Chapter 319

Madison

When I arrived at the office at 8:25, I expected to find Alexander already hunched over his desk as usual. However, his office door remained firmly shut, and the lights were off. There was no sign of him.

Strange. Alexander was religiously early, often beating even the cleaning staff to the office.

I settled at my desk, arranging the day’s files and checking his calendar. Nothing scheduled before 10 AM.

By 8:45, he still hadn’t arrived. My eyes kept darting to his closed door, then to my phone. No messages, no calls, no explanation for his tardiness.

My mind wandered to dangerous territory. Was he with Katherine?

I drummed my fingers on my desk. Maybe they’d spent the night together. Maybe they were having breakfast right now, reminiscing about old times. Maybe he was between her legs this very moment, making her cry out his name the way he made me—

“Stop it,” I muttered, shaking my head to clear the images.

But I couldn