Chapter 41
Alexander’s POV
I was presiding over the quarterly financial meeting when Henry suddenly burst into the conference room, his usual composure completely gone.
“Mr. Kingsley, you need to go to the police station immediately!”
The interruption irritated me. I glared at him coldly. “What is so urgent?”
“It’s your wife, sir.”
Those three words were enough. I stood up immediately, my mind already racing through possibilities. “This meeting is adjourned.”
Without another word, I strode out of the conference room, ignoring the surprised whispers behind me. In the elevator, Henry briefed me on what had happened.
“Your wife was involved in a physical altercation at the university, sir. Several students have been sent to the hospital.”
Despite my shock, I maintained my outward calm. Charlotte? Fighting? This seemed completely at odds with the image of my young wife.
“Is she hurt?” That was my first question.
“No, sir. It’s the other students who were injured.”
“Who started it?”
“From what we understand, a student named Camilla Hayes was the instigator.”
“The Barrett family again,” I muttered. I made a decision on the spot, instructing, “Acquire the university. In my wife’s
name. Make it public.”
Henry nodded, fully understanding my meaning. This was how I dealt with threats to what was mine. Not with violence, but with power.
When I arrived at the police station, my father was already there, sitting casually on a bench outside the cell where
Charlotte and Jason were being held.
‘Son, you’re here,” he greeted me, seeming too relaxed for the situation.
A group of young women in another cell stared at me in shock. I ignored them, my gaze locking directly onto the cell where my wife was. Charlotte looked small, vulnerable, her eyes wide and apprehensive when she saw me.
“You got into a fight?” I asked her directly.
To my surprise, at the sound of my voice, her eyes immediately welled up with tears that spilled down her cheeks. She nodded silently, her lips trembling.
“Did you win?”
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Another nod, accompanied by a soft sob.
I couldn’t help but want to laugh. It was absurd–she had apparently beaten several people in a fight, yet was crying here
like a victim.
“You won the battle. Why are you crying now?”
“I was afraid you’d be angry,” she said softly, looking utterly remorseful.
Despite my efforts to remain stoic, my heart softened. This was her effect on me–with nothing but quivering lips and tearful eyes, she could reduce my carefully constructed walls to dust.
I beckoned to her, “Come here.”
She shook her head, “I don’t
dare.”
My father laughed, “Charlotte, you had the courage to fight those girls, but you’re afraid of Alexander?”
My attention was drawn to her arm, where clear fingerprints showed where someone had roughly grabbed her. Seeing those marks, a primitive and dangerous emotion churned inside me. The edges of my vision darkened.
Charlotte, perceptive as always, misinterpreted my anger. She began to cry in earnest, thinking my fury was directed at
her.
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed.
I examined the marks on her arm, feeling a surge of protectiveness. No one had the right to touch her like that.
“Do you hate me now?” she asked in a small voice.
“If I hated you,” I answered truthfully, “my heart wouldn’t hurt like this.”
Without warning, she wrapped her arms around my waist, burying her face against my chest as she continued to sniffle softly.
Soon after, James and Victoria arrived as well. The officer greeted them respectfully, “Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley, why are you here?”
James pointed at Jason, “We’re here to bail out our son.”
The students in the other cell looked increasingly confused as they pieced together the relationships. I could almost see their minds working: Charlotte wasn’t Jason’s girlfriend–she was his uncle’s wife.
Victoria, seeing Charlotte crying, immediately rushed over in concern, completely ignoring her own son. “Charlotte, are you alright? Who hurt you? Are you injured? Let me see.”
Charlotte, still clinging tightly to me, stammered, “I–I’m fine, Victoria.”
Victoria clearly didn’t believe her. “Don’t hide anything from me, dear. What happened? You had me so worried!”
Jason tugged at his mother’s sleeve, “Mom, I’m right here.”
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Victoria pushed him away without even looking, her attention fully on Charlotte.
I found myself explaining, “She’s fine, Victoria. She’s just upset and being clingy now.”
Charlotte nodded in agreement, “Really, I’m okay, I won the fight.”
After James completed the paperwork, the six of us–Charlotte, my father, James, Victoria, Jason, and I–left the police station together, causing quite a stir among the detained students.
Back at home, while my father was still praising Charlotte’s fighting abilities, I could only think about her injuries. In the car, I had already carefully examined her hands and arms, looking for any damage.
As soon as we entered the house, I immediately took her upstairs to our bedroom and locked the door.
“Takeoff your clothes,” I instructed.
“No!” she protested, defensively clutching her collar.
“I need to check if you have any other injuries,” I explained, placing my hand over hers.
She shook her head stubbornly, “That’s not it. You’re just being a pervert.”
Just as I was about to insist, my phone rang.
“What is it?” I answered briefly, annoyed at the interruption.
Charlotte leaned in, obviously trying to eavesdrop.
I gently pushed her away, “Be good and take off your clothes.”
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