Chapter 17

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Alexander settled into his bed, having rushed through his nightly routine and skipped dinner altogether. Frustration from the evening’s events weighed heavily on him. As he lay in the dimly lit room, staring at the ceiling, his thoughts churned relentlessly.

‘Was this really Sophia's plan from the beginning?’ he mused, his mind racing with doubts and suspicions. He wondered if she had been paid to sabotage him, and if that was the case, how had her mysterious benefactor known about his plan to propose the contract? The thought gnawed at him, making sleep an elusive prospect.

The necklace Sophia had worn that evening was an amulet his mother had once owned, a family heirloom imbued with sentimental value. He had given it to the first and only girlfriend he had ever dated, Bridget, during their brief but intense relationship. His father had arranged the relationship, a strategic move in the world of hig