Margaret's pov
"Alexander," I squeaked, keeping my voice as steady as I could, "Please leave,Laura won't be happy if she finds you here."
He didn't move,instead, he put one shoulder against the doorframe and watched me with that unreadable calm that made partners at the firm nervous.
"I'm not here to do anything inappropriate, Margaret. I just want to talk."
"Talk?" I let out a short laugh. "You followed me upstairs without my permission and now you're inside my bedroom while my entire family is downstairs. If that's your version of talking, we have very different definitions."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Fair point." He paused, eyes tracing my face slowly. "But something about you intrigued me the first time I saw you at the office. You were in the bullpen, focused on your screen with headphones on, completely unbothered by the noise around you. Most associates scramble to impress when the new managing partner walks in. You didn't even look up. That… stayed with me."
I swallowed, heat creeping up my neck. "I was working."
"You were different," he continued, voice lower. "You're the kind of lawyer I would like to keep close.And now…" He took one small step closer, not enough to crowd me but enough that I felt the shift in the air between us. "Finding out you're Laura's stepsister? It makes this even more interesting. I have to admit, I'm more excited about this wedding than I was hours ago."
My stomach flipped. The words were smooth, almost playful, but the look in his eyes said something different.
Before I could form a single response, rapid footsteps sounded in the hallway. The door pushed open wider without warning.
Vivian and Laura barged in together, both wearing matching expressions of suspicion wrapped in fake concern.
Laura's eyes darted between us, her perfectly glossed lips pressing into a thin line. "What are the two of you doing up here alone while everyone else is waiting on the terrace for drinks?"
Alexander turned smoothly, not even flinching. "We were just catching up, Laura. Margaret and I work at the same firm, remember ?."
"Catching up?" Laura repeated instinctively. She slipped her arm through his possessively, fingers curling around his bicep. "In her bedroom while the door almost closed?"
Vivian's cold gaze sliced straight to me. "Margaret, I thought you'd know better than to take your sister's husband into your bedroom?."
I opened my mouth, but Alexander spoke first. "It was my fault. I followed her up to ask about a case,there is nothing more."
Laura's grip on his arm tightened. "Well, colleagues can talk downstairs with the rest of us. Come on, Alexander. Dad wants to show you the wine cellar." She tugged him toward the door, shooting me one last narrow-eyed look over her shoulder. "We'll see you later, Mags."
Alexander glanced back at me once before letting Laura pull him away.
The moment they stepped into the hallway, Vivian shut the bedroom door with a firm click,the sound echoing like a gunshot.
She turned to face me fully, arms folded across her cream silk dress. Her smile was gone and in its place was the familiar mask of controlled fury I remembered too well from my teenage years.
"Listen to me very carefully, Margaret," she said, sounding venomous. "If you come even an inch closer to Alexander again, I will deal with you. Do you understand?"
I blinked, stunned. "Vivian, nothing is going on. We really were just talking about work.I didn't do anything."
She stepped closer, eyes narrowing. "Don't play innocent with me. I saw the way he looked at you downstairs and how he praised your little motion like you were special. You've always been good at sneaking around, trying to steal attention that doesn't belong to you. But not this time,Laura has waited years for this match.
Alexander Martinez is going to secure this family's future. If you ruin that with your little desperate games, I swear you will regret the day you were born."
My hands trembled at my sides. "I'm not playing any games. I didn't even want to come back here. I'm only here because you invited me."
Vivian laughed coldly. "Then keep it that way. Stay invisible, like you always did best. After tomorrow you can go back to whatever hole you crawled into in Newville." She pointed one manicured finger at me. "One wrong move, Margaret, and I'll make sure everyone knows exactly what kind of ungrateful girl you really are."
She didn't wait for me to answer. She spun on her heel, flung the door open and stormed out, leaving it swinging behind her.
I stood frozen in the middle of the room for a long minute, chest tight and my throat burning. The familiar sting of humiliation crawled up my spine—the same feeling I'd lived with for years under this roof.
I closed the door quietly.and sank onto the edge of the bed. My hands were still shaking. I pulled out my phone and typed a quick message to Cielin: "Tonight is already a disaster. Call you tomorrow."
I turned off the light, kicked off my heels, and crawled under the covers fully dressed. Laughter and clinking glasses floated from the terrace to the halls of the building. I pulled the pillow over my head and stayed there alone, until the house finally went quiet and I stole some sleep.
***
The next morning,the chaos and loud voices downstairs pulled me out of a restless doze. My neck ached from the awkward position I'd fallen asleep in. I checked my phone,I had two missed calls from Cielin and a text from Dad: "Breakfast on the patio if you're up. Love you."
I dragged myself to the bathroom, splashed cold water on my face, and changed into a simple white blouse and jeans. I just pray I survive the wedding and get back to Newville as fast as humanly possible.
When I stepped into the hallway, Dad was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, holding a manila envelope.
"Goodorning, sweetheart," he said, offering a gentle smile. "You got some mail this morning. It's from your law firm."
I frowned, taking the envelope from him. The Kessler & Hale logo stared back at me in crisp black lettering. "Why would they mail?"
He shrugged. "I don't know honey
It came by courier about thirty minutes ago so you'll have to find out what it's about."
I rarely got physical mail at the firm and why were they sending one across the country on a Saturday.
"Thanks, Dad," I murmured, already turning the envelope over in my hands.
He patted my shoulder once. "Join us for coffee when you're ready. Laura and Alexander are already out there."
I nodded absently and walked back up to my room and tore the envelope open with slightly unsteady fingers.
Inside was a single sheet of thick company letterhead.
"Internal Memorandum – Immediate"
Transfer.
To: Margaret E. Peters, Associate, Litigation Department.
From: Alexander J. Martinez, Managing Partner.
Effective immediately, you are transferred from the Newville branch to the newly established Lintertown satellite office. Your reporting line remains under the central litigation team, but daily operations will be based in Lintertown. Relocation support and housing allowance will be provided. Please report to the Lintertown office on Tuesday morning at 9:00 a.m.
"Further details attached."