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I remember that.

"I stepped away briefly to make a phone call. One minute. At most! When I came back, I put the drive in the safe. So, it didn't fall down or get stolen. It was... switched."

I see... Then it must have been Marc. Damn.

"And blaming me made sense to you? Because I was planning to leave, and Marc is your best friend."

“We’d been discussing me going back to the States so he could take my position. Honestly, it doesn’t even make sense. Unless…” Alex shakes his head.

"Unless what?"

“It’s just a suspicion. But if I put this puzzle piece into the bigger picture—it all fits.”

“Fits better than me stealing from you?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Alex takes a deep breath and then takes the menu. “I really should sort this out now, but the evening has been stressful enough.”

"If it's so important, do it now." I stand up. "And if you want, I'll come with you."

"I should handle this alone."

"As upset as you are, I'm certainly not letting you go alone."

"I'll call my driver and get you a taxi."

"I said: I'm not letting you go alone." I circle the table. "I'm part of this problem and want to clear my name. If this is why you've been so angry with me these past weeks, maybe I can finally actively do something about it."

Alex stands up and looks at me sternly. "So, you do love me?"

I didn't really want to talk about that right now.

"It's complicated."

"Love is never simple."

"But it should be," I answer sadly.

"Maybe it still can be."

Perhaps.

"You want to go to Marc and Stephanie, I assume?" I ask him.

"Yes."

I take his hand and squeeze it firmly. Confronting his best friend about theft won't be easy for him. "I'm here for you."

Alex lifts my hand, kisses it, and lingers for a moment. I'd like to tell him how angry I am right now, but we'll have time for that later. This comes first.

Chapter 30

Alexander

My father taught me to always listen to my head and never to my heart. The heart only ever longs for what's bad for you. It feels good and right in the moment, but not in the long run. It behaves like lust. After the orgasm, we come back to our senses and only then we see what stupid decisions we made when we couldn't focus. That's the same reason you shouldn’t shop when you're hungry.

I believe her. You can immediately tell from London’s face whether she’s lying or not. Her behavior was clear and logical. She didn’t even know the stick had been switched.

But that means it must have been Marc, and I'm slowly beginning to understand what's behind the behavior of both him and Stephanie.