Chapter <b>117 </b>


    Damn it, Ben. Why couldn’t he just give this a rest. Alexander had clearly expressed that he wasn’t interested. Would it kill him to just leave things alone? No. he had to send E to sneak into Alexandra’s room in the middle of the night.


    Even a fool would know that approach wouldn’t end well. How else did he want Alexander to tell him no. In Spanish?


    The expression on Alexander’s face finally eased, morphing into one of disgust. “Throw her out.”


    That only made E cry even louder.


    *Olivia*


    Even though I didn’t agree with what Ben was doing, I couldn’t leave a crying E on the floor. I reached down and pulled her up. Her tears had soaked through my silk pajama top by the time I guided her trembling body down the staircase.


    Just before we reached the front door, E lifted her head up. “Please, Olivia. You have to help me. I’ll do anything. Anything at all. I’ll give you whatever you want.”


    I felt pity for her. She’was only doing this because of Ben. He forced her toe here and the poor girl didn’t have a say in the matter. But, maybe if I pressed her, she would slip up and tell me something useful.


    “E, breathe.” I waited for her to stop shaking before speaking again. “Tell me exactly what you need.”


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    She sniffled. “I need to be Mr. Green’s lover. Tonight.”


    “That’s…” I began, then stopped. I was expecting that. That was the whole purpose of Ben’s stunt.


    “It can’t be helped anyway. He already drank the water.”


    I frowned “What water? What are you talking about?”


    “The water I gave him. It was drugged.”


    My mouth fell open. Ben had managed to slip something past us.


    “See? You don’t have to do much. The drug would kick in soon. Just help me get back up there and I can just…”


    “No,” I growled. I heard E gasp, but I didn’t care. I was going to put an end to this right here and now. “Get out.”


    “Olivia… you don’t…”


    I didn’t listen to her. I yanked the door open and ced my hand on her back ready to shove. “Tell Ben he’s made an enemy of the Green family. He better watch his back.” Then I pushed her out and ran back upstairs to Alexander’s room to check on him.


    I found Alexander slumped in the leather recliner by the window. His eyes looked bloodshot now,cking any of the earlier rage. His chest rose and fell slowly, almost as if he were struggling to breathe. And he hadn’t even noticed me yet, which wasn’t like him.


    When I looked down, I noticed an empty bottle of waterying at the foot of his massive four–poster bed.


    “Alexander?” I whispered, stepping into the room and closing the door behind me.


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    Chapter <b>117 </b>


    With great effort, he finally lifted his head to look at me. It took a moment for his eyes to focus, but when they did, he looked relieved. “Olivia? What are you… how did you…”


    Yve was howling in concern as I crossed the room to meet him. I settled onto the edge of the bed beside his chair. “I know what happened. Are you feeling anything unusual? Pain? Dizziness?”


    “I…” He started to speak, but gave up and just nodded.


    Yve whimpered again at his current state. Without thinking, I reached out to touch his forehead, checking for fever. And sure enough, his skin burned my palm.


    “We need to get you to a hospital.” I instinctively reached for my phone, but realized I’d left it in my room. I’d also need to change. I began to rise, already thinking of next steps to make. “This could be…”


    “No.”


    I ignored him and jumped to my feet and headed toward the door. “It’s the right thing to do. I need to go back to my room and get organized. Figure out how”


    “Olivia, wait.”


    The need in his voice stopped me dead. When I turned back, Alexander was trying to rise from the chair, his movements unsteady but determined.


    And then, his hand was on my shoulder, spinning me around to face him. He felt even hotter than before, and he seemed even more disoriented. This wasn’t looking good.


    “Alexander, the drugs are starting to affect you.”


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    He began to sway on his feet and as I reached to steady him, he suddenly leaned closer, pressing half his weight on me. “I’m thirsty.”


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