Seraphina pulled out her phone and dialed Alexander.
"Seraphina."
His voice came through deep and steady, rich like dark chocolate on the first ring. The sound of it alone made something in her chest tighten—a sensation she couldn't quite name. Safety, maybe. Or danger. Possibly both.
"The contract stated that you would provide full support and protection in maintaining public credibility and reputation," she said, forcing her voice to stay calm and professional despite the way her heart hammered against her ribs. "I have accepted every condition you have given me, just as it is stated in the contract."
She paused, hearing his heavy breath on the line. The sound made her stomach flip—was he angry? Tense?
"I think the time has come for you to keep your side of the bargain."
Silence. Then his voice came through—low, edged with something darker that sent shivers down her spine. "It's already done, Seraphina."
Seraphina blinked, thrown completely off balance. Her mind scrambled to catch up. "What?"
"I made three calls an hour ago." He paused.
She could hear something rustling in the background—papers, maybe. Was he at his office? Working through this menial crisis while running his entire empire?
"The Post, Gossip Elite, and Society Scoop. Their editors received the same message. Pull the story in one hour, or every advertising contract Langford Enterprises holds with them goes under immediate review."
His voice was icy, lethal—the voice of a man who wielded power like a weapon, who could reshape reality with a few phone calls. It should have terrified her.
Instead, it made her feel... protected. Safe in a way she hadn't felt since—since when? Ever?
"The Financial Times piece is being rewritten as we speak. And CNN's evening segment was canceled."
Her breath caught in her throat.
He'd already called all the agencies before she called. Before she even asked. He'd seen the attacks and moved immediately, decisively, ruthlessly. He was watching her. He's been watching all day, monitoring every headline, every attack, ready to act the moment it crosses a line.
The realization made her chest tight. Alexander was watching her. Analysing her moves. It was to protect you.
Or was it? Was this protection, or just another form of control wrapped in prettier packaging?
"You threatened them," she said, trying to keep her voice neutral even as emotions warred inside her.
"I simply reminded them that if these articles remained in their publications, they were stepping against a Langford." There was satisfaction in his voice—dark, almost dangerous. "The same Langford who pays a large part of their bills. Each CEO understood perfectly. Most made the right choice."
Most. Meaning some didn't. Some people had stood up to Alexander Langford's threats and refused.
She didn't know whether that made her feel better or worse about what he'd done for her.
She sat down slowly, her legs suddenly unsteady beneath her.
"That's not—"
Legal? Ethical? Fair? She didn't even know how to finish the sentence. Partly because she was impressed.
"It was necessary." His voice dropped lower, rougher, leaving no room for argument. But beneath the steel, she heard something else—concern. Real concern that made her throat tight."Your stock stopped falling an hour ago. The worst attacks from major outlets are being pulled right now. But Seraphina—"
He paused, and she found herself holding her breath, waiting for whatever came next.
"The smaller outlets, independent blogs, social media—those are harder to control. Victoria's tweet is untouchable without making us look like we're suppressing a concerned mother."
"So the attacks continue," she said quietly.
"The bleeding has stopped. But the wound is still open."
Frustration bled through his control. body tensed up again.
Even the unlimited power of Langfords could have its limits. He could buy media companies and threaten CEOs, but couldn't protect her from every anonymous blog and TikTok video.
When he spoke again, his voice had shifted—tender, concerned, the steel wrapped in something softer that made her chest ache.
"The interview today, when it gets released—that will be the real strike. You did well not reacting to any of the allegations." His voice carried unmistakable pride now, warm and genuine. "I knew you'd handle it brilliantly. It makes it easier for things to vanish if you pretend they never happened."
Seraphina closed her eyes, absorbing that.
He'd seen her strategy—the one she'd explained to Aurora, the deliberate silence, the refusal to engage—and he'd understood it. Supported it. Enhanced it with his own brutal efficiency without overriding her plan entirely.
He hadn't swooped in to fix everything his way. Hadn't dismissed her strategy as wrong or useless. He had just... acted. Decisively, powerfully, but in support of her strategy, not a replacement for it.
No like Derek. No, he would have insisted he knew better, that she was too emotional to think clearly, that she should just let him handle everything.
"Thank you," she said, her voice firm.
"No need to thank me yet. Besides, it will only help me convince the board about our relationship before their annual meet up."
Back to business, controlled and commanding as if threatening media conglomerates was just another Tuesday afternoon task. It probably was for him.
"Seraphina?" He stopped suddenly, voice shifting again—soft, uncertain, almost vulnerable in a way that seemed completely foreign to Alexander Langford.
Her heart kicked up a notch. "Yes?"
A pause. She could hear him breathing, could imagine him in his office, that slight furrow between his brows when he was thinking too hard about something. The curl of hair that would appear when he ran his hand through it by late afternoon, disrupting his usually perfect styling.
"No, it's nothing. I will pick you up in the evening for the interview."
The call ended before she could respond.
Seraphina stared at her phone, her mind spinning, her body still humming with the sound of his voice.
What was he going to say?
She replayed the conversation, analyzing every pause, every shift in his tone.
The way he'd said her name at the beginning—like it meant something. The satisfaction when he'd described threatening the CEOs, like protecting her, gave him genuine pleasure. That moment of vulnerability at the end—
Stop it. You're reading too much into this. It's a contract. Business. Strategy.
But her racing heart didn't believe that lie.
He made her feel protected—truly, deeply protected in a way she'd never experienced before.
And that terrified her.
Because Derek's voice echoed in her memory, soft and reassuring: "Let me take care of you. You'll never have to worry again. Just trust me—completely."
Derek had made her feel protected too. Until his protection became control and his care became cage.
Her hands trembled slightly as she set the phone down.
Alexander wasn't Derek. She knew that intellectually. Derek had been weak underneath the bluster—a manipulative man whose ego couldn't survive being outshone by his more successful, and intelligent fiancée.
But the fear lingered anyway—because trusting powerful men who could make you vanish with a phone call, who could protect you one day and destroy you the next...
That's the gamble, isn't it? Trust him or die trying to survive alone.
She refreshed her news feed with shaking hands.
The major publications had shifted dramatically:
THE POST: Article removed entirely
GOSSIP ELITE: Replaced with neutral business analysis
SOCIETY SCOOP: Page not found
FINANCIAL TIMES: Boring, safe corporate coverage that gave no hint of scandal. And was insightful to her as well.
But smaller outlets still screaming:
VICTORIA HALE'S HEARTBREAKING PLEA — trending #1 on Twitter
TIKTOKER EXPOSES SERAPHINA'S "PATTERN" — 2.3M views
REDDIT THREAD: "Why Langford is Making a Mistake" — 15K comments
She hoped it would get better after the announcement. After the ring went on her finger publicly.