FIFTY-SEVEN

Of course, Alexander hadn't called for her, and she hadn't gone to him either, she hadn't even told him when it had been time for her to leave. And on getting to the penthouse, she had simply taken Loki with her and had retired to her room like she had done the previous day.

She had stayed in there for hours, but unlike the previous day, Alexander didn't come to check up on her. Realizing that she was getting quite hungry, she decided to go to the kitchen to get something to eat.

Of course Loki followed her, as always. And on leaving her room, she realized that he Alexander wasn't even back yet. She contmplated whether or not to call him, a part of her was worried about him since he had looked rather torn, but the other was upset and wanted to stand her ground.

And after a full minute of contemplating, she decided that he could take care of himself.


She was glad Linda had packed some food for Alexander else she would have needed to settle for some noodles or order something. She took a portion of what she wanted and heated them up in the microwave.

And just as she settled in the island to have dinner, she heard the elevator ping softly; Alexander was finally back. 9pm was a few minutes away and she had assumed he would be staying out very late. Nonetheless, she continued to tend to her dinner.

She rolled her eyes subtly as Loki ran off to welcome him, and a some seconds later, her eyes widened in horror on hearing an all too familiar voice.

"When did you get a dog?" Maya Blackwood was saying.

It couldn't be. He couldn't actually have brought Maya Blackwood here when she was here. He wouldn't risk exposing their relationship, and she'd like to believe that he wouldn't disrespect her like that.

But she had indeed heard Maya's voice.

She couldn't hear what Alexander had said because he hardly ever spoke loudly, but she certainly heard Maya speak again.

"I don't like dogs but this one is cute." She said.

Her throat clenched from anger and pain, and the food she had been eating suddenly tasted like ashes. She probably wasn't thinking straight, but she decided to damn it all.

She pushed her seat back and stood up, not caring that it would result to a scandal, she stalked out of the kitchen and made her way to the living where Alexander stood with Maya hanging on his arm like a whore while Loki ran circles around them.

Their gazes snapped to hers at once, and though Alexander's eyes gave nothing away, Maya's widened in shock and disbelief. Her gaze raked over from as she took in her lazy outfit which consisted of a pair of shorts, some socks, and a sweater; she was obviously at home.

"What is she doing here?" She asked Alexander after getting over her shock.

And when Alexander didn't respond, she let go of him and made her way over to where Yalda stood. Her eyes were dark with hate and she looked like she was about to murder her. Yalda felt the exact same way, just that she felt like murdering Alexander too.

"I should be asking you the same question." She replied. "What are you doing here at this hour, Mrs. Blackwood?"

Maya chuckled humorlessly, darkly.

"So it's true." She said, her eyes had never been darker, and Yalda saw raw jealousy in them. "The rumors are true, you're his whore."

The audacity of the woman.

"Let's not throw stones at glass houses, Maya." She replied. "After all, we're just two whores standing in the very same glass house."

Maya's eyes flared and she raised her hand in an attempt to hit her but Yalda caught her wrist mid air, she was done letting the woman walk all over her.

"Don't even think about it." She warned before tossing her hand down angrily.

"Enough of that, both of you." Alexander's calm voice cut into their feud smoothly and Maya's head whipped around to face him sharply.

"You're fucking her?!" She asked in disbelief. "She fucking lives here?"

Yalda waited for Alexander to respond, now more than ever, she wanted him to respond, she wanted to hear what he had to say.

"Answer me!" Maya almost screamed.

And he did.

"So what of it?" He asked her.

Of course, she knew this way a matter of his ego and even reputation, she knew that whatever he was going to do at this point would have to be in her favour because Maya clearly didn't understand just how big his ego and desire for control was.

She was going to challenge him and the outcome wouldn't be in her favour, and Yalda was going to gladly watch it unfold.

"What of it? All this time you've been fucking that bitch and I knew nothing of it!" Maya screamed at him.

Yalda was glad there weren't neighbors around that could hear this.

"You didn't think you were the only one I was fucking, did you?" Alexander asked her.

Maya looked like she was going to lose her mind.

"I know. I know you have other whores, but her? Your fucking secretary?" She seethed.

Alexander rolled his eyes heavenward, it seemed today had truly been hell for him.

"Maya, I want you to understand that I will fuck whomever I please, and if you have a problem with it you can leave." He told her. "I'm in no mood to deal with this."

Maya stalked over to him angrily, and she looked like she was going to hit him but they all knew she would dare.

"This disrespect will not go unanswered." She said to him.

And she was about to storm out when he held her wrist and drew her back unexpectedly. Her eyes were wide in disbelief as she stared up at him.

"Was that a threat?" He asked her.

Yalda knew things were about to get really messy now.

"Let go of me immediately." Maya spat.

It was Alexander's turn to chuckle humorlessly.

"I will let go of you." He told her. "And if you as much as breathe a word of what happened here when you leave, I will destroy you and your pathetic stepson. Do you understand?"

The threat hadn't been directed at her, but Yalda felt a chill run down her spine.

Maya stood there brooding as she glared daggers at Alexander.

"You have two options, Maya, leave and pretend this never happened, or try to make a big deal out of it and see just what I can do." He said to her.

And with that, he released her wrist. Maya stood there a moment longer as she thought about what he had said, her gaze flickered to Yalda's and the look in her eyes told her this was far from over.

Saying nothing, she turned around and stormed off.

Left alone with Alexander, Yalda stood there staring at him as she waited for him to speak. She knew they were about to have their own rumble.

"Didn't you get my message?" He asked her.

She shook her head. She hadn't gone through her phone since she got back, she hadnt even taken it out of her purse.

"My phone has been in my purse." She replied.

"Why did you come out when you knew she was with me?" He asked her.

Was he really saying that? Her throat clenched even more.

"Was I to hide in the kitchen till your whore left?" She asked him.

His eyes darkened menacingly.

"Careful, Yalda, I'm in no mood to deal with you." He warned.

She shook her head.

"You know, I take all the disrespect you throw at me, but I will not be disrespected in front of your other whores." She told him.

He chuckled humorlessly.

"What makes you think you're so important?"

Once upon a time, she had asked herself that question more than a thousand times, and she had thought she had absolutely no power over him at all. But now she knew why she was so important, and she knew she had some sort of power over him. Yes, it was nothing compared to what he had over her, but still, it was something.

"You need me." She replied. "Unlike your other whores, you need me."

He needed her to cope with his issues, he needed her to vent, to pour out all that bothered him.

He glared at her with those cold and demeaning eyes of his before he nodded.

"I'm keeping tabs on every single thing you've done that deserves punishing." He told her.

And with that, he turned around and stepped into the elevator.