enough to make her heart twist.
Alina's breath caught. "The Blackwoods…" She could only whisper the name.
"What do you want from me?" she asked quietly.
"Nothing." He leaned against the wall, his eyes sharp. "But do you want to make them pay?"
Her gaze darkened, fire burning behind her calm face. "I have to take everything back from them."
"Then we'll need power," he said, his tone firm. "Power is the only way to crush them."
Alina nodded slowly. "If I want that, I'll have to finish my studies. I'll need to master business, strategy, everything."
Alix stepped closer, sitting at the edge of her bed. "But that means you'll have to fight your husband. Are you prepared for that?"
Her lips pressed tightly together. The word husband felt like venom. She had nothing left to hold on to except the life growing inside her. Aidan had abandoned her. He had never loved her.
"I'm willing to risk it all," she said through clenched teeth.
---
FIVE YEARS LATER
Five years, yet the memories burned as though they happened yesterday. Abandonment.
Loss…
Those years did not break her, they shaped her. Gone was the fragile girl of seventeen. Alina had become a strong, resolute woman forged in pain and fire.
"Are you done packing?" Alix's voice broke her thoughts.
She zipped the final bag and turned to her son. "Eidan, come to Momma."
The little boy ran into her arms, laughter spilling from him as she lifted and twirled him around.
"Momma, are we going now?" he asked in his tiny, eager voice.
Alina's smile softened. "Yes, baby. We're going home."
Eidan was her joy, her heartbeat, her second chance.
He carried Aidan's blood, yes, but he was not his father. He was his own story. His own future. And no one, not even the Blackwoods would take him from her.
"Let's go, Alina," Alix called as he wheeled the luggage.
The flight took sixteen long hours. When they landed, Alina's chest tightened. The air itself felt thick with memories, both sweet and cruel.
She stood before her new house, clutching Eidan's small hand as he ran free, a toy gun waving in the air.
"Momma, it's so beautiful!" he exclaimed.
"Yes, baby. But be careful," she called, her heart leaping at his carefree movements.
"He's so cute," Alix murmured from beside her.
"I know," Alina whispered. Yet her son's face reminded her of someone she never wished to see again. Someone who was once her everything, and now her greatest wound.
No, Eidan was not Aidan. He never would be.
---
Inside, the house already felt like home. Even after all the suffering, she couldn't deny the comfort of being back on familiar soil.
Alina gazed at herself in the mirror, fingertips brushing the faint scar across her cheek.
Alix had given her that scar. He said it was to protect her to make her look like his late wife, Alina and his late wife has features so no one, especially Aidan, would recognize her.
And it had worked. For five years, she had remained hidden. Forgotten. But not defeated.
"Momma, are you alright?" Eidan's small voice tugged her back. She bent down, tucking his hair behind his ear, smiling softly.
"Yes, baby. Momma's just a little tired."
"You need rest," he said seriously, brushing her cheek with his tiny fingers.
Her heart melted. "I will, my love. But first, let's settle in."
Together, they unpacked. Eidan carefully folded his clothes, his favorite carved doll always at his side. He was different from other children, thoughtful, gentle and she loved him all the more for it.
"Alina, you should see this," Alix's voice called from the living room.
She joined him, only to stop short. On the massive television screen, a familiar face filled the room.
Aidan.
He stood tall, commanding, as reporters spoke of an upcoming board meeting.
Alix folded his arms. "Seems they're looking for new partners."
Alina's lips curved into a cold, determined smile. "Then we'll partner with them. That's where we'll begin."
Her fingers brushed the necklace at her throat, the last token of a past she had once cherished.
Her eyes hardened.
"Let's get to work."