The Woman He Mocked Is An Alpha Heiress

chapter4

HAILEY

A few minutes pass or maybe more.

I don’t really know because time feels strange out here, stretched and quiet, and the only things that feel real are the sound of crickets in the distance and the soft rise and fall of our breathing inside the car.

Lila hasn’t said anything.

Neither have I.

The engine is off now, and the night wraps around us completely, thick and still as if the world has paused just for this moment.

I keep my hands resting loosely on the steering wheel, but my fingers twitch every now and then.

I don't know what to do anymore except to wait.

Waiting is harder than leaving.

Waiting makes everything settle.

Waiting makes everything real.

My eyes stay on the road ahead, dark and empty, stretching endlessly like it has no beginning and no end.

And then suddenly—

Light.

It's faint at first and far away.

I blink slowly, my breath catching just a little as my eyes narrow slightly to now see headlights current cutting through the darkness.

One car.

I sit up a little straighter without meaning to, my fingers tightening around the wheel again.

The light grows brighter and sharper and the sound of an engine follows, low and steady.

And then, another light appears behind it.

Two cars?

Is that even Uncle Maddie's?

But the two cars move together like they are together, towards my direction.

However, I can't be sure.

Instinctively, my hands move to my hair and I roll it in a bun, getting ready for the worst.

Beside me, Lila shifts slightly.

“Ma’am…” she whispers, her voice small.

“Shh.” I say, hand on the inner door knob as the cars slowly come to park a few meters away from mine, headlights still on.

“If worse comes to worse,” I say to her, “run and leave me behind.”

The first car door opens and a figure steps out— a figure I know all too well.

Relief floods me so hard it almost hurts.

My breath leaves me in one rush, and before I can think or stop myself, my fingers grip the knob and I push the door open.

“Ma’am—”

I don’t hear Lila finish as I’m already moving.

My feet hit the ground, unsteady at first, but I don’t slow down as I run straight into him.

“Uncle… Maddie—”

The word breaks out of me before I can hold it back just as I crash into him.

His arms come around me instantly, strong and sure and firm.

“Princess…” He whispers.

I inhale his scent which somehow never changed over the years deeply and that’s all it takes.

Everything I’ve been holding in— since the hospital, since the house, since the bond broke— slips.

My fingers clutch his shirt as I press into him, and my body shakes, the tears coming again, harder this time.

“Uncle Maddie…” I sniff, face pressed into his shirt.

“I’ve got you child,” he murmurs, one hand coming up to hold the back of my head, pulling me closer while the other pats my hair. “You’re okay. You’re safe.”

Safe.

The word settles deep inside me because this time, I actually believe it. I believe it even though I haven't believed that word in three years.

And I just stay there, holding onto him like if I let go, everything might come crashing back again.

And he holds me until I feel lighter but now with aching eyes and a tingling nose.

After what feels like eternity of holding unto him, I finally peel myself off his ruined shirt and his hand which’d been patting my head comes to a stop

“Thank you.” I say to him as I take a step back.

However, the moment I took a step back, someone else envelopes me in a hug. And then, another, until I'm surrounded on both sides with warm bodies.

I chuckle or at least try to, through my blocked nose as I hug them back.

My other two fathers.

Uncle Ronnie and Uncle Cai.

“Easy, easy,” Uncle Ronnie murmurs into my hair and I feel him shrugging Uncle Cai away as his hold tightens around me.

I laugh lightly as I pull uncle Cai closer anyway, my other hand around Uncle Ronnie’s waist.

They are always at each other's throat. Guess some things didn't change even after three years.

Their arms are firm and grounding, and for a moment, I just stand there between them, letting it sink in.

I made it out.

“I’ve got you,” Uncle Ronnie says quietly near my ear.

“Hmm.” I hum. “I’m home.”

After a couple more minutes of sinking into their warmth, I pull back because I know if I allow them, they won't break the hug.

Their height looms over me while Uncle Ronnie’s fingers still threads through my hair and Uncle Cai’s eyes move over me slowly, sharp and assessing in a way that misses nothing.

“You’ve lost weight,” he says, his voice tinged with anger.

I huff out a small breath, taking a step back as I brush at my face with the back of my hand, suddenly conscious.

I haven’t seen them in three years and when I finally did, it is when I feel and look my worst.

“Have I?” I ask with a light chuckle, but it doesn’t land the way I want it to.

“Kaia won’t be happy if she sees you this way.” He adds.

I swallow the guilt rising in my throat like bile as I break my gaze, now staring at the hospital band on my wrists. “Yes…” I whisper. “But I'm to make sure she—”

A voice cuts through the dark from behind them, dark and gravelly, interrupting me. “Is it that fucker that made you like this?”

My breath hitches. Because I know that voice too well.

And I wasn't expecting to hear it here. Not tonight and definitely not when I look like this.

Everything in me stills as my eyes slowly shift to the direction of the voice. His voice.

“Ea–Eamon…”