Her Contract Marriage To The Billionaire Alpha

Confrontation

Xavier POV

I sneak a glance at Alyssa who is shifting awkwardly on the chair, her face an expressionless mask, her hand trembling as she clutches at the pen as if it's a lifeline. I had her. I finally had her. I force myself to keep silent as she looks at the wedding certificate, scrunching up her brows and looking adorable before she signs on the dotted line with a flourish. I breathe inwardly. I take the pen from her hand and add my own flourish, adding my name to hers. Alyssa was no longer Alyssa Jones, but now my legally wedded wife. She would now be Mrs Trace. Mrs Alyssa Xavier Trace, to be exact. She looks up at me, nibbling on her lower lip, and it's all I can do not to kiss her, the minister taking the documents and quickly adding his own signature and those of the witnesses and sorting out the paperwork to ensure everything is legal and correct. It was too late for Alyssa to back out now.

"Now what?" Alyssa whispered.

I glanced at her. "Now we will go and get your stuff from the hotel and inform your fiancée that you are no longer engaged to him" I said smoothly, already picturing the look on Theodore's face and trying not to smile with satisfaction.

She looks nervous as I take her hand and gently help her up. For a moment, my hand lingered on hers, feeling the tingles that ran down my body from a simple touch, the bond between us slowly beginning to grow as I exhaled and slowly let go. She has a bewildered expression on her face and I know that she can feel the bond too, even if she doesn't quite know what it is yet. I have so much to explain to her, but that can wait. All of it can wait until we have grown accustomed to each other. Right now, I've taken the first step to officially making her mine, and that pleases me.

We headed out onto the street. As soon as we exit the building, the certificate is safely folded and placed in my briefcase, we hear shouting. I handed the briefcase over to my driver and glanced down the street, narrowing my eyes as Theodore and Alyssa's stepmother came rushing towards us, an incensed expression on both of their faces. Alyssa is trembling, looking at me fearfully and I don't hesitate to put my arm around her waist, as Theodore halts in front of her, the blood draining from his face as he takes in who is standing next to his fiancée. I gave him a crooked smile.

"Alyssa" storms her stepmother Karen "what do you think you are doing? Do you have any idea how much trouble it was to find you? What Theodore went through before he managed to locate you?" she sniffed. "What are you doing outside the courthouse anyway?" she demanded "at this time of night? You're meant to be getting married tomorrow" she snarled.

"Stepmother" Alyssa's voice was shaking slightly.

Karen ignores her. "What are you doing with that man? Step away from him" she cried, narrowing her eyes. "What do you suppose Theodore is meant to think, seeing you so close to another man like that?"

She tries to step forward, making a gesture to pull Alyssa away, and I tighten my possessive grip on my wife, staring down at the annoying woman and shaking my head dangerously. If she so much as laid a finger on Alyssa, there was going to be trouble. She saw the expression on my face and blanched, hesitating.

"Alyssa?" Karen's voice was confused.

Theodore was silent, glancing between me and his fiancée as I continued to hold her.

"I can't marry you Theodore, I'm sorry" Alyssa's voice is barely above a whisper as she glances up at me and then back at her ex-fiancee miserably.

"Alyssa" Karen hisses "we've been through this. You know what's at stake if you don't. You're just feeling wedding nerves, it's perfectly normal" she added, making a dismissive motion at her stepdaughter. "Just move away from this man, whoever he is, and we can go back to the hotel and discuss it."

Alyssa shook her head. "I can't," she whispers "I'm already married", she reveals, as Karen's jaw drops open and Theodore makes a strangled sound.

"Already married" Karen repeated dumbly, sounding shell shocked, "but how can that be? Who would you....?" she turned and looked at me, raking her gaze over me "Don't tell me you married this man, whoever he is?" she demanded, her voice almost a shriek.

"I'm Alyssa's husband" I smiled coldly at Karen, who looked dumbstruck "Xavier Trace."

Silence. Karen glances uncertainly at Theodore, who swallows hard, glaring at me. "You had no right to marry her Xavier, she was my fiancée, not yours," he shouts.

"Is this man related to you?" Karen was confused, looking at Theodore for answers.

"We're stepbrothers, aren't we, Theodore?" I raised a brow, "except we prefer not to acknowledge that fact if we can help it."

"You are no brother of mine" he hisses, clenching his hands into fists. "You never have been."

Karen's eyes were darting between both of us, while Alyssa stared at the ground. Theodore let out a growl.

"Alyssa" Karen's voice is pleading now, her hands wringing together "Alyssa, please, you know what's going to happen if you don't marry Theodore. You can still get the marriage annulled," she added, with a sparkle in her eyes "It's not too late."

"Alyssa has no desire to get an annulment. She wanted to marry me" I said, nonchalantly, gazing down at my wife with a small smile.

