< The Alpha Who Never Loved Me
Chapter 60
Serena
My parents stared at me across the table.
“The reason I want to leave so soon,” I said, “is because Kieran comes back in a few days. If he finds out before I go, he will find a way to stop me.”
My father nodded slowly. My mother pressed her lips together and her eyes filled but she did not let the tears
fall.
“We’ll miss you,” my father said; his voice was rough.
Josh stood up and wrapped his arms around me without a word. My mother came next and then my father, and we stood in the kitchen together until the food on the table
went cold.
In the morning, I sat on the edge of my bed and stared at the wall.
If I left without saying goodbye to Jenna and Bridget, it could be wrong. Jenna fought for me when h own1:45
brother would not, and Bridgot tried to protect mo oven
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when her son made it impossible.
I picked up my phone and called Jenna.
“Come for breakfast,” I said. “I want to see you and you can bring your Mom, let’s all have breakfast together.”
They arrived within the hour. Jenna walked in first;
Bridget was right behind her. They sat at the table and my mother served tea and toast and eggs, but neither of them touched the food.
Jenna looked at me. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing is going on.” I smiled. “I just wanted to have breakfast with you.”
Bridget set her cup down. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine.”
“Has Kieran hurt you?” Jenna asked; her jaw was tight.
“He’s not in the country.” I picked up my tea and took a sip. “I’m fine. I just wanted to eat with you both.”
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They did not look convinced but they stopped pushing.
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We ate and we talked and Jenna told a story about Trevor that made my mother laugh so hard she choked on her toast. Bridget held my hand under the table and squeezed
it twice.
When they finished and said their goodbyes, I stood at the door and watched them drive away.
My chest ached but I did not cry.
I drove to the house I shared with Kieran.
The front door opened and the air inside hit me; it smelled stale, like nobody lived here anymore.
I stood in the living room and looked around. The bare walls, the empty shelves, the pale rectangles where photographs used to hang. This place did not feel like home; it felt foreign, like a stranger’s house.
Or maybe the house was not the thing that was empty. Maybe it was me.
This house drained me of whatever I had when I first
walked through the door as a bride. The girl who did everything to impress her husband, who tried to cook for him,who changed her course of study for him was gone,
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and I did not recognize who replaced her.
I pulled out my phone and dialed a number; it was easy enough to get, all I had to do was ask Mark.
Sophie picked up on the third ring. “Hello?”
“It’s Mrs. Thawthrone.” I kept my voice even. “Come to the house and bring your son.”
She was quiet for a moment. “Which house?”
“Kieran’s house. Our house.” I paused. “For now.”
She arrived thirty minutes later.
I opened the front door and she stood on the porch with Ethan beside her; his small hand gripped her fingers. Sophie stared at me; I could see the questions behind her
eyes.
She stepped inside and looked around the living room. “Why did you call us here?”
I smiled at her. “I came here because I wanted to give you what you wanted.”
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Sophie’s brow creased. “What do you mean?”
“I want to give you Kieran.”
She went still; her eyes searched my face and her hand tightened around Ethan’s.
“If you really want to do that,” she said carefully, “then why are you doing it only now?”
My throat tightened.
I cleared my throat. “I loved Kieran since I was a child.” My chest burned but the words came out steady. “But his heart never fully belonged to me. It belonged to you.” I held her gaze. “So I am giving him to you.”
Sophie’s eyes went wide. “Are you saying you really want
to leave Kieran? For me?”
I nodded. “Kieran is not the kind of man who lies. But
when you came back, he lied to me. He stayed away from home just for you.” I swallowed; a bitter taste coated my tongue. “He truly loves you.”
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Sophie looked away. “I told him to go back home that 1:46 day.” Her voice was quiet. “But he said it had been too
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long and he didn’t want to leave me.”
My chest caught fire.
I swallowed and kept my face still.
“There isn’t any need to say much.” I kept my eyes on hers. “I know that Kieran wanted you. He said it with his own mouth that he wanted to marry you and not me. Ever since you left, he was never happy.” I pressed my nails into my palm. “His happiness is with you.”
Sophie placed her hand over her chest; her fingers pressed flat against her collarbone.
“I made the mistake of staying for too long,” I continued. “You and Kieran have a child together. You love each other.
You belong to each other.”
“Thank you.” Sophie said it fast, almost breathless. “Thank you, so much.”
She thanked me for giving her my husband.
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“This house belongs to you now,” I said. “For your
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matrimonial home. In the closet, most of the things belong to Kieran. What was mine, I already took.” I walked to the kitchen counter and picked up an envelope. “I’ll give you some money and call a contractor. You can change the house however you like.”
Sophie’s face lit up. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“When the house is finished,” I said, “you and your son
can move in.”
I reached into my bag and pulled out the papers. It was the divorce agreement and I held it out to her.
“Make sure Kieran signs these.”
She took the papers and looked down at the pages.
I reached into my bag again and pulled out a card. “When he signs the documents, have him contact me. I’ll give him the password to access the payment.”
Sophie took the card and tucked it into her purse beside the papers.
Meyes dropped to my left hand.
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The diamond ring sat on my finger the same way it sat there for years. The band pressed against my skin; my ‘finger carried the indent from years of never taking it off.
Kieran slipped it onto my finger at the altar. I cried that day. I cried and I swore I would never take it off, not even
in death.
Sophie cleared her throat. “Since you’re doing all of this,” she said, “wouldn’t you also give me the ring?” She held my gaze. “It should have belonged to me.”
I looked down at my hand. My finger ached around the band; Aina pressed against my chest, low and desperate, pushing against what she knew was coming.
I did not want to let it go.
But I should let it go.
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