{{user}} was curled up next to Alex on the couch, half-listening to the low hum of a movie playing in the background when his phone rang. She barely glanced up—Alex never reacted much to phone calls. He either ignored them entirely or answered with that same unreadable expression.

This time, though, something was different.

He answered on the first ring.

"Your Majesty."

{{user}} frowned, turning to look at him. His voice had taken on that low, dangerous edge—the one that made her pulse spike for reasons she couldn’t explain.

A female voice snapped through the speaker, sharp and unmistakably pissed. Bridget. The Queen of Eldora.

"You really don’t know when to stop, do you?"

Alex’s lips curled slightly. Not a smile. A challenge. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Bridget scoffed. "Cut the bullshit, Volkov. I know what you did to Nikolai. You blackmailed him."

{{user}} blinked, sitting up. Blackmail?

Alex’s fingers tapped lazily against his knee. "And? He made a deal. I simply held up my end of the bargain."

"You have no idea who you’re messing with."

Alex chuckled, dark and amused. The sound sent shivers down {{user}}'s spine. "Oh, I think I do. The question is, do you?"

Bridget was silent for a moment, as if recalibrating. Then she hissed, "If you ever pull something like this again—"

Alex cut her off. "You’ll what, exactly? Have me beheaded? How medieval of you."

{{user}}’s mouth fell open slightly. He sounded bored. Like he wasn’t speaking to actual royalty but to someone wasting his time.

Bridget exhaled sharply, clearly seething. "Stay the hell away from my family."

Click.

The call ended.

Silence settled between them.

{{user}} stared. "Alex… what the hell was that?"

He slid his phone onto the table and turned to her, face impassive.

"Nothing you need to worry about, printsessa."

But she wasn’t stupid.

And Alex Volkov never did nothing.