Towards the end, she was growing freer with her smiles, her teasing, her enticement through the lens. Until there were only three pictures left. Alexa without a bra, her glorious breasts proudly displayed bare to me. I shuddered then and there in disbelief. In the next photo she is completely naked, her head back her eyes glowing. It was there, in that moment captured by the camera, I wonder if she knew. The last photo was perfection Alexa looked sated, her eyes sleepy, her body soft. Fuck.

I dropped my laptop without being aware I did it. What had I done? Why had I done it? I have never wanted pictures of a woman before. What was the point? It was not as if Alexa were ever going to get away from me, she was mine, she gave herself to me. I was never going to give her up. The realization crashed into me, I did not want to give Alexa up, not in a month, not in a year, not ever. She was mine, forever. What was forever? Marriage, children, a house in the suburbs, a cat, suddenly everything I believed I would never have was a possibility. It terrified me by how much it did not terrify me.

Once my driver lets me know we are back at the office, I attempt to shake off my inner turmoil. It lasts for six minutes until the elevator opens on Jenny instead of Alexa.

***

Alexa

––––––––

When I get home, Felix is surprisingly happy to see me. He’s even nice and cuddles with me when I lay down. The migraine I had used as an excuse has arrived in full. My right eye is throbbing in time with my heartbeat. I’m falling asleep when my phone rings. It’s Leo. “What?”

The idiot sounds surprised. “Jenny told me you left with a migraine. How come you did not call to tell me?”

Because I hate you right now. Because I can’t lie to you anymore. Because loving you is tearing me apart. “Because I was in pain. I’m not really in the mood to talk to you right now.”

“Why the fuck not?”

For a genius billionaire, he can be so stupid. Shit, the pain in my eye is pounding. “Leo, I’m seriously in pain here. I’ll talk to you later.” I hang up and roll over. Felix meows at me as he kneads my stomach. “Yeah, I know.”

Only minutes after I close my eyes I fall asleep.

The sound of the toilet flushing then water running nudges me out of the sleep, I’m drifting in and out of.

“Go away, psycho.”

I shoot up in bed. What the hell? “Leo?”

“I told you, you were going to wake her up,” Leo mutters before he nudges the door to my room open. “Hey, sorry your cat is psychotic. I came by to check on you. I didn’t mean to wake you.”