No Love Blooms Where You Walk

Chapter 2

Alexander didn't come home until the next morning.

I was halfway through my coffee when one of the maids burst in, panic in her eyes.

"Mrs. Steele, Mr. Steele's back… and he brought Miss Davis. With the child."

I didn't flinch. Just kept stirring my spoon, slow and steady.

A few seconds later, he walked in.

Alexander was carrying Emily in his arms like she was some delicate porcelain doll.

Her face was buried against his chest. She didn't look up, didn't say a word, like even meeting my eyes might break her.

Then came Tommy.

He stormed through the front door, marched right up to me, and kicked me hard in the leg.

"You're a bad woman!" he screamed. "You hurt my mom! You're the worst!"

"Tommy!" Emily gasped, trying to wriggle out of Alexander's arms. "That's not how we behave!"

"Apologize to Rachel, now."

Rachel.

The name sounded foreign coming from her lips.

Alexander didn't let her down. His arms tightened around her like she might disappear. "Don't move," he murmured. "You're still injured."

Then he turned to me, like he was making a royal decree.

"They're staying here from now on."

Every single servant in the room heard it. No one said a word, but their glances spoke volumes.

With that one sentence, he'd drawn a line in the sand.

I brushed the dirt off my skirt where the kid's shoe had left a mark. Then I stood, looked him dead in the eye, and asked, "If they're staying here, where exactly am I supposed to live?"

He sighed, already annoyed. "Don't push it, Rachel."

"Say any more and you'll just make a fool of yourself."

I tilted my head. "Is that right? And bringing your mistress and her child into our home doesn't make me look like a fool?"

"Rachel Mace," he snapped, voice sharp enough to slice air.

The room froze.

Alexander had always been gentle with me, maybe too gentle. It was that gentleness that let me walk tall in this house, higher than anyone else.

But now…

"Emily gave me a son," he said, loud and clear.

There it was. The humiliation, served up in front of an audience.

I didn't even get a word in before Emily's voice cracked through the tension, soft and trembling.

"Alex, please don't fight with Rachel because of me… I feel awful. It's all my fault."

She gripped his sleeve like she might break if he let go.

Then she turned to me with those teary eyes, voice barely above a whisper.

"Rachel… don't worry. Tommy and I won't be in your way. We're just staying temporarily."

"If we upset you in any way, just tell us, okay? We'll fix it. I promise."

I didn't respond.

I turned and walked upstairs without a single glance back.

Behind me, I heard Alexander's voice, low and gentle, the kind he used to use with me.

"Don't be scared. As long as I'm here, she won't lay a hand on you."

"This is your home now."

I shut the bedroom door before the wave of praise and flattery from the staff could reach me. They were already treating her like the new queen of the house.

Whatever.

Seven days left.

That's all I needed to get through.

With a kid now running around the house, the staff had a new center of gravity. The living room felt like a circus. I could barely breathe.

By the afternoon, I couldn't take it anymore. I called my assistant to pick me up.

During Alexander's memory loss, I'd been running everything for him, handling partners, clients, operations. He hated unfamiliar things. Hated change. So he leaned on me.

But when I got to the office… something felt off.

I pressed my finger against the biometric lock.

It flashed red. Denied.

I frowned. Tried again.

Same thing.

"What the hell…"

I turned to my assistant. "Why won't the door open?"

Before she could answer, Alexander's secretary came rushing over, out of breath and looking like she'd seen a ghost.

"Mrs. Steele, I mean, Rachel, it's Mr. Steele. He, um…"

"What did he say?" I asked coolly.