Marriage with my daughter's father: Darling please be gentle - Chapter 208

Chapter 208: Chapter 208: Eric is Alexander’s son
Gina cursed under her breath as she parked the car. Alexander had changed the plan last minute—scrapping the neutral restaurant meeting and instead asking her to come to his place.

The sudden switch was suspicious. She should’ve asked why. But curiosity, mixed with her mission, had her driving here anyway.

“This is the address Niko mentioned once,” she murmured to herself, stepping out of the car.

The building didn’t scream danger. In fact, it was surprisingly simple, understated… elegant. Nothing like the fortress she’d imagined for a man of Alexander’s reputation. No visible guards. No security tech glaring at her from every corner.

But that only made her more cautious.

Sean is definitely going to murder me for this, she thought dryly as she rang the bell.

The door opened with an elegant click, and Alexander stood before her, dressed in tailored slacks and a cashmere sweater. He looked to be in his early fifties—still handsome and composed, with sharp eyes that studied her closely.

“Miss Morris,” he greeted with a charming smile. “Please, come in.”

Gina returned his smile with one of her own—polished, professional, and carefully detached.

“Thank you,” she said, stepping into the apartment.

The living room exuded quiet sophistication—clean lines, muted tones, and soft lighting. It was masculine but tasteful. She silently noted every detail, from the lack of personal photos to the strategic placement of art pieces. There was nothing in this place that gave away who Alexander really was.

“Apologies for the sudden change of venue,” he said smoothly, motioning for her to take a seat on the couch across from him. “But I trust you don’t mind?”

Gina lowered herself gracefully onto the plush sofa, crossing one leg over the other as she tilted her head, examining him with subtle intrigue.

“Well, since you were the one to make the request and I agreed to it, it doesn’t matter where we meet,” she said, her tone light but with an edge of confidence. “What matters is how you handle that request. And for the record, Mr. Alexander, I’m not someone who goes back on her word.”

Alexander chuckled, his eyes glinting with something unreadable. He sat down opposite her, resting one leg over the other in a relaxed yet commanding pose.

“I like that,” he said. “A woman who honors her word.”

Gina glanced around, letting her eyes wander casually across the space. “Your place is beautiful,” she remarked. “Minimal yet elegant. I’m guessing your wife had a hand in the interiors?”

There was a flicker of something behind Alexander’s eyes—something darker, distant.

“This is just a temporary residence,” he replied evenly. “And no, this wasn’t her doing. My wife passed away a few years ago.”

The sharpness in Gina’s gaze softened slightly. “I’m sorry. That must’ve been hard.”

Alexander gave a low chuckle, leaning back a little further, his fingers loosely steepled together. “Not as hard as people think,” he said, almost dismissively. “But yes… sometimes, I do miss her.”

His voice didn’t tremble. There was no grief in his expression—just a faint trace of nostalgia, cold and contained.

Gina studied him closely. There was something unsettling about the way he spoke of his late wife—so cold, so unaffected. As if her absence was merely a line in a story he’d already closed the book on. But she didn’t dwell on it. Not now.

Instead, she leaned forward slightly, her tone calm but curious. “So, Mr. Alexander, why did you want to meet me in private?”

Alexander was silent for a moment. His eyes fixed on her, calculating—like a chess master deciding on the next move. Then, just as he had the night they first met when he handed her his card, he cut through the formality with brutal honesty.

“I wanted to know more about you, Miss Gina Morris.”

His words were clear, direct, and unexpected.

Gina’s expression didn’t flinch, though her pulse quickened for a brief second. She tilted her head slightly and offered a casual shrug, masking her surprise behind a cool facade.

“What’s there to know?” she said with a soft, rehearsed laugh. “Everyone knows who I am and what I do. Nothing more, nothing less.”

But Alexander wasn’t buying it. His gaze remained steady, intense. “Yes, they know your name, your job, and your reputation. But that’s just the surface,” he said, his voice lowering. “I believe there’s much more to you than you let the world see. You wear your confidence like armor, but your eyes…”

He paused, leaning forward just enough to make the air feel heavier between them.

“Your eyes—they remind me of someone I used to know.”

The moment he said it, Gina froze.