"Think of the company. Alyssa" Karen's voice was almost hysterical now as she looked at Theodore, who remained motionless. "Your father, me, Dahlia."

"What about all of you?" Alyssa finally spoke. "Not once have any of you even bothered to ask me what I wanted or how I felt about all of this. Dahlia has been screwing Theodore behind my back for months" she nods at him as he flattens his lips "and you sold me to him without a qualm. All you care about is the damn company," she added bitterly, "Well, Theodore can marry Dahlia, if he needs a bride so badly" she snapped.

"Alyssa" Karen gasped, taken aback.

I was proud of Alyssa for standing up to her stepmother like that. I didn't like her. My Wolf despised her. Our instincts told us that Karen was manipulative and attention-seeking. I looked at Theodore, who was struggling to regain his composure.

"There is no more marriage to be had, Theodore. Alyssa married me, legally, tonight, in front of witnesses," I informed him callously, "and I have no intentions of divorcing or canceling the marriage."

"Bastard" he shouted with a roar "This was all some form of petty revenge wasn't it?" he continued, his eyes darkening as he stared at me, his jaw twitching "a way of getting even with me? You've always had to have the last word, had to one-up me, haven't you, Xavier? Why couldn't you have just let me have this one win? Why couldn't you just leave well enough alone?" he spat.

"You know exactly what Alyssa is to me" I growled as my wife stared at the two of us in confusion, my arm tightening around her, "so don't pretend to be innocent. I might not have done the right thing initially" I allowed ", but I'm doing it now. Who are you to stand in the middle of it?" I snarled.

"Do you have any idea how much this is going to ruin me?" Theodore yelled, gripping his tie and loosening it, his eyes frantic and his hair disheveled. "Everybody is expecting to see me walk down the aisle tomorrow. My clients, important business partners, all of them" he gestures wildly. "I can't let them down. If I don't show up, the company is going to suffer" he glared. "But you'd like that, wouldn't you, Xavier?"

I had no sympathy for him. Karen gave a dramatic wail. "Alyssa, the company."

I gritted my teeth. How Alyssa managed to stand these people for long periods of a time without losing her sanity was beyond me.

"I'm sorry Stepmother" Alyssa's voice was apologetic, "but I had to do the right thing by me."

"You selfish b***h", Karen stepped forward and raised her hand, attempting to strike my wife in the face. "How dare you pretend to care or give a damn, you lying...."

I dropped my arm from around Alyssa's waist and caught Karen's hand in midair, my eyes flashing. Nobody laid a hand on my wife. Alyssa flinched. Karen tried to yank her hand away without success as I gripped it tightly, squeezing it painfully.

"Try that again, and I'll make sure you can't ever use this hand properly again" I told her in a menacing tone as she whimpered, crushing her hand before letting go.

Karen cradled her hand with her other one, tears welling in her eyes.

"Alyssa, I love you" Theodore attempted to guilt her.

I tensed. Alyssa's eyes widened, and her head swung towards Theodore in disbelief. "You love me?" her voice was chilling, cutting. "You threatened me" she spat, her cheeks turning rosy red in anger. "You hurt me. You cheated on me" she glowered, "that's not love, Theodore. I am nothing but a possession to you" she shouted, "somebody to impress your business partners with, instead of being treated as a living, breathing, human being!"

"I can change". Theodore was desperate. "I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy". He spread his hands out, beseeching her "just come back to me, and we can work this out. I can..."

"No, Theodore," Alyssa interrupted him, "we can't. I'm married now" she glanced up at me and her eyes softened slightly, "and I intend to remain that way" she finished tightly.

"Slut."

Alyssa ignored him and turned to me. "Can we please just leave now?" she whispered, as Theodore continued to shout in the background "forget about the stuff in the hotel, can we just go home?" she pleaded.

I grabbed her hand and led her to the limousine, my driver opening the door for her, and assisting her inside. She slowly slid onto the seat, looking exhausted. I felt Theodore grip my shoulder and reacted, turning around and punching him hard in the face. He staggered backwards clutching his nose, which was now bleeding.

"Let that be a warning to you" I growled, my own eyes beginning to darken as I looked at my stepbrother with revulsion and hostility. "Don't ever touch me, or come near me again. If I find you anywhere near Alyssa, I'll kill you," I told him venomously.

I began to climb into the limousine, sitting opposite a silent Alyssa.

"This isn't over yet, Xavier! I swear to god, I'm going to get my revenge on you," Theodore shouted as the driver began to shut the door and drown him out.

Stupid fool to make threats against a man as powerful and wealthy as me. Theodore might be wealthy, but he was not a match for me. I looked towards my driver, glancing at a silent Alyssa.

"Home", I instructed him, leaning back on the chair.

After all, Alyssa would now be living there as well. It was only right she got used to living there as soon as possible. The thought of her sleeping in the same room as me, caused my lips to curve upwards slightly in anticipation.