"I'm not looking for a relationship," she added quietly.
Alex smirked faintly, shaking his head as if savoring the tension. "Good. Neither am I. Rules are boring. But… that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the fireworks."
Eva finally lifted her gaze, meeting Alex's eyes. "Then we should just leave this as it is. We don't have to see each other again."
"Ouch. That used to be my line. Fuck, it stings." He shook his head, attempting a wry smile.
Before Eva could reply, the front door banged open with a heavy thunk. Footsteps followed.
"Eva!"
Alex straightened instantly, his posture snapping into alert, eyes narrowing as he turned toward her. "Who is that?"
Eva's chest constricted. "My ex-husband," she admitted quietly.
"Of course it is." His gaze flicked back to the doorway, wary, calculating.
The footsteps drew closer, each one heavier than the last, until Daniel stepped into the doorway. His eyes widened, scanning the room—first the undone buttons on Eva's blouse, then the mess of the kitchen, and finally landing on Alex, standing there as if daring him to react.
"I thought the next-door neighbors were just being busybodies when they told me you were here," Daniel said, eyes narrowing dangerously as they landed on Alex. The kitchen suddenly felt smaller.
"Hi. I'm Alex. You must be the charming ex," he said smoothly.
"What do you want, Daniel?" Eva interjected.
"This is my house."
"Was your house," Eva corrected without hesitation, her gaze sharp, eyes locking on his. There was steel in her voice.
"Is this why you came back from Paris? To… fuck?"
Alex let out a low, playful whistle, leaning slightly toward Eva, the smirk dancing at the corner of his lips. "Charming and eloquent," he murmured, as if tasting Daniel's pride.
"It is none of your business," she said.
Daniel's lips twisted into a sneer, spitting venom as he turned back to Alex. "Did you know she is a lesbian—or maybe bisexual… who knows?"
"Maybe she just wasn't getting good dick," Alex said.
Eva sputtered, caught between disbelief and laughter. Daniel's face darkened instantly, veins standing out in his neck, fury painting every line of his features.
"You son of a bitch! Get the hell out of my house," Daniel roared.
Alex turned toward Eva, his brow furrowed, concern flashing in his dark eyes. "Do you want me to leave you with him?"
She shook her head. "No."
Alex pivoted smoothly, his presence suddenly larger, more commanding. "You heard the woman. You're trespassing, actually—and one tap on my phone, and you'll be carried out of here like a sack of potatoes and dumped on the sidewalk."
Daniel spun back toward her, face flushed, spittle forming at the corners of his mouth. "You can have the public slut. I want nothing to do with her anymore." He jabbed a finger at Eva, venom dripping from every syllable. "You disgraced me! My son is nowhere to be found because of you!"
That cut deeper than any lie, slicing through her chest. Memories she had fought to bury clawed their way back—nights alone, whispers of rumors, the cold absence of her child. Her throat tightened, a lump forming.
"And yet… here you are," she said.
Daniel's face contorted in rage, veins straining at his temple. "I'm going to make sure you crawl back into the hole you resurrected from, you fucking bitch!"
"I'm all for woman power and everything," Alex muttered, leaning slightly toward Eva, "but am I just supposed to stand here and watch him call you names?" He cocked a brow, eyes glinting with mischief. "I mean… my mama raised me right, but nowadays, you women are always wanting to be… what's the word… capable." His grin was lopsided, dangerous, and somehow made her pulse skip.
Eva shot him a look sharp enough to cut glass. Her lip twitched despite herself, a tiny rebellion against the ridiculousness of it all. "I'll handle this," she said, taking a careful step forward. "Leave now, Daniel. Or I will call the police."
Alex's face twisted in disbelief, his ego splintering visibly. "You don't need the police! What the fuck are you doing? You wanna waste taxpayer dollars on this piece of shit?"
Daniel stepped forward, his body coiled with restrained energy, fingers flexing at his sides. "Step again, and I promise you, you'll wish you hadn't," Alex said.
Daniel took a cautious step toward her. Alex took two, closing the space.
"Leave, Daniel!" Eva barked. She positioned herself between them. Her heart hammered, chest rising and falling as adrenaline surged. Two men, both tied to her past and present, now poised on the edge of violence—and somehow, she was expected to hold the line.
Daniel's chest heaved, his finger trembling as he jabbed the air between them. His eyes were hollow, wounded, a man stripped bare by loss and rage. "You'll regret this," he hissed, venom and despair tangled in his voice. Then, with a final slam of the door, he was gone, leaving an echoing emptiness in his wake.
Eva's knees buckled slightly, and she sagged against the breakfast table, the fight that had kept her upright moments ago draining away in an instant. Her breath came in uneven bursts as if the room itself were holding its breath alongside her.
"You let him talk to you that way," Alex said. He was already tugging on his shirt, muscles taut beneath it, fire flickering in his gaze.
"He's just grieving in his own way," Eva murmured. "And he needs someone to blame for the loss of our son." Her fingers curled around the edge of the table.
"That's some bullshit, Eva," Alex snapped, stepping closer, the heat of his body brushing hers. "Grieving doesn't give anyone the right to emotionally decimate someone else."
She looked away, eyes stinging as a tear threatened to slip free. "You don't understand," she whispered. "He lost a child. Our child." Her chest constricted, memories and grief crashing in waves.
"Fuck that!" Alex barked. "You lost a child too, Eva!" His shirt hung open, half-forgotten, revealing the taut lines of his chest, every breath rising and falling in frustrated rhythm. The tension in his shoulders, the tight set of his jaw—it was impossible to look away, impossible not to feel the weight of his intensity pressing into the room.