Novel Square
Chapter 177
Chapter 177
Alex’s POV
The stench hit me first. It was of sweat, iron, and damp stone curled in my nostrils as I stepped into the holding area. The guard hesitated as he unlocked the last cell, throwing me a look that might’ve been a warning, but I didn’t care. My focus was fixed on the man inside.
Daniel.
He sat there, sprawled across the narrow cot like he was lounging in some high–end club instead of rotting in a jail cell. His face was a patchwork of bruises and cuts, courtesy of either the officers or someone who shared my sentiment about him. Yet, for all his injuries, he still looked insufferably arrogant. That smirk tugged at the corner of his swollen lip like he had just won a round no one else realized was happening.
I gritted my teeth and stepped forward, my hands tightening into fists at my sides. “You look comfortable,” I said, my voice cold, cutting. “Considering you’re sitting in the only place you deserve to be.” Text content © NôvelDrama.Org.
Daniel slowly lifted his head, his bloodshot eyes meeting mine. That damned smirk widened. “Well, look who it is. The knight in shining armor. Come to gloat, Alex?” His voice was a slow drawl, mocking and dripping with disdain. “Or maybe just to remind yourself that you’re still her favorite hero?”
I felt a muscle twitch in my jaw. “You really don’t know when to quit, do you?”
He let out a low chuckle, leaning forward, his elbows resting casually on his knees. “Quit? Why would I? I was winning until you decided to storm in, guns blazing, playing the savior.” His eyes narrowed, venom pooling in his voice. “You ruined everything.”
“Everything?” My voice was calm, but it carried the weight of my rage. “You mean your sick little game? Drugging my kids? Manipulating Christiana? Forcing her to-” My voice faltered for a moment as the memory clawed its way back to the surface. I shook my head, my fists clenching tighter. “She was undressing, Daniel. Undressing. To save her children. My children!”
Daniel didn’t flinch. Not even a flicker of regret crossed his face. Instead, he shrugged, his tone infuriatingly casual. “She had a choice. Everyone has a choice. Don’t act like I held a gun to her head.”
My blood boiled, but I forced myself to remain still. If I let him push me, he’d win in some twisted way. “You’re disgusting,” I said, my voice low but laced with pure hatred. “She was terrified. Do you even understand what you put her through? The position you forced her into?”
He leaned back, his head tilting lazily against the wall, as if he were bored. “Oh, spare me the moral lecture, Alex. You think you’re so righteous, don’t you? But let’s be real…you’re the reason she was in that position in the first place.”
That hit like a slap, but I didn’t let it show. I stepped closer, gripping the bars until the cold metal bit into my palms. “Don’t try to twist this. You’re the one who drugged my kids, who used them as pawns in your twisted game. You’re the one who cornered her, manipulated her, terrorized her.”
Daniel laughed…a sharp, bitter sound that echoed in the small cell. “And why do you think had to? Hmm? Let me remind you, Alex, you weren’t supposed to be part of the equation anymore. She was finally moving on. With me.”
My stomach twisted at his words, but I didn’t back down. “You really believe that, don’t you?”
“I know it,” he snapped, his smugness giving way to raw anger. “She was starting to feel something for me, Alex. Something real. But you…” He jabbed a finger in my direction, his face contorting with rage. “You couldn’t stand it. You had to force your way back into her life, using the kids as an excuse. ‘Oh, Christiana needs me, the kids need me.‘ Bullshit!”
I took a deep breath, my anger simmering dangerously close to the surface. “The only reason I came back was because you were too much of a coward to step up. You think you had a change with her? You think she would’ve chosen you if she knew the kind of man you really are?”
16:37 Wed, Dec 25 B BB.
| 0 ས ཊཱི, 65%_
Daniel sneered. “The kind of man I am? And what kind of man are you, Alex? The self–proclaimed protector, always swooping in to save the day? Newsflash…you’re no saint. You’re just better at hiding your demons.”
.
I leaned closer, my voice dropping to a deadly whisper. “You’re right. I’m no saint. But I would never, never do what you did. I would never use her love for her children as leverage. I would never put her in a position where she had to degrade herself to save the people she loves.”
He didn’t respond immediately, his jaw tightening, but the hatred in his eyes burned bright. “You’re so full of yourself,” he finally said, his voice cold. “But let’s be honest..she wouldn’t have been in that position if it weren’t for you. You came barreling back into her life, claiming to be a father, when you’d been gone for years. She was fine without you. Hell, she was finally warming up to me!”
“Fine?” I spat, the word laced with incredulity. “You call what you did fine? Drugging my children…innocent kids…just to force her hand? What kind of monster does that?”
Daniel didn’t flinch, He leaned forward, his eyes blazing with a twisted sort of pride. “A monster who was winning. And if you hadn’t barged in when you did, Alex, she would’ve been mine. You know it, and it eats at you.”
The image flashed in my mind, unbidden: Christiana standing in that dimly lit room, trembling, her fingers fumbling with the hem of her blouse as tears streaked down her face. My children, groggy and helpless, slumped on the couch. And Daniel, standing there, smug and unrepentant. It made my stomach churn and my fists ache to drive into his face again and again.
I took a step back, exhaling slowly, forcing the fury to stay just beneath the surface. “You’ll rot in here, Daniel. I’ll make sure of it. You’ll never touch her or my children again.”
Daniel smirked, licking a split on his lip. “Do your worst, Alex. It won’t change a thing. You’ll always wonder, won’t you? If she would’ve chosen me.”
I turned on my heel, every fiber of my being screaming at me to finish this here and now. But I didn’t. Not because I didn’t want to, but because he wasn’t worth it.
As I walked away, his laughter followed me down the hall, echoing in the dark like a ghost that refused to be silenced.