The Sins of Duke Evander (BOOK III)

Chapter 39- Changing of the Tides.

--Alina POV--

"Wh-What are you doing here? You weren't supposed to come back until the end of the week," I stuttered out, trying to calm my erratic heartbeat down as my hands tightly clenched onto the notebook that I was hiding behind me.

"Well, I missed my wife so I thought I'd come home a bit earlier to surprise you, and I guess I have succeeded in surprising you, just not in the way that I was trying," His hand moved away from my cheek, going to rest against his own as he sighed.

"I would have felt so much better if you were happier to see me,"

"I am happy... Just surprised," I semi-lied... I no longer knew at this point.

"Now, are you going to tell me what it is that you're hiding behind your back?" He sounded amused when he asked; as if he already knew, but I didn't want to risk it, both Evan and Alvise were good actors after all.

"It's nothing," I shook my head, shuffling away from him.

"If it's nothing then why would you look like a deer caught in headlights?... And you only ever come to my office when I'm here, so tell me, Amore Mio... What are you trying to hide from me?" My head ran over a million different thoughts on something, and anything that could take his attention off of what I was hiding.

As he moved forward, his hand going to reach behind me, a lightbulb went off.

"...A detective came yesterday," And he paused, his eyes rising to meet mine. Gulping, I shuffled a bit further away from him, trying to find a place to hide the diary while I had the chance. "He said that you're a suspect for the murder of Irene, and that... and that..."

"And?" Alvise raised a curious brow. 

Not being able to meet his gaze, my head fell down to look at my lap. "He said that you lied to me about my coma... I didn't try to kill myself that night,"

There was a long moment of silence, but no matter how much time passed, I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eye, counting in my head as the seconds turned to minutes, until eventually, the sound of his deep hum resonated through the room, like a hungry predator.

"Are you telling me that you chose to believe a mere detective over your husband?"

Snapping my head up, surprised by his word choice, I squeaked in surprise when I saw the smirk on his face, telling me that he didn't mean what he said, he just liked my reaction... And with the way he was acting right now, the words from the diary played through my mind.

"Alvise..." I whispered out.

"Yes, Amore Mio?" He gently replied, moving forward to grasp the notebook from behind me, taking it into his hands before putting it on the desk. Unconsciously, my hands reached out to hold his shoulders, clenching the material of his shirt in a mix of emotions. And I guess I did miss him, and I loved him. But now I knew that I was also frightened of him.

He cloaked me in his arms, hands going to rest under my thighs as he hoisted me up into his arms, holding me close to the warmth of his body while my hands refused to let go of him, fists only tightening until my caramel skin had begun to pale.

"Did you lie to me?"

My eyes were pinned forward, refusing to look up to his.

"About the fact that I tried killing myself, was that a lie?"

And this time, my head shifted to look at him, but his eyes were still pinned forward as he left the room, closing the door to his study behind us, making his way back to our room.