Chapter 117

She had only one opportunity, and she wasn’t about to let it slip away. The sharp aroma of alcohol lingered as she neared his bedside. Alexander was still dressed and deeply asleep. With delicate, careful motions, she began unfastening his suit jacket, trying not to rouse him. The faint sound of the fabric shifting seemed to echo in the quiet room.

As she undid each button, Ariana felt a mix of worry and affection for Alexander. He had been through a lot lately, and it was obvious he had sought solace in drinking. She knew she was the cause of his troubles, but if she hadn’t taken her previous actions, she wouldn’t be by his side now. She needed to get Lily locked away, even though it would hurt Alexander; eventually, he’d move on, and she would take her place beside him. If her plan didn’t succeed, she was ready to rethink and try again, determined to keep him and Lily apart so she could finally step in.

Gently, she slid his jacket off, revealing the crisp dress shirt underneath. The room was so quiet she could hear the slow, rhythmic sound of his breathing. But as she began to remove his shirt, he stirred. His grip tightened around her hand, and his alcohol-heavy eyes met hers.

Ariana froze, their eyes locking in a silent exchange. In that instant, she saw a mix of vulnerability and confusion in his gaze. Even in his drunken state, it was as if he was reaching out to her. She wasn’t sure what to say, but her presence alone conveyed her deep feelings for him.

“Who are you?” he asked, his vision blurred by the darkness, making it hard to see her face clearly, only her eyes.

In the dim room, their eyes were the only things they could see of each other. Ariana whispered softly, “It’s me, Lily. I’m here for you, Alexander.” Her tone was full of warmth and reassurance, hoping that by pretending to be Lily, she could ease his discomfort and gain his trust to do what she intended. She believed acting as Lily would bring him some peace in his intoxicated state.

“Lily?” he murmured, touching her face. “How are...you here?” Lily was supposed to be in prison, with the trial not scheduled until the day after tomorrow. How could she be here now? Had he somehow lost track of time and slept for days?

Ariana waited anxiously to see what he would do next. It pained her to use Lily’s name, but she had no other choice. She was ready to see if he would pull her close and kiss her, thinking she was Lily.

But instead of doing that, he gently touched her hair, then paused and looked deeply into her eyes. Suddenly, Alexander pulled her closer, which thrilled her, thinking she was about to get what she wanted. But as he inhaled her scent, realizing it was different, he shoved her away so forcefully that she landed on the floor, crying out in pain.

“Who are you, and what are you doing in my room?” He was repulsed by the idea of another woman touching him apart from Lily. The thought that she had almost undressed him disgusted him.

Though he was drunk, his mind had cleared a bit. Ariana was in shock; he had recognized that she wasn’t Lily by her scent. She realized her mistake—she should have discovered Lily’s scent and used it on herself to imitate her more convincingly. Her plan was falling apart.

Alexander stood from the bed and started toward her. Ariana quickly scrambled to her feet and darted toward the door.

“Guards!” Alexander shouted, but no one responded, explaining how she had gotten in—his guards must have been drunk as well. This was clearly a setup, and he was determined to find out who this woman was.

As Alexander charged at her, he suddenly felt weak and collapsed onto the floor. Ariana was relieved he hadn’t caught her. The drink she had given him earlier was still working. She fled from his room, hurried to her own, packed her things, and left the hotel immediately.

The next morning, when Alexander woke, he had only a hazy recollection of the night before. He vaguely remembered a woman impersonating Lily and regretted not finding out who she was. But there was still a way to discover her identity. Alexander instructed James, who had arrived at the hotel, to check the guest list from the previous night.

After investigating, James found the name, and Alexander was furious when he learned it was Ariana. He would have been less upset if it had been someone else, but the fact that it was Ariana enraged him even more. How was he going to explain this to Lily? What if she found out? Alexander couldn’t bear the thought.

“Take me to Ariana’s residence,” he ordered, and his chauffeur drove him to the estate where Ariana had purchased a house. If not for Lily’s request to let her stay in the estate, Alexander would have kicked her out long ago.

The car stopped outside her house, and Alexander stepped out, looking as handsome as ever in his clean, expensive suit. When Samson saw him, he went inside to inform Ariana.

Ariana was just descending the stairs, fully dressed, when Samson told her that Alexander was there. Her bag slipped from her hand when she heard his name. Under different circumstances, she would have been thrilled to have him visit, but not now. She was certain he was there because he had discovered she was the one who entered his hotel room the previous night. He was going to kill her.

She had made a huge mistake by not having her name removed from the guest list at the hotel. She had only instructed security to erase the CCTV footage of her entering and leaving his room. She hadn’t thought he would remember what happened since he was so drunk. She had spent two years planning to win Alexander back, only to make such a foolish mistake. Her goal was to sleep with him and get pregnant, believing that having his child would create a bond between them that would end his marriage to Lily. But her plan had failed, and now he was outside her house. Only God knew what he intended to do.

“Ma’am?” Samson called her, noticing that she was frozen in place. He picked up her bag and called her again, snapping her out of her daze.

“You said he’s outside?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

They both heard the doorbell ring, and Ariana’s heart raced. She couldn’t deny what had happened, but she needed to come up with a convincing lie. Mustering all her courage, she walked to the door and opened it. Standing before her was a furious Alexander.

Before she could utter a word, he grabbed her by the neck and squeezed so hard that she thought she would die. Ariana gasped for air as tears streamed down her face, but Alexander didn’t stop there. He lifted her with one hand, still gripping her throat.

She tried to plead with him, but she couldn’t speak due to the lack of oxygen. Samson, who attempted to help her, was already being beaten by two of Alexander’s guards, his nose bleeding from the assault.

Carolina, seeing what was happening from the window, rushed downstairs to see why Alexander was there, only to be horrified by the sight of him strangling her daughter. Ariana must have done something terrible, but Carolina couldn’t just stand by and watch her daughter being choked to death.

“Please stop!” Carolina cried out, catching Alexander’s attention.

Seeing the elderly woman’s tears, Alexander released his grip and let Ariana drop to the floor as if she were nothing. Carolina rushed to her daughter’s side, urging her to breathe. Ariana gasped for air, finally stabilizing, but her neck throbbed with pain, already bruised and bleeding where Alexander’s nails had dug into her skin.

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

“Please leave,” Carolina begged Alexander.

“This is your final warning. Stay away from me and my family, or next time, I won’t hesitate to kill you,” he said before storming out of the house.

Carolina glanced at Samson, who was severely beaten by Alexander’s guards. Just when she thought it was over, James walked in and threw a document at Ariana’s feet.

“You have three days to vacate this house. Your money will be refunded within three hours,” James stated before leaving.

Carolina sighed, “What did you do, Ariana? I know he wouldn’t come here and strangle you for no reason.”

Ariana looked at her mother with tear-filled eyes, “I...”

“You what?” Carolina screamed. “Look at Samson! He’s in a terrible state because of whatever you did!”

Ariana slowly got up and began to walk upstairs.

“So now you’re walking away from me?” Carolina shouted, but Ariana didn’t respond.

“You need to stop whatever you’re doing, Ariana! It’s enough!”

“Stop?” Ariana paused and turned to face her mother, looking at her as if she were crazy. “Why should I stop when I’ve just begun?” she sneered.

“Do you think Alexander choking me because I tried to sleep with him will make me stop?”

Carolina’s face went pale. “What did you just say?”

“Yes! I drugged him and tried to sleep with him because I wanted to have his child!” Ariana shouted, her throat burning with pain. “My goal is to be with Alexander, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen, Mother! I don’t care if he chokes me a thousand times. In the end, I’ll be the one by his side!”

Carolina felt weak to her core. She didn’t know what to do to make her daughter stop. It wasn’t enough to have Lily jailed. She could only pray that Ariana wouldn’t resort to killing Lily just to get Alexander.