Josephine stretched with a lazy yawn, arms high over her head.
“Good morning, Miss Sophia.”
When she noticed Alex was awake, her face lit up. “And good morning to you, Alex.”
“Morning, Josephine,” Alex replied, unsure what else to say under Sophia’s sharp, burning stare.
Josephine swung her legs off the bed, cracking her neck like nothing unusual had happened.
“I’ll make breakfast for the three of us, okay?” She started toward the door as if it were any other day.
Sophia stepped in her path, eyes narrowing. “How can you two be sleeping together?”
Josephine met her gaze without a flicker of guilt. Growing up in the cramped orphanage, sharing a bed had never been a scandal.
“Oh, Alex fainted in front of the clinic, so I brought him to his bed,” she said through another yawn.
“But then he got all teary and didn’t want to let go. Maybe he needed a friend, so I stayed. I was tired too, so I fell asleep there. That’s all.”
With that, Josephine turned and headed off to make breakfast, leaving them alone in the room.
Sophia’s eyes flicked between them—both fully clothed, nothing looking out of place.
She wanted to scold Alex, but Josephine’s words pulled her up short.
Alex… fainted? And teary-eyed?
Could that have been because she had shot a bullet to his forehead yesterday?
“What are you doing here?” Alex asked from the bed.
Sophia moved to his side, her warm fingers brushing his forehead before she could think better of it.
“Did that little stunt I pulled yesterday—shooting the bullet to you—make you faint? Did it hurt so bad you almost died?”
Alex’s eyes sharpened. This wasn’t the Sophia he knew—the one who lashed out first and thought later.
This was softer. Concerned. It threw him.
“No,” he said. “It’s just… lately, there’s been too much to deal with.”
Sophia bit her lip. “You’re right. For both of us.”
A long, awkward silence stretched between them before Sophia drew a deep breath.
“Alex… what do you think about us?”
“Us?” Alex searched her face—beautiful, but hesitant, almost shy.
She clasped her hands together tightly, panic flickering in her eyes.
“You know I’m a widow now… and if you don’t mind…”
Alex understood instantly where she was headed. In the past, he might have answered without hesitation—yes, let’s remarry.
But with Josephine slowly weaving her way into his life, everything felt tangled and out of control.
He couldn’t give her an answer.
Before he could speak, Sophia’s phone shrilled. She glanced at the screen. “I need to take this.”
She turned away. “Mother? What happened?”
Her mother’s voice came through, frantic. “Our neighbor just called—Our mansion is on fire!”
“What?”
Florence’s scream was raw and furious. “My mansion! Oh my God!”
Her grief twisted into rage. “Henny, you bitch! You stabbed me, you stabbed my son, and now you destroy my mansion?! This is unforgivable!”
Jack jumped in quickly, his mind already scheming.
“Mom, this all started because of Alex. Remember? He slapped Madam Henny the first time she came here. She’s been looking for revenge ever since. We can make him pay for this.”
Florence’s eyes lit with vindictive clarity. “You’re right!” She seized Alex’s sleeve in a death grip.
“Alex, this is all your fault! You’re going to pay for my mansion!”
“Mom, Alex had nothing to do with the fire,” Sophia cut in, her tone firm.
“You can’t seriously expect him to compensate you for this.”
“Why not? He brought this trouble to our doorstep! Don’t even think about walking away if you don’t pay up!” Florence’s voice rose as she shook Alex by the collar.
“You owe me my home! You’ve been nothing but bad luck since the day you showed up!”
Alex felt the weight of bitter regret.
Why had he even bothered to save Florence and Jack? This was his thanks—being hounded like a criminal.
“Fine,” he said, voice flat. “How much?”
“Two million…” Florence paused, calculating, then greed glinted in her eyes. “No. Five.”
“Mom! We bought this place for one million! Now you’re just trying to scam Alex!” Sophia’s patience was fraying fast.
“That was then! Prices have skyrocketed! If I don’t get five million, I’m not letting this go!” Florence planted her hands on her hips, her stance daring anyone to challenge her.
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