A flicker of memory slammed into her like a wave—her mother’s voice, the scent of old perfume, the sound of heels on linoleum floors. Things she buried long ago.

Her mask faltered for a beat, the smile slipping just a little too quickly. She looked down, willing her hands to stay still and her breath to remain even.

“I’ve been told I have familiar eyes,” she said quietly, trying to regain composure.

Alexander didn’t press. But he noticed the change—how her posture stiffened, how her voice dipped. He leaned back again, still watching her.

“I’ve learned to trust my instincts, Miss Morris,” he said. “And they tell me you’re not just another ambitious woman climbing her way up the ladder. You’re… searching for something.”

Gina met his eyes again. Her expression was perfectly calm, but a subtle defiance burned behind her stare.

“And what makes you think I’d tell you what that is?”

Alexander smiled faintly, amused. “I never asked you to.”

Gina’s lips twitched, but she held her composure, continuing the act with practiced ease. By now, she had already assumed Alexander wasn’t the kind of man to hand his card to someone on a whim. No—he’d already seen something. Something that piqued his interest.

“So,” she began, swirling the last bit of water in her glass before setting it down with deliberate care. “These eyes of mine—you say they remind you of someone? May I ask who?”

For a second, Alexander’s ever-composed smile faltered. It wasn’t much, but it was there—a crack in the mask.

“That,” he said slowly, his tone shifting back to measured indifference, “is not something we need to waste our time discussing.”

Gina chuckled, a soft, sultry sound that didn’t hide her amusement.

“The audacity,” she murmured under her breath, just loud enough for her to hear and leaned back, folding her arms across her chest.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” Alexander asked suddenly, his voice calm but his eyes fixed on her with unsettling precision.

Gina didn’t flinch. Instead, she let a slow smile curl at the corners of her lips.

“That’s a hard question to answer,” she replied, crossing one leg over the other with ease. “Because, you see, my reputation doesn’t exactly align with the kind of answer you’re looking for, Mr. Alexander.”

Her tone was light, flirtatious even, but there was a sharp edge beneath it—a warning not to underestimate her.

“No wonder I find you so interesting, Miss Morris,” Alexander said, his gaze lingering on her face with a hint of something unreadable. “I was just like you once—guarded, sharp, unwilling to be figured out. Maybe that’s why you feel so familiar to me.”

“Have you ever been to Newhelmon City?” Gina asked casually, watching him closely.

The question landed like a drop in still water—subtle, but unmistakable. Alexander’s posture shifted ever so slightly, a flicker of something unreadable flashing in his eyes as the name settled in the air between them.

“It’s a place I grew up,” Gina added, watching Alexander closely.

The slight shift in his expression didn’t escape her notice. His eyes flickered—not with recognition, but with something restrained, something careful. Before he could speak, his phone buzzed.

The momentary tension between them was disrupted as Alexander checked the caller ID. “Yes, Eric,” he said, excusing himself as he stepped away to take the call.

Gina’s brows pulled together faintly. Eric? The name struck her like a sudden gust. She didn’t dare follow or try to overhear the conversation—especially not in a house like his, where cameras lingered in corners, discreet but watching. She adjusted her posture and pretended to admire the room, maintaining the act as naturally as possible.

A few minutes later, Alexander returned, adjusting the cuff of his sleeve with composed ease.

“My apologies for the interruption,” he said. “But I had to take my son’s call.”

The words hit Gina like a silent explosion.

‘Eric is Alexander’s son.’

She replayed them over and over in her mind, eyes subtly scanning his face again. There was something there now—something she hadn’t fully noticed before. Not a perfect resemblance, but a whisper of one.

“Eric, I thought I heard you say that before stepping out,” she replied with a polite smile, masking her inner storm.

“Yes. That’s him,” Alexander confirmed with a nod, his expression unreadable. “And I suppose that’s my cue to wrap things up.”

Gina stood up, her heart thudding a little louder than she’d like. “Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Alexander,” she said coolly, walking toward the door. “This was… insightful.”

Alexander smirked lightly, opening the door for her. “It certainly was. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of each other, Miss Morris.”

She stepped out, meeting his eyes one last time. “I’m counting on it.”