Betrayed, Marry A Strange Alpha

Chapter 3 What Exactly Is He?

Evelyn set down her wineglass and stared at Adrian across the table.

“So,” she said, lifting her chin, “what family are you from? Claire never mentioned you before. A man who can walk into a place like this and talk big usually has a name behind him.”

Claire’s fingers tightened around her fork.

“Evelyn, this really isn’t—”

Adrian slid his arm around Claire’s waist and drew her against his side before she could finish. His hand rested there with easy control, warm and firm through the fabric of her dress. Claire froze for half a breath.

“We’re legal mates,” he said. His voice stayed calm, yet the whole table went quiet. “That gives me every right to sit here with her.”

Evelyn’s smile stiffened. “Legal mates? Just like that? Claire, did you even think this through? Men with unclear backgrounds always sound convincing.”

Claire felt heat climb into her face. Shame, anger, irritation—they rushed together and made her throat tight.

“She’s my mate,” Adrian said, turning his eyes on Evelyn. “You should watch your tone.”

Evelyn gave a dry laugh. “I’m asking for her sake.”

“You’ve asked enough.” Adrian’s thumb pressed once at Claire’s waist. “Stop here.”

Daniel cleared his throat and forced a smile that looked painful on his face. “All right, all right. We’re family. Let’s keep dinner pleasant.”

Adrian did not even look at him. “Save your energy. There’s still an important guest who hasn’t arrived.”

That sentence dropped into the room and changed the air. Evelyn’s mouth parted. Daniel sat straighter at once, eyes shifting toward the door. Sophie, who had been silent, glanced around with open curiosity.

Claire turned to Adrian. “Who are you talking about?”

“You’ll see.”

He rose and took her hand. Claire stood with him before she had time to sort through the storm in her chest. Evelyn stared after them, Daniel looked uneasy, and the whole table seemed to hold its breath while Adrian led her out of the dining room.

They crossed the hallway toward the entrance.

The front door opened, and Claire saw the wheelchair first.

Then she saw June.

Her grandmother wore a pale shawl over her shoulders, her face thinner than the last time Claire had seen her, yet those eyes were still gentle and sharp at once. Claire’s heart lurched so hard it hurt.

“Grandma—”

She rushed forward and bent down to hold her. June’s arms came around her with slow strength, and Claire buried her face against her shoulder. The familiar scent of soap and old linen struck her harder than anything that had happened all evening.

“You came,” Claire said, and her voice broke on the last word.

June patted her back. “How could I miss your family dinner?”

Claire drew back and looked at her. “You should be resting.”

“I am resting,” June said, smiling at her. “I’m resting in a chair while looking at my granddaughter.”

Adrian stepped beside them and inclined his head. “Mrs. Bennett.”

June looked him over from head to toe. Her gaze stayed on his face, thoughtful and quiet. “So you’re the husband.”

Claire’s pulse jumped again.

Adrian answered without pause. “Yes.”

June watched him for another moment, then gave a small nod. “Good. Help her more. She carries too much by herself.”

“I will,” Adrian said.

The dinner that followed passed in a blur for Claire. Evelyn spoke less after June arrived. Daniel tried to keep the table warm, filling every gap with awkward talk. Adrian remained composed from start to finish, his hand brushing Claire’s chair once, passing her water before she asked, cutting off every sharp look with a single glance.

By the time the meal ended, Claire’s mind felt wrung out.

The city lights dragged across the car window in broken gold.

June had grown tired before dessert ended, so Adrian arranged the car at once and took them to Moonwell Hospital himself. Claire sat in the back beside her grandmother during the first part of the ride. After June dozed off, the driver partition rose, and Adrian shifted closer.

Claire turned toward him. “You planned all this.”

“I did.”

“You knew my grandmother would come.”

“I invited her.”

Claire stared at him. “Why?”

“Because she matters to you.”

That simple answer landed harder than any grand speech could have. Claire pressed her lips together, then asked the question that had been burning all night.

“Who are you?”

Adrian looked ahead for a second, then back at her. “Before that, I owe you something else. I looked into you.”

Claire’s shoulders went stiff. “You investigated me?”

“Yes.”

Her chest tightened. “For what reason?”

“I wanted to know who I was marrying.”

The reply came so directly that Claire almost lost hers.

He continued, still calm. “I knew about Silvercrest Branch. I knew about your family. I knew your grandmother raised you. I knew enough to stay.”

Claire searched his face, trying to catch a crack in it. “Then tell me yours. What did you leave out?”

A faint pause passed between them.

“I saw you at Silvercrest Branch,” he said.

“That’s all?”

“For now.”

Claire almost laughed from pure frustration. “You dragged me through a legal bonding, showed up at my family table, and now you give me that?”

His eyes held hers. “You’ll know soon.”

The answer should have made her angrier. It did, a little. Yet the memory of his arm around her, his voice shutting Evelyn down, and the way he had brought June here with one phone call kept cutting through it.

By the time they reached Moonwell Hospital, Claire’s anger had thinned into a restless ache.

Moonwell’s private wing stood quiet under soft lights. Adrian handled everything before Claire could speak twice. A senior doctor came down in person. A VIP room was prepared within minutes. A private caregiver arrived with fresh linens, medication records, and a schedule already loaded onto a tablet.

Claire stood by the bed while June settled in, still trying to catch up with the speed of it all.

Adrian spoke to the doctor in a low voice near the door. His tone stayed even, yet every person around him moved faster.

When the room finally quieted, Claire walked over to him.

“Thank you,” she said.

He looked down at her. “You don’t need to thank me for this.”

“I do.” Claire drew in a breath. “And… can you do one more thing?”

“Say it.”

“When you’re with my grandmother, speak well. She worries about me.” Claire looked toward the bed, where June had turned her face toward them with tired eyes. “She spent her whole life trying to keep me safe. If she thinks I married badly, she won’t sleep.”

Adrian followed her gaze to June, then back to Claire. “I understand.”

“You’ll do it?”

“I’ll do more than that.”

June lifted a hand from the blanket. “Both of you, come here.”

Claire went first. Adrian stepped up beside her.

June looked at their joined shadows on the floor, then at Claire’s face. “Seeing you married lets me breathe easier.”

Claire’s throat closed. She crouched beside the bed and held her grandmother’s hand. “Grandma…”

June’s eyes shifted to Adrian. “You said you’re her husband. Then protect her properly.”

Adrian answered at once. “I will protect Claire. As long as I’m here, nobody gets to make her bow her head again.”

Claire’s lashes shook.

The words were plain. His voice stayed low. Even so, something in her chest gave way. All the strain she had carried through dinner loosened in one aching pull. She looked at him and found him already watching her, steady as ever, as if that promise had cost him nothing.

It cost Claire plenty. Her guard slipped before she could stop it.

They stayed until June’s breathing grew even. After the nurse dimmed the bedside lamp, Adrian guided Claire out with one hand at the middle of her back.

The elevator ride blurred. The lobby passed in soft color. Claire sat in the car and meant to stay awake, meant to keep asking questions until he answered all of them.

Her eyes closed somewhere