Chapter 74

Emily’s POV

Forgiveness.

The word sat in my chest like a stone, heavy and unmovable.

I wasn’t sure when Alex had become the kind of man who could make me cry at work, but here we were.

I wiped at my damp cheeks again, pressing the handkerchief he had given me against my skin as if it could erase not just the tears, but the ache they came from.

He was still crouched in front of me, close enough that I could see the faint shadow of stubble on his jaw and the small crease between his brows that appeared whenever he was serious.

This was a version of Alex I had rarely seen, stripped of arrogance, stripped of smug confidence.

I didn’t trust it but damn, I wanted to.

“You’ve got a way of ruining Mondays,” I finally whispered, trying to lighten the weight in the room.

His lips quivered, the ghost of a smirk threatening to return, but he swallowed it down. “I’ll take that as progress. At least you’re not telling me to go to hell.”