Chapter 252
Sarah’s POV
Alexander’s eyes found mine across the distance, and for a heartbeat, something flickered in their depths- something raw and unnameable.
Then his expression shuttered, his mouth twisting into a dismissive line.
“I don’t know her,” he said flatly, loud enough for me to hear. Those three words sliced through me like claws.
The woman studied me for a moment, clearly confused.
But she remained silent. She understood her place in Alexander’s world.
Today she might be on his arm, tomorrow replaced with someone else. She wouldn’t risk challenging an Alpha like Alexander Blackwood over something so trivial.
I watched, frozen in place, as Alexander guided the woman to the passenger side of his Bentley. He opened the door for her with practiced ease, his movements as elegant and controlled as I remembered.
Without another glance in my direction, he slid into the driver’s seat, and the powerful engine roared to life.
The Bentley pulled away, leaving me standing there with my daughter in my arms and the pain in my chest.
“Sarah, come on. They’ve already left, and you’re still staring after them.” Nate’s voice pulled me back to reality.
I blinked and turned to find him already seated in the passenger side of my car. Aria had wiggled down from my arms and was tugging on the hem of my dress, her little voice cutting through my daze.
“Mommy, can we go home now?” she asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
“Yes, sweetie, we’re going home.” I crouched down to pick her up again, breathing in her sweet, innocent scent.
Suddenly, the roar of an engine shattered the quiet night. I looked up to see the familiar Bentley reappearing at the parking lot entrance.
Alexander? He came back?
Confusion barely had time to register before horror dawned on me. The Bentley was accelerating–not slowing down–heading straight for us with frightening speed.
A horrifying realization crashed over me like a tidal wave.
“Alexander!!” I screamed, though I knew it couldn’t be him driving–not like this. “NO!!”
But it was too late. In the next second…
“BOOM!!”
A deafening explosion ripped through the quiet countryside night, the sound so violent it seemed to tear the very fabric of the night sky.
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The cars nearest to us were thrown back several feet from the impact, black smoke billowing from crushed hoods.
The acrid smell of gasoline and burning rubber filled my nostrils, making me cough violently as I clutched Aria protectively to my chest.
The Bentley’s front end was completely mangled, crumpled like a discarded piece of paper. Through the shattered windshield, I could make out Alexander’s silhouette, but something was terribly wrong.
Those weren’t his eyes–not the ones I remembered.
They were narrowed, pitch–black pools of pure malice, blood from a gash on his forehead trickling down, giving him an almost demonic appearance.
My breath caught in my throat. Those eyes held no recognition, no humanity–just a bottomless well of hatred that sent chills racing down my spine.
My chest heaved with rapid breaths as terror gripped me. This wasn’t just an accident; this was attempted murder.
The moment clarity struck about what had just happened, I screamed with desperate urgency, “Alpha Nate!!”
I lunged for the door of Nate’s car, yanking it open with frantic strength.
The man who had been so full of life moments before, laughing and joking with me, now slumped limply against the deployed airbag, completely motionless. I felt a chill spread from the soles of my feet upward, turning my entire body to ice.
I had no idea why Alexander would do this–why he would try to harm Nate–but right now, Nate’s life was
what mattered most.
The man who’d become my friend, my daughter’s protector, possibly dying before my eyes.
I had no time or mental capacity for other questions.
With shaking hands, I gently patted his face, my voice hoarse and trembling, “Nate, Nate, wake up.”
The commotion had drawn a crowd. From somewhere in the gathering circle of onlookers, a voice called out, ‘ Someone’s been killed! Call an ambulance!”
My chaotic thoughts finally crystallized into action. “Yes, an ambulance! We need an ambulance!”
My trembling fingers fumbled for my phone to dial emergency services, but just as I was about to press the numbers, a strong hand gripped my wrist.
I looked down in shock to see Nate’s fingers wrapped firmly around my arm.
The face that had been buried in the airbag slowly lifted, revealing no injuries, no blood—just a slightly dazed expression on his devastatingly handsome features.
“Holy shit!!” As awareness returned to him, Nate couldn’t contain his outburst. “What the actual fuck! That bastard just tried to kill me!”
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Hearing his strong, vital voice, the fear that had been choking me finally released its grip.
Tears spilled from my eyes as relief flooded through me, and I pounded his shoulder with my fist. “How can you be so flippant at a time like this?”
Nate flashed that signature grin that somehow managed to be both charming and infuriating. “Baby, why are you crying? Were you that worried about me?”
“Don’t worry, I’m fine, see? Come on, don’t cry,” he said, his tone softening as he reached up to brush away my
tears.
