Panic seized Luisa's expression. "Oh God, if you're right, I need to warn Thalassa right away. She has to know Clark is dangerous."

Noticing how her breathing grew shallow, Alden gently cupped her face between his hands.

"Hey, hey... breathe, Luisa. It's okay," he soothed.

Luisa nodded and followed his advice, dragging in a breath to calm her nerves. But the anxiety still lingered.

"I can't believe this," she muttered. "I've been pushing Thalassa toward Clark because I thought he was a good guy. I thought he'd make her happy. Oh God, I need to change her mind."

"You will," Alden reassured her, his voice steady. "But first, calm down. We could be dealing with a lot more than we realize when it comes to Clark. We need to approach this carefully, with a clear head. Can you do that?"noveldrama

His hand lingered on her face as his gaze locked on hers, and suddenly, Luisa felt captivated by the warmth in his gold-flecked eyes. Her chest suddenly felt too tight, forcing her to breathe through her mouth, matching his as his warm breath brushed her lips. Their faces inched closer, and just when she thought he might kiss her, a knock on the door shattered the moment. They quickly stepped apart as the door opened to reveal Zeke.

"Sis, I hope I'm not " Zeke's words cut off when he saw Alden. His expression hardened instantly.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Zeke growled, his voice low but brimming with anger. "How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from my sister?"

Luisa immediately moved in front of Alden, her glare fixed on her brother. "Zeke, don't start. You have no right to warn anyone away from me. I choose who gets close to me." Zeke's face twisted in disbelief. "And you're choosing to let 'him' close to you, despite the fact that he's Kris's friend? Have you forgotten what Kris did to you and Thalassa?" "I don't believe it was Kris anymore."

Zeke threw his hands in the air in disbelief. "That's exactly why he's here! He's obviously been sent by his idiot friend Kris to manipulate you, and you're falling for it. Can't you see he's using you?"

"Maybe you should give your sister some credit," Alden said coolly, though his irritation showed in the tightness of his jaw. "She's a smart woman who can make her own decisions, whether you like it or not."

Zeke scowled. "No one asked for your opinion. And I never said she wasn't smart. I'm just protecting her from men like you."

Alden's nostrils flared. "Even if Kris was everything you say he is, that has nothing to do with me. Why are you so against me?"

"You ever heard the saying, 'Show me your friends, and I'll show you your character'?" Zeke sneered.

"Oh, I didn't realize you were suddenly so religious," Luisa quipped, her tone sharp.

"Luisa," Zeke hissed through gritted teeth. "I know you think I'm meddling, but please understand. You might be smart, but you can be naive sometimes. That's why you keep getting hurt."

Luisa's eyes burned with unshed tears. "Wow. That's a low blow. Do you enjoy it so much when your negative predictions about my relationships come true?"

Zeke's face fell, horror flickering across his expression. "What? Of course not! You're my sister, Luisa. There's nothing I want more than for you to be happy."

Luisa scoffed bitterly. "You wanted to know why I broke up with Victor, right? Well, here it is. He only wanted me for my money, just like you said. Once he got what he wanted, he stopped taking me seriously. He treated me like I was nothing but a convenience." "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Zeke asked, his voice pained.

"And hear you say, 'I told you so'?" Luisa smiled bitterly.

"I would never-"

"When I broke up with him, he followed me to Baltimore. He tried to take me back by force. He would've succeeded if Alden hadn't stopped him."

Zeke stiffened, his gaze shifting

from Luisa to Alden before snapping back to her. "Something that serious happened, and you didn't tell me? I would've had that bastard locked up immediately."

Luisa's voice softened. "No one likes to hear, 'You should've listened."

Guilt flashed in Zeke's eyes. "I'm sorry, Luisa. I never meant to make you feel like you couldn't trust me with the things happening in you life. Forgive me." Without waiting for a response, he turned and left the room.

"Are you okay?" Alden asked, stepping closer and placing his hand gently on her cheek again.

Luisa nodded, trying to gather herself. "Yes."

"Victor, or whatever his name was, was a fucking idiot for not appreciating a diamond like you," he murmured.

Luisa's breath caught in her throat, and for a moment, she thought he might kiss her again, but he held back.

"Can I see you again soon?" he asked, his voice gentle.

Still dazed, she nodded. "Yes."

"Good." He smiled, pulling out his phone. "Let me call you so you can save my number."

As her phone rang on the desk, Luisa couldn't help but wonder how he had her number. But in that moment, it didn't seem to matter.

"That's me," Alden said, gesturing to her phone. "I'll call you later?"

With one last smile, he turned and left her office. Luisa stood there for a couple of minutes, her mind reeling from how close they had come to kissing. Twice. But then her thoughts snapped back to the conversation they'd had earlier.

Thalassa! She needed to warn Thalassa.

Picking up her phone from the desk,

she hurried out of her office. She

was just about to head to Thalassa's

office when she saw Thalassa and

Ffice wh

Clark walking towards the elevator.

"Thalassa!" Luisa called, hurrying to catch up.

Thalassa and Clark turned at the sound of her voice. "Luisa," Thalassa greeted her with a frown seeing how she rushed towards them.

Luisa's eyes briefly flickered onto Clark before focusing on Thalassa, "There's something I need to talk about with you."

Thalassa raised a brow. "Is everything alright? Does this have to do with the shipments?"

Before Luisa could answer, Clark

stepped in with a pleasant smile that

didn't quite reach his eyes. "Hey,

Luisa. Good to see you. I ran into Alden Richards earlier-did he come by to see you?"

Something in his gaze made Luisa's stomach tighten, her breath catching in her throat.