Chapter 12 : How much?
1102 Words
Sloane
Can I touch it? That was so stupid, especially since he's been ignoring me since that day. What the f**k was I doing?
The triplets had gone out to work and I was home alone, trying to bake. I had told the maids to let me do it because I wanted to surprise them.
I sighed for the fourth time as I pulled out the fourth tray of burnt cookies. I suck at this, really. I can get an MBBS, but this? This is so f*****g hard.
My mom didn't teach me how to cook, so I wasn't used to it.
“Excuse me, miss?” Genevieve, one of the maids, poked her head into the kitchen. Her eyes roamed over the burnt snacks.
“Do you need help?”
I smiled awkwardly. How long had they been watching me? I glanced at her and then back at my so‑called work of art.
“Kind of.”
She walked slowly toward me, hands on her sides, carrying a tray of muffins. She placed it on the countertop.
“I've been watching you, and you don't know how to bake, do you?”
“I suck at cooking or anything in the kitchen. I mean, I can heat up water.”
She looked at me as if I had suddenly grown two heads, laughed, and shook her head while she pressed the dough. I watched her roll it out, cut shapes easily, add toppings, and slide the tray into the oven.
“You've been watching me, right? You know I suck at this. Laughing just makes it worse.”
She scoffed, uncomfortable. “I'm sorry about that, Miss. But I figured you were struggling and came to help.”
She made another batch, then another. On her last one, I decided to ask.
“What about the triplets' mother?”
“Oh, madam? She stepped out for a few hours.”
I nodded, listening. “Is that how she is? Is she always that strict?”
“No, not really. She's not our Luna, but we hold her in high regard. She's strict, yes,” she giggled.
“This pack has no Luna yet? Why?”
She shrugged, clearly unsure. “The alphas haven't married yet. Although everyone thinks they all like you.”
“Me?” I pointed at myself, cheeks flushing. She gave me a side-eye.
“Yes, miss. Everyone in the pack is so sure you're Alpha Logan's girlfriend, especially since we saw you both in a very weird position when madam returned from Italy.”
Oh.
They think I'm Logan's girlfriend. If only they knew I signed a contract with the three alphas, then all hell would get loose.
“It's fine, you don't have to tell me now. You can take your time.
Besides,” she paused, standing straighter as she stared at the oven, “Alpha Logan has never been seen with a woman this long. He is quite…” she looked up, searching for a word.
“A womanizer,” I supplied.
She smiled. “Something like that.”
I smiled back, intrigued, and moved closer to ask more.
“What do you think about Alpha Dean and Hunter?”
“Oh,” she said, a red hue creeping into her cheeks. Oh wow. She liked one of them.
“Do you like them?” I asked carefully. She glanced around before shaking her head.
“Alpha Dean,” she said this time, blushing widely. “He is so strong and diligent. I see him all the time in his study, always working.”
“What about him? Isn't he like his brothers?”
“Oh no, miss, none of them are like each other. They are all different in their own ways. But Alpha Dean,” she said with a dreamy look, “is the older one and the more responsible. He protects his own first, and he has been protecting the pack and his brothers.”
“Hmm.”
“He is also so kind and very caring. You would think he'd be arrogant, but he isn't. Instead, he listens when you have a problem.”
She went on talking about Dean. She must really like him.
After the cookies were done, I asked Genevieve to take a cut and share it with the others. She thanked me and pulled me into a sudden hug. When she left, I packed some into a container and walked back upstairs.
My phone buzzed with a notification. I stuck my hands into my pants pockets and searched for it. Unknowingly, I bumped into someone and nearly spilled the cookies on the floor.
I stepped back, taking in whoever it was. The triplets' mother stood in front of me, wearing a thick coat over a designer dress, a designer bag in hand, and shoes that gleamed under the chandelier.
Her lips were painted bright red and her makeup accentuated her jawline. She wore that same snide expression she had shown me the week before, as if I were some servant rather than a person
She scoffed. “You again!” She pulled out a handkerchief and rubbed at the spot where I had touched her, treating me like filth.
But for the first time, that didn't bother me. I'd dealt with women like her before, one too many times, so it wasn't new.
“Hi,” I said, holding the container of cookies toward her. “Want a cookie?”
“No! What are you still doing here? Don't you have a home to go to?”
Oh, if this is how she wanted it, I'll give her exactly that.
“I love it here,” I said, relaxed.
She placed a hand on her head and sighed. “I always tell Logan to at least pick these girls from respectable families and not bring trash home, but he never listens.
Do you need an invitation to go back the way you came? What do you want? Should I offer you money to leave? How much do you want?”
“Hm,” I thought for a second. “How much are we talking here? Is it a large amount or a small amount?” I teased.
She stared at me, mouth wide with shock.
“You're a gold digger,” she said, pausing. “The audacity of you asking me for money! You don't belong here.”
“You have no right to tell me where I belong. Your sons brought me here, and last I checked, this was their pack, not yours.”
- Writer
