Alec stood motionless before his father, the weight of the past hour settling heavily in his chest. His father's cold, piercing gaze was the final blow to any illusion Alec had left about his freedom. There was no escaping this world, not as long as his father held the reins. The room felt impossibly small, the heavy oak furniture closing in on him like a cage.
His father's voice broke the silence, cutting through Alec's spiraling thoughts. "You don't understand, Alec. I've given you everything. This company, this name, this life... they were never yours to begin with. They were always mine. And now, they are your inheritance."
Alec's hands balled into fists at his sides. His breath came in shallow gasps as the words dug deeper, ripping at the fabric of everything he had believed in.
"I didn't ask for any of this," Alec snapped, his voice rising in defiance. "I didn't ask for a life that was already mapped out before I could even walk. You've controlled everything, even my love life! Maddy... she deserves better than this."
His father's lip curled into a thin, almost mocking smile. "Maddy is nothing more than a pawn in this game, Alec. She's convenient for now. But you're too naive to see it."
Alec felt his stomach turn at the thought. "No. I'm not naive. I love her. You don't get to decide that for me."
His father's eyes darkened. "You think I don't know what's best for you? I'm preparing you for the future, Alec. A future that doesn't involve chasing after empty dreams. Maddy... she's not part of that future. She doesn't belong in our world."
Alec's mind raced. Every word his father said seemed to pull him further away from the man he once admired. He had tried to live up to his father's expectations, had tried to fit into a world that wasn't his own, but now it felt like a prison he couldn't escape from.
"I'm not you," Alec ground out, his voice shaking with a mix of fury and pain. "I don't want this life. I don't want a future where I'm alone, surrounded by people who only care about power and wealth."
His father leaned forward slightly, his gaze sharp and unyielding. "Then you're a fool. This world is built on power, Alec. You think love will save you? That your relationship with Maddy will somehow change the course of your destiny? You're wrong. The moment you chose her, you gave up your place here. And I won't let you destroy everything I've built for you."
Alec's head spun. The reality of what his father was saying crashed down on him like a tidal wave. He had tried to play by his own rules, to carve out his own path, but in the end, he had been a pawn in a much larger game.
"Then what do you want from me?" Alec's voice was barely above a whisper, his chest tightening as his emotions swirled within him. "What do you expect me to do?"
His father straightened, his posture exuding authority. "You will marry the woman I've chosen for you. You will marry her, take your rightful place in this company, and you will leave Maddy behind. There's no other choice. You think you're the one in control? You're not. You never were."
Alec felt as though the floor had been ripped out from beneath him. His father's words were a final decree, one that left no room for argument, no room for his dreams, for his love.
Alec wanted to scream, to throw something, to shatter the walls of this suffocating room. But he didn't. Instead, he stood there, facing the man who had raised him, the man who had taught him everything he knew—except how to live for himself.
His father's gaze never wavered. "Do I make myself clear?"
Alec's heart pounded in his chest, a thousand thoughts racing through his mind. He thought of Maddy, of the love they had shared, of the dreams they had talked about, and then he thought of the cold, ruthless future his father was pushing him toward. The realization was brutal: his father was offering him everything—except freedom.
He turned toward the door, his heart heavy, his mind in turmoil. "I'll never be you," Alec muttered under his breath, though the words felt hollow, the truth sinking in with a weight that threatened to crush him. "And I won't marry anyone you choose. Not like this."
His father's voice rang out one last time, sharp as a whip. "You don't have a choice."
Alec's jaw clenched, his body tense with anger and helplessness as he walked out of the room. He wasn't sure where he was going, or what he was even looking for, but he needed to leave—to get out of this house, away from the suffocating expectations, and away from the future that had already been decided for him.
As he stepped out onto the estate's grand grounds, the cold night air hit his skin, doing nothing to calm the storm inside him. He walked aimlessly, his thoughts consumed with everything he had just learned—and everything he was being forced to sacrifice.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, snapping him out of his spiraling thoughts. Alec glanced at the screen, his heart skipping a beat when he saw the name. Maddy.
His fingers hesitated over the screen before he answered. "Maddy, I... I don't know how to explain this," he started, his voice heavy with guilt.
"What's going on, Alec?" Maddy's voice came through the line, tinged with worry. "I've been trying to reach you all day. Why didn't you tell me what was happening? Why did you shut me out?"
Alec's chest tightened. He could hear the hurt in her voice, and it broke him. "Maddy, I—" He stopped himself, unsure of how to continue. "I didn't mean for things to get this complicated."
"Complicated?" she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper. "Alec, I know there's more to this. You've been lying to me. I know it. And I can't keep pretending everything is okay when I don't even know who you are anymore."
"I never wanted to hurt you," Alec replied, his voice trembling. "I never wanted to lie to you, but—"
"Then tell me the truth, Alec. Tell me who you really are." Her voice cracked with emotion. "Because I can't keep doing this. Not when I don't even know who I'm really in love with."
Alec felt his stomach twist painfully. "Maddy... I—"
But before he could say more, the phone call abruptly ended, the silence that followed more deafening than any words could have been.
Alec stood there, staring at the phone in his hand, his heart in his throat. He had lost her. He could feel it in his bones. The woman he loved, the one he had fought for, was slipping through his fingers, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop it.
The storm inside him roared, a whirlwind of confusion, pain, and regret.
His phone buzzed again, and Alec braced himself for what he knew was coming.
It was another message from Maddy. One he had been dreading.
I know who you really are now. It's over, Alec.