Chapter 200
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Evelyn’s POV
I had absolutely no idea how I’d gotten all the way back to my lab. I didn’t even remember leaving Kane’s office. My mind had fallen into a crazed fog upon hearing Olivia’s daring proclamation.
“Kane promised to love me forever.”
The confident tone in her voice must have set my wolf off, because the next thing I knew, I was moving through the hallways and was back in my lab in record time.
“What the hell just happened?” I asked myself breathlessly.
I raked my hands through my hair, feeling as though I was having an out-of-body experience all over again.
Who the hell was this woman? Where did she even come from?
My face pinched with burning distress as an icy sensation ached in my chest. I gently shook my head, hoping to wake myself from this horrid nightmare. But it wasn’t. It was entirely real.
And Kane… He didn’t even try to better explain the situation. He just stood there!
“So, what now?” I huffed. “Am I to seriously battle for this man’s attention again?”
My jaw clenched as a seething snarl tore from the back of my throat. I quickly pressed my hands out onto the worktable in front of me, desperate to hold onto what remained of my composure.
I clenched my eyes shut and bore through the raging discomfort.
“…Evelyn?” A voice called out to me from across the room. It sounded so far away, but I knew who it was without needing to open my eyes.
Diana.
“Evelyn!”
The frantic sound of her footsteps skidding across the floor rang in my ears. Soon, I felt the support of her hands grab hold of my shoulders.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked worriedly.
I struggled to take in a steady breath. She eased me back onto the stool I’d been initially sitting on. My breathing was a mess, and my vision had become blurred from tears.
Diana gently rubbed my back. “Just take a few breaths. That’s it,” she instructed. “In and out.”
My staggered breathing finally calmed down after a good handful of minutes. My face flushed from utter embarrassment, having been found in such a broken state. I wiped my face of any fallen tears and lowered my head.
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“Sorry,” I rasped. “I hadn’t meant for anyone to see me like that.”
Diana gently scoffed. “Don’t ever apologize for something that you couldn’t possibly control,” she scolded. “But tell me honestly. Are you alright? You seemed to have been having a panic attack.”
I slumped my shoulders and buried my face in my hands. “I don’t know what came over me. One minute, everything was fine-perfect even. I was so happy because I believed I had a breakthrough with my work, and I went to tell Kane about it.”
“Yeah, and?” She asked encouragingly.
I shook my head and took in a sharp inhale as my mind flashed with images of him and Olivia embracing one another. He seemed so…Content.
“He was hugging a woman I didn’t know,” I muttered. I tore my eyes up from the table and glanced back at her. “But maybe you might.”
“Try me,” Diana prompted.
“I think she said her name was Olivia. She had dark auburn hair and green eyes. Really pretty, although I wasn’t too keen on her attitude,” I mumbled.
Diana’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief. “Oh my Goddess, are you serious?” I nodded. “Yes, I remember Olivia. Granted, I joined the pack toward the tail end of their star-crossed relationship, you could say.”
My heart dropped into my stomach. Star-crossed?!
I pressed a hand to my head and let out a deflated sigh. Of course. First, I dealt with Bianca and her obsession with gaining Kane’s attention. Now I have to somehow overcome the pressure of a past relationship that should never have ended in the first place. 1
Lovely.
My chest quivered, wanting to head into another mental and emotional spiral. But I needed to keep a
level head.
“Diana, I need you to tell me everything you can about Kane and Olivia’s past relationship,” I told her.
She took a seat on one of the open stools beside me. She narrowed her eyes and gave me a pointed look. “Are you sure?”
No. I wasn’t. This whole conversation could very likely send me into a complete frenzy. But, unfortunately, I needed to know. I had to know what I was up against.
“Yes,” I said firmly.
“Alright. Well, from what I could remember, Kane and Olivia were utterly inseparable. Wherever one of them was, you could have always assumed that the other wasn’t far away,” she explained. “Kane, at the time, was still learning the ins and outs of how to run a pack from his father. Everyone was certain that he and Olivia would become the pack’s new Alpha and Luna.”
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Shit, this really hurts.
I swallowed past the lump in my throat and nodded for her to go on.
“Please understand that I mean no disrespect to you when I say this,” she said tentatively.
I rested my hand on her arm. “Diana, I understand. Don’t forget, I’m asking you to tell me all of this.” No
matter how much it bothered me.
She carefully nodded. “Before, when I mentioned that they were star-crossed, I said it because the two of
them complemented each other so perfectly. Whenever Kane was tense or doubtful, Olivia was there to ease his worries and give him the confidence he needed. And whenever Olivia was feeling discouraged about her own work, Kane was there to support her.”
“I see. What did her work entail?”
“Olivia used to be heavily involved in agriculture. She was really into plants, botany, you know, that sort of thing.”
I carelessly nodded. “Interesting that this place never had a greenhouse,” I noted.
Diana bit her bottom lip. “Yeah, about that… There used to be one in the back gardens. When the day came that Olivia had found her mate, her parents forced her to break the engagement she had with Kane. In response to losing her, Kane tore the greenhouse to the ground and refused to have it ever replaced.”
“Oh.” The thought of Kane’s heart breaking was enough to set my wolf on edge. Even if it was about losing another woman, I never would want him to feel that way.
“Kane never was the same after he lost Olivia. His demeanor shifted terribly, although I suppose that was how he gained his ruthless reputation,” she commented.
“I don’t feel comfortable having her here, Diana,” I announced. “I know that Kane and I had a rather unethical and difficult start to our relationship. But it developed into something real over time. And I can’t bear the thought of that changing all because some woman from his past decided to show up again.”
“Then I think what you need to do is talk to Kane about this,” she advised. “Let him know how you feel.”
I took a deep breath. “You’re right.”
I thanked Diana for her knowledge on the matter and let her get back to her work in the medical ward. I wasn’t sure how long I remained sitting there. My mind kept circling around all that I was told.
I didn’t want Olivia there. While she and Kane had a serious past together, I was his wife. Marriage contract or not, it should mean something!
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