Beyond The Betrayal: Her Rise

It was a particularly draining one, delving into the rawest parts of Au

anted was

ving room, lounging on

even looking up from her magazine. "With

and walked tow

a called out, her voice sh

om and closed the door, the exhaustion

rst open. Katerina stood th

sneered. "When I tell you

t time you and Alex spent trying to have a baby. All those doctors, all that money. A

a wave of Aubrey' s old, agonizing pain. The memory of the last miscarriage, the blood, the emp

terina," Aja said, her voice flat. "I

sound. "Oh, we will be. Once you

d and closed her eyes,

llowed by the sound of shatteri

. Her first thought, an instinc

the room and

f a broken vase. There was a small, shallow cut on he

rushing to her sid

only thought to help, to che

t door flew open. Alexander wa

: Aja kneeling over Katerina, Katerina

he roared, his face

ointing a trembling finger at Aja. "S

p, her hands raised. "No,

side and rushed to Katerina's sid

by, I'm here.

shooting daggers of pure hatred at A

hanging in the air like poison gas. She just stood

ly needing a bandage, but Alexander paced the waiting room l

there, his voice

ng to apolog

her silence a wal

u are going to get down on your k

sion. He didn't just believe Katerina's lie; he needed to believe it. It fit

inally asked, her voice cracking with A

urst. He saw the dark circles under her eyes, the gau

His voice softened, but the demand remained. "Just apo

hing to apo

laring again. "Through everything! The t

ut me

was a m

out of her. "The promise you made when we lost our baby? That i

ion of their lost child, a topic they

h this," he finally said, h

ny, foolish part that still remembered th

answered it, his ba

there," he said

ve, to go back t