Alexander Sterling: The Bussines King's Rebirth

Chapter 3

Alexander studied Isabella for a long moment, completely at a loss for words. Up close, he finally noticed just how gaunt and sallow she truly was, and the faint, fading bruise at her temple. Kyle's handiwork, no doubt. Her heartbreakingly frail frame was his doing, too.

Isabella had endured so much misery alone, all to protect her daughter from her own husband. A man who made garbage look dignified.

"Kyle..." After a beat of heavy silence, her voice came again, trembling and barely held together. "I promise you... I'll work even harder. I can take in more sewing. I'll find another part-time job too. I swear, I'll make more money than I ever did before."

Her hands were shaking, but she desperately pressed them against the hem of her shirt to still them.

"I'll scrape together as much as I can and give it all to you. Just please, don't hand our daughter over to that nightclub boss. Please, Kyle. Don't ruin her future. I'm begging you—"

Alexander lifted his chin, forcing his eyes to meet hers. In that single gaze, he saw everything: raw terror, utter despair, and a fierce, unyielding love for her child.

"If I have to..." she added, her voice breaking into a whisper of resignation. "Then let me go to that club instead. Let me work there..."

"Isabella," he called out, his voice low.

She froze. The unsettling calm in his tone frightened her far more than his usual rage ever did. A chilling thought crossed her mind—is he just changing his approach?

"I'm not selling Lily," Alexander stated firmly. "I will never do that. Not for any amount of money that boss offers."

Isabella blinked, stunned into disbelief. "R-really?"

Alexander drew a long, deep breath, trying to suppress the fury burning in his chest.

"How could any father sell his own daughter for cash?" he murmured, almost to himself. "Even wild animals don't devour their own young."

Isabella fell silent, staring at the man before her with an utterly unreadable expression. She questioned her own ears. The Kyle she knew would never, ever, utter such wise words. Naturally, she couldn't just trust him. Five years was a long time to endure his inhumanity, toward both her and their little girl. People don't transform overnight.

"If you think you can sweet-talk me into letting my guard down, don't bother. It's better if I just step into that nightlife—"

"I'm not trying to deceive you," Alexander cut in firmly. "I won't even entertain the thought of selling Lily."

Isabella gasped softly at the steel in his voice, lifting her head warily.

Alexander held her gaze, deep and unflinching.

"You and Lily have suffered far too long because of me. That ends now. I promise," he declared.

Isabella went rigid. "Y-yes?"

"I've been worthless trash for long enough," Alexander pressed on. "Not anymore. I'm going to live with responsibility."

Isabella just stared, lips parted, words failing her. Worthless trash? Kyle was calling himself that? Those exact words used to be his favorite weapon against her. Could he really have finally seen the light?

"You..." She bit her lip hesitantly. "You're not drunk, are you?"

Alexander sighed, searching for the right words, something she might actually believe.

"I know you have no reason to trust me after everything I've done. But I mean every word. You can judge me by my actions from now on."

Isabella studied him again. She still couldn't quite believe it, yet he didn't seem to be putting on a performance.

"Are you absolutely sure you won't sell Lily?" she asked cautiously.

Alexander nodded. "Absolutely."

"Even if that boss gives you a mountain of money?"

"He wouldn't be that generous," Alexander muttered under his breath. Sifting through Kyle's memories, he saw clearly how the club owner had systematically ensnared the fool, gambling debts, drug habits, all the cunning bastard's traps. And Kyle had been too stupid to see it coming.

"Kyle?" Isabella's wary expression flickered back.

Alexander sighed once more. It was proving incredibly difficult to convince a woman who had been traumatized for years.

"I'm not trying to trick you," he said gently, striving to understand her doubt. "Just think of it as me finally snapping out of a long, idiotic haze. All that foolishness is over. I won't repeat the same mistakes."

"Really?" Her voice was almost inaudible.

"Yes." Alexander nodded with conviction.

Isabella stared at him, her eyes growing red-rimmed. A strange, foreign wave of relief washed over her. She couldn't remember the last time she'd heard Kyle speak without her heart pounding in dread. She still couldn't fully trust him, but as he'd said, she would just have to watch his deeds from now on.

"Thank you," she whispered, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Unconsciously, her lips curved into a faint, fragile smile. She didn't know when she'd last managed to smile like this in front of Kyle.

Watching her, Alexander felt a sharp pang of pity cut through him. Isabella was overjoyed simply because her husband promised not to sell their child. Not because of a gift. Not because of a vacation. Not because of any of the things that should rightfully bring a wife happiness.

How devastatingly ironic.

He dropped his gaze to the stale bread in his hand. His chest tightened again, not from the echo of Kyle's misdeeds, but from seeing how heartbreakingly low the bar for happiness was for the woman standing in front of him. And now that Alexander was living inside Kyle's skin, he had no idea how much effort it would take to mend the catastrophic wreckage Kyle had left behind.

Suddenly, the old plywood door creaked open, making both of them turn in unison. The soft patter of small footsteps entered the squalid little house.

"Mom, I'm home."

A tiny girl stepped inside. Her brown hair tumbled in messy curls, framing a round face with cheeks hollowed by malnutrition. Her worn-out school uniform hung loosely on her small, fragile frame. In her hands, she clutched a little cloth bag stuffed with books.

It was Lily, the poor child Kyle had been about to sell off.

"Mom, teacher taught me—"

Lily stopped dead in her tracks. She froze on the spot the moment her eyes landed on Kyle inside the house, as if she had just come face-to-face with a monstrous threat that haunted her every waking moment. The innocent smile on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a look of undisguised terror she couldn't hide. She even dropped her cloth bag with a soft thud.

"D-dad..." she stammered, retreating a step, poised to bolt. As if Kyle were some terrifying beast ready to pounce on her at any second.