Chapter 29
Alaia
We left the gala, and Nick’s gaze stayed on me as I walked hand in hand with Cedric. He has gotten along well with everyone; what can I say, he’s charming, and I’m glad he came with me.
In the car, I closed my eyes and leaned on his shoulder on the way home. I was exhausted.
Once we arrived, we headed to our rooms. Ash was in a hurry to get rid of her hairstyle, which, by the way, helped a lot. My grandfather approached her a couple of times and couldn’t recognize her.
“Rest, beautiful,” Cedric said, leaving a kiss on my nose.
“Rest,” I said with a slight smile as I watched him leave.
I had been so busy during the evening that I didn’t get a chance to talk to my cousin about what happened between Nick and Cedric. When I asked Cedric, he didn’t want to tell me and just mentioned that it wasn’t important. However, I don’t believe him.
I entered my room to find my children sleeping next to my mother.
“Sweetheart,” she said as soon as she heard me. I don’t know how she does it, but her sleep is so light that she can sense when I arrive, no matter what time it is.
“They didn’t want to sleep in their beds. They insisted on sleeping in Mom’s bed,” she said quietly as she got up.
“Thanks, mom,” I said, hugging her.
“It’s nothing; you know I adore my grandchildren,” she said, leaving the room. I started getting ready for bed. I took off the elegant dress, the jewelry, and the glamorous makeup, and became myself again.
Sometimes, I miss being that girl who lived in an ordinary neighborhood. But then I remember all that I can afford as a Russell, and the feeling just passes by.
I laughed at my thoughts and climbed into bed, where my precious “Lana” and my beautiful
No–a” were sleeping like little angels. I smiled, recalling how they pronounced their names.
I rested on one of the loungers by the pool, wearing a light, knitted cover–up.
“Sweetheart, Gavin told me what happened last night with Killian Garnett,” my father said, sitting beside me on the lounger. “I feel like he’s dangerous to you. I’ve ordered the security to be increased. The fact that he found a way to be alone with you doesn’t sit well with me p>
I hadn’t explained the situation to my father, as it wasn’t my place to do so, but he had sensed something strange in Killian’s behavior. Gavin came looking for me at the gala while I was with my father, and he overheard everything. Without asking any questions, he assured me he would keep Killian away from our family.
Once again, Darius had surprised me.
“Thanks, Dad. If Killian is smart, he won’t come near me again. We need to focus on doing our job and finding something that can help us get them out of the project p>
“You need to understand that if we manage to do that, they could retaliate, sweetheart,” my father said, stating something I had already considered.
“I’ll be subtle, I promise,” I said, taking his hand and reassuring him, knowing that I had already found information we could use against them. I just needed to find the right moment to use it.
“I trust you,” he said, patting my hand.
We heard the children’s laughter as they ran into the yard. Both of us turned to watch them.
Cedric was chasing after them as my children, including Aidan, laughed uncontrollably.
A smile spread across my face as I watched them, especially when Cedric caught them and playfully gave each of them a kiss.
“Princess,” he said as he approached me, stroking my cheek. “I’ll be spending the afternoon with your father at the club. We’re going to play golf,” he said, showing off his usual golfing attire.
I took note of his impressive figure.
“You’re such a big guy,” I said, and he laughed out loud.
“You know, you look like a decent guy,” Ash said, entering with a couple of sodas and handing one to me.
“What are you talking about? I’m a good guy,” he protested.
“Cedric, it’s time to go,” my father said, reappearing.
“I’ll see you all at dinner,” Cedric said goodbye to me and silently pointed at Ash.
“I’ll spill all the tea, you fool,” she said. Cedric made a face, but he knew Ash would tell me everything.
We watched him leave, and I turned to my cousin.
“Just so you know, I had to miss the event to keep an eye on your ex,” she said. I looked at her, not understanding what she was talking about. “Well, let me tell you, those two hate each other to death. It only took two seconds of seeing them face off to know that,” she said, and I nodded because I knew it was true. “They talked about always being rivals and how Cedric wanted everything that belonged to Nick. That’s when Nick threw a punch at the blonde. I swear, that guy’s temperamental. I had to intervene, or they would’ve ended up fighting p>
“They act like children,” I said, remembering how this often happened when we were in college.
“I took Cedric with me to try and calm him down. He was furious and didn’t even get me started on Garnett. It seemed like his killer instinct had kicked in. When we got back to the hall and found you, Cedric finally seemed calmer. And, well, since I didn’t have much else to do, Will, the confident guy, found me and tried to introduce me to all the women he knew,” she said, rolling her eyes, and making me laugh. “But William kept glancing at his cousin from time to time, looking worried. That’s when I noticed Nick started drinking one drink after another like a fish. And then you showed up holding Cedric’s hand. Man, he looked like he was having a rough time p>
I remembered feeling his gaze on me the whole time. At one point, my eyes met his, and he looked furious. But there was something else in the way he looked at me, something I had seen in the Nick I used to know–the one full of lies. I decided to focus on Cedric, the man who had stood by my side unconditionally.
“I don’t know, honey. That man seemed lost seeing you with your fiancé. He even tried to separate you, but I stopped him from getting to you,” Ash said, sounding a little conflicted.
“You did the right thing. And Ash, don’t let him fool you. Nick is a man without feelings. He only knows how to pretend,” I reminded her.
“Yeah, I know, darling. Don’t worry about me p>
Nick
“Sir, Mr. Killian had just called for a meeting with the partners. He’s asked to be reinstated as CEO of the company, Kathe explained, worried.
I pinched the bridge of my nose impatiently. He can’t do anything about it, but I’m sure he just wanted to mess with me, and I won’t let that happen.
A knock on the door distracted me from what I was about to say to my assistant.
“Come in,” I said, knowing it was one of my employees–the one I had tasked with finding out more about Alaia, her family, and especially Cedric.
“Sir,” he said, bowing his head in greeting.
“What did you find out?” I gestured for him to take the seat in front of my desk.
“Cedric Van Holt is clean,” he said, as I leaned back in my chair. “He’s a biomedical engineer who graduated two years ago. Shortly after graduation, he moved to Amsterdam, where his family lives. They own a pharmaceutical company with a global presence p>
He explained as he showed me a photo of Cedric in a meeting with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, along with others taken in the laboratories.
“For the past few years, he’s traveled regularly to the UK to visit Miss Russell. There are monthly flight records,” he explained as I stretched my neck to release the tension.
“Alaia Stewart changed her last name two years ago. The change was registered here in Los Angeles. Her father, Patrick Russell, was present in her life, but she didn’t change her last name until she turned 20. Very few people have information about this change. She and her parents flew on a private jet to the UK that same day, the day Miss Stewart ceased to exist and became Alaia Russell p>
This made many things fall into place.
“In the UK, she focused on her studies and finished university six months ago. She then took on the role of project director at T–World p>
I looked at the airport photos, taken from security camera footage on the day she left Los Angeles.
“She got engaged three months ago in Amsterdam to Mr. Van Holt. She has lived with her family and has a ten–year–old brother,” he said, raising his eyebrows. I wouldn’t have guessed that. “She also has a cousin, but we don’t have much information on her at the moment p>
I remembered it had always been just her and her mother. I had never asked about her father or whether she had more family.
He handed me some photos of his family members.
“Is that all?” I asked, looking at the photos.
“No, sir. There’s something else…” He searched through the papers. “We also discovered that Miss Russell has two children p>