When all was said and done, Ethan Bishop and his men were beaten to a pulp, their jaws so disarranged they might never be able to utter another word. Alexander found a discreet place to change back into his regular clothes before heading home. His plan had been more successful than he anticipated. All he'd wanted was to make Ethan pay for what he'd done to Seraphina, but he also ended up getting a public confession that vindicated her completely. Now, with the deed done, he just hoped it would work.
"Alexander!" His name was the first thing he heard as he opened the front door. It was Seraphina, with her mother, Caroline, seated in the living room.
"Seraphina? Carol? What are you two doing up?" Alexander asked, surprised. He had expected them to be asleep, allowing him to sneak in unnoticed.
"Are you out of your mind? How do you expect us to sleep with everything that's going on?" Caroline snapped.
"Fair point," Alexander muttered, cursing under his breath for not considering that. In his defense, he'd had a lot on his mind in the past few hours.
"Mum, take it easy. It's all been resolved now. There's no need to get so worked up," Seraphina said, trying to calm her mother. She turned to her husband. "Alexander, where have you been?"
Damn, he hadn't thought of an excuse. His entire plan hinged on the idea that they'd be asleep when he got back, so there would have been no need for one. Alexander scrambled to think of something believable, but he knew he couldn't take too long without raising more suspicion.
"I… went for a stroll," he said.
"A stroll? At this hour?" Seraphina replied, her tone calm but with clear disbelief.
"A stroll, my ass! You've been gone for more than three hours!" Caroline barked.
"What can I say? It was a really long stroll," Alexander replied, shrugging.
Caroline stormed over to him, her face inches from his. "And here I thought you couldn't be any more of a useless husband for my daughter. But you keep proving me wrong."
"Mum!" Seraphina pulled her mother back.
"What?! Am I lying? The minute my daughter is in trouble, you disappear. 'Three-hour stroll,' my foot. For all we know, you were at some whorehouse, squandering her hard-earned money on some cheap floozy. But now that I fixed everything, you come waltzing back in, probably after watching Ethan Bishop's confession on TV. How shameless."
The irony of it all struck Alexander as almost hilarious. If only she knew, he thought. Then Caroline's last statement clicked.
"Wait… did you just say you fixed it?" Alexander asked, incredulous.
"That's right," Caroline replied, her chest puffed with pride.
He couldn't believe his ears. How dare she take credit for what he'd literally shed blood—well, not his blood, but still— to accomplish? He was completely puzzled. What could she possibly have done?
"Caroline, how exactly did you 'fix' it?" Alexander asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Wouldn't you like to know, you nosy fool," she shot back.
Thankfully, Seraphina intervened.
"My mother called and texted Ethan Bishop. She pleaded with him to clarify the situation. Moments later, he was on Pantheon News, telling everyone the rumors were false and that I truly deserved the contract," Seraphina explained.
"What?" Alexander was even more confused now.
"You don't believe me? Here's your proof." Caroline shoved her phone into his face, showing the texts she'd exchanged with Ethan.
This was all a perfect-timing, wrong-place, wrong-credit scenario. Alexander realized that now, but what could he do? He couldn't explain the truth without revealing what he'd really done, thus compromising his identity.
"Oh, I see," he said with a forced smile.
"Well, get ready, because now that Ethan Bishop has cleared everything up, I'm certain he'll be back soon to ask for—and get—Seraphina's hand in marriage," Caroline declared smugly.
Alexander scoffed. "Yeah, I highly doubt that," he muttered, the image of Ethan with a broken jaw and several other injuries flashing through his mind.
"You delusional bastard! Don't think for a second my daughter will make the same mistake by rejecting his offer twice."
Alexander clenched his jaw but forced a smile. "Goodnight, Caroline," he said, turning and walking toward the bedroom.
Seraphina, who had been mostly silent through the exchange, looked at her mother and sighed. "Really, Mum?"
"What? Don't tell me you don't know this to be true!" Caroline shot back, certain of her righteousness.
Shaking her head, Seraphina let out a deep breath. She appreciated her mother's attempts to help, but she knew better than to believe it was purely out of love. No, her mother could never change; this was who she was.
"Goodnight, Mum," she said, following Alexander into the bedroom.
--