< The Alpha Who Never Loved Me
Chapter 27
Serena
I’d been expecting this. The moment he walked in and sat down, I knew he hadn’t come to listen. He’d come to deliver a verdict and the verdict was Sophie.
But expecting a punch doesn’t stop it from hurting.
I stood up.
“Where are you going?” He rose with me. “I’m not done.”
“I am.”
“You sent Jenna to Sophie’s house.” His voice was low, and carried with it a certainty that I could not figure out where it came from. “She attacked her in her own home. She was quite brutal with her.”
Jenna had gone because she loved me. Because she couldn’t stand by while her brother destroyed his
marriage. But if I said that, he’d punish her. He’d already threatened to send her away.
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“Yes.” I met his eyes. “I sent her.”
He’d expected a denial. My easy admission threw him for half a second before he recovered.
“Then you need to apologize to Sophie.”
My throat was going dry, and I could feel tears building. I swallowed them down. The last thing I wanted to do was cry in front of him anymore.
What happened last night shouldn’t repeat itself.
“I don’t care how much you love her.” My voice came out quiet, I was using everything I had just to stay upright. “You are married to me. Until those divorce papers are signed, you and your mistress are in the wrong. Your child with her is illegitimate. And you’re standing here telling your wife to apologize to the woman you cheated with.” I tilted my head. “Do you hear yourself?”
His jaw worked. “Sophie is not my mistress.”
I nodded slowly. “Right. How did I forget?” I stepped forward until barely a foot separated us. “The woman who isn’t loved is the one who gets called the mistress.”7
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looked up into his face. “So confirm it, Kieran. I am the mistress, right?”
He rubbed his hand across his forehead. “That’s not the
case.”
I stepped back.
“If you love her that much, then divorce me and marry Sophie. Deny our mate bond. I’ll step aside happily and let you both have peace.”
His expression darkened, his shoulders squaring. “I don’t have plans to replace you. For now.”
For now.
Two words. A death sentence dressed up as reassurance.
I was useful. I was convenient. I was the Luna seat filled, the public image maintained. And one day, when Sophie was settled he’d discard me. He’d just told me so without realizing he’d said it out loud.
My hand drifted beneath the table where he couldn’t see, gressing against my stomach.
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Was my baby also for now?
Kieran’s voice dipped, taking on that tender note he only ever used for one person. “Sophie is an emotional mess. If you apologized, it would give her some peace of mind. That’s all I’m asking.”
That tenderness. That careful, protective warmth whenever her name left his mouth. He had never once spoken about me that way.
“I’ll apologize,” I said. “On one condition. Gather the pack, Thawthorne.” I used his surname. “Stand in front of every member of Crimson and tell them their Alpha cheated on his Luna.”
His eyes darkened, staring at me. “I am your husband.”
“No. The moment you abandoned me to go running to Sophie, we stopped being mates. We stopped being husband and wife. You ended this marriage. Not me.”
“I don’t like being threatened, Serena.”
“Then I’ll do it my way.” I lifted my chin. “I’ll gather everyone in this hospital right now and say it myself. My name is Serena, married to Mr. Thawthorne. Out of
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jealousy, I destroyed the home of his mistress. He’s asked me to apologize. So I’m sorry.”
I walked toward the door.
His arm hooked around my waist and spun me back, pulling me chest to chest. “I’ve been trying to have a
proper conversation with you. Can you stop blowing up at every word?”
Before I could say anything, the sound of footsteps filled
the air.
Kieran released me. It was either he didn’t want to be caught with me when he was making preparations to introduce another woman to the pack.
“We’ll discuss the apology later.” His voice returned to normal. “I’ll go get you something to eat.”
He walked out.
The second the door closed, my knees gave.
I sank into the chair and pressed my palms against the table. He hadn’t stopped because he saw my distress. He 7 hadn’t backed off because he noticed the tears or the
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crack in my voice.
He’d stopped because of the footsteps.
If I’d walked into that corridor and announced to
every wolf in earshot that their Alpha kept a mistress, the fallout wouldn’t touch me. It would bury him. His reputation, his authority, his image. Gone.
He wasn’t protecting me. He was protecting himself. And Sophie.
I pressed my forehead against the table and breathed the way the doctor had told me. In through the nose, hold, out through the mouth. My baby needed calm.
Kieran returned with a takeout box. He set it on the table
and slid it toward me. “Eat.”
I picked up the box, walked to the trash can, and turned it upside down.
The food hit the bottom of the bin with a heavy thud. His eyes was staring at me, not moving once and I kept my own eyes on him. Had he expected that just food could empty out everything?
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I set the empty container on top, walked past him through the other door, and did not look back.
My shift ended at five.
I gathered my things, said goodbye to Raymond, and headed for the main exit. I was three steps from the automatic doors when someone called my name.
“Dr. Blackwell.”
Not Thawthorne but Blackwell. She was using my maiden name. As if I’d never married him at all.
I turned.
Sophie stood near the reception desk, handbag clutched against her stomach. She wore a pale blue dress, her hair loose around her shoulders. No bruises. No injuries. Nothing to suggest the attack that had supposedly put her in the hospital.
“What do you want?”
She flinched at my tone but held her ground. “I came to apologize.”
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Those were the last words I was expecting to hear from her. I stared at her dumbfoundedly.
She pressed forward, fingers gripping her bag. “Jenna attacked me because of you. I understand emotions are running high, and I wanted to come here and tell you I’m sorry for any pain I’ve caused.” She paused. “I just returned from overseas. I don’t have any friends here. I was hoping you and I could get to know each other.”
Without missing a beat, a laugh crackled out of me.
“Kieran is enough friend for you, isn’t he? You don’t need anyone else.”
I turned to leave.
Her hand caught my arm. “You’ve misunderstood the relationship between Kieran and me. It’s not what you think. If you’d just let me explain-”
I pulled my arm free.
The instant my arm left her grip, Sophie’s knees buckled.
She crumpled to the lobby floor like someone had cut her strings. A gasp ripped from her lips loud enough to turn
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every head in the room.
Sophie lay on the floor with her hand to her chest, face contorted, tears running down her temples.
And every single person in that lobby was looking at me.
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< The Alpha Who Never Loved Me
