Chapter 3

MADDISON'S POV

His silence hit me harder than the shock on his face.

Aldric didn't react or say anything at first, he just narrowed his eyes at me like he couldn't believe I just said that.

"So that's why you're here?" His voice came out smoothly and unbothered.

I froze. My pulse spiked when the realization of his response hit me.

He didn't deny it. It was really him.

"How could you..." My voice trembled slightly.

Aldric let out a soft, humorless chuckle.

My chest tightened with anger. "How dare you? Why would you... why would you take advantage of me when I was drunk? Why do men always..."

He pushed back from his desk and stood, the sudden movement making my pulse jump. The calm, unreadable expression he'd worn all morning hardened into something dangerous as he circled the table and stalked toward me with deliberate slowness, leaving me feeling less like a visitor in his office and more like prey trapped in a predator's sights.

"That's how you show appreciation?" he asked quietly. "To someone who saved you from danger? Protected you because you were careless enough to drink yourself unconscious in a bar?"

I blinked in confusion. "Protected... me?"

"Yes. And you dare accuse me of taking advantage of you? Seriously, Miss Huston?" He stopped in front of me and trailed his eyes from my legs up to my face.

I felt cornered, stupid and confused.

"No, I remember everything." I tried to keep my voice steady but my shaking breaths betrayed me. "You kissed me, you touched me, you even..." I trailed off my last words because I couldn't bring myself to say it.

His eyes glinted with something I couldn't read.

"You don't seem to have recovered from the alcohol," he said with a smirk on his face, stepping closer while I backed away until my back hit the wall.

His arm braced beside my head, and my breath caught as he leaned in, heat radiating from his body like fire contained in a man.

"You must be so delusional to have imagined me having sex with you," he murmured, his lips brushing so close to my ear that my knees weakened.

My breath caught in my throat.

"I didn't imagine—"

The protest died on my lips when he reached out and tilted my chin upward, forcing me to meet his gaze. He was standing so close that I could feel the warmth radiating from his body, and the sight of his mouth hovering inches from mine sent my pulse racing in a way that made me instantly resent myself. There was something unsettling in his eyes, something dark and unreadable that made me feel as though he could see straight through every defense I had left.

Then he leaned closer, lowering his head until his lips were near my ear.

"I don't fuck virgins."

The words landed like a physical blow.

A shiver ran through me as his breath brushed the sensitive skin of my neck, and a fresh wave of confusion swept through my mind.

How could he possibly know that?

"How..." I swallowed hard before forcing the words out. "How do you even know that?"

For a moment, I thought he might answer.

Instead, he simply stepped back and pushed away from the wall, leaving me standing there breathless and disoriented, as though he hadn't just unraveled every coherent thought in my head.

I swallowed again and tried to steady myself.

"Mr. Hawthorne... did you really not..."

He glanced back over his shoulder, his expression unreadable except for the faint trace of boredom in his eyes.

"Were you hoping I did? So you could blackmail me into hiring you back?"

My jaw dropped. "No, No! That's not..."

"Good," he said coldly. "Because nothing happened. I only helped you because you used to work here. Don't count on that happening again."

Humiliation burned through me;

Of course. He would never want me like that. I was not his type.

My throat tightened. I didn't know what to say after embarrassing myself like that. "Mr Hwathorne, I..."

"You've used up your five minutes." His tone sliced through every ounce of courage I had left.

"Leave."

"I'm really sorry for accusing you like that. Please, just give me a chance to explain."

"I said leave."

The sharp command cracked through the room, and the authority in his voice made me instinctively flinch.

The last shred of hope I'd been clinging to vanished. Whatever opportunity I might have had to clear my name had been destroyed the moment I let my emotions take over.

Muttering another apology that he clearly had no interest in hearing, I backed toward the door and slipped out of his office, closing it quietly behind me.

By the time I reached the lobby, humiliation had settled heavily in my chest. The memory of everything I'd said replayed over and over in my mind, making me cringe with every step.

What was I thinking?

I had come here to convince Aldric Hawthorne of my innocence, yet somehow I'd ended up accusing him of sleeping with me.

Unable to leave, I crossed the street to a small café beside Throne Group and took a seat near the window, convincing myself that if I waited until the end of the workday, I might get another chance to speak to him.

The afternoon dragged by painfully slowly. I spent most of it staring at my phone without really reading anything, alternating between rehearsing what I wanted to say and wondering whether there was any point in staying at all.

I was still sitting there hours later when a familiar voice sliced through the quiet atmosphere of the café.

"Well, well. Look who it is."

A knot immediately formed in my stomach.

I looked up to find Clarisse and Belle walking through the entrance, and the moment their eyes landed on me, their expressions lit up with the unmistakable excitement of people who had just found a new target.

Their eyes lit up when they saw me.

"Oh wow," Clarisse smirked. "The office whore survived? Thought you'd evaporated from shame."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not doing this with you."

Belle snickered. "Did you come to seduce the CEO too? I heard he threw you out. Must've been humiliating."

They both burst into annoying laughter.

I clenched my jaw but I refused to react because I didn't want to cause a scene.

When they walked away to order, I grabbed my bag and suitcase, and walked out. It would be better to avoid them.

I'd barely walked a few meters when I heard a commotion behind me.

"Hey! Stop! Stop her!"

I jerked around, baffled, as people rushed toward me.

Clarisse pointed at me dramatically. "She stole my wallet!"

"What...?!" My heart dropped. "No I didn't! You're lying!"

"Search her bag!" she yelled.

"There are security cameras everywhere." I pointed toward the ceiling. "If you're accusing me, then prove it. Show me the evidence."

But they weren't interested in reason. Someone grabbed my bag forcefully and the contents spilled on the floor.

She gasped as she bent down to pick her wallet amongst my stuff.

"See?! It's with her!" she held it up to show them.

Gasps and murmurs erupted.

I was stunned and confused. "How did that get there?! I didn't take your wallet. You know I didn't do it, Clarisse."

"You shameless thief," someone spat

"I swear, I didn't..." A drink splashed on my hair and my face before I could complete my sentence.

People threw cups of drinks and food at me, their voices turned into an ugly roar.

I stopped trying to keep the peace. Squaring my shoulders, I turned to face the crowd. If they wanted a fight, I was done running from one.

Tears streamed down my face, my body shook under the humiliation, the noise and the shame.

Everything suddenly went quiet and I felt a coat cover me and spin me around;

My face hit a hard chest, and the familiar intoxicating cologne filled my nostrils.

I heard some people gasping behind me and my breath hitched as the deep voice rumbled above my head.

It was Aldric.

"Do you always get in trouble to get my attention?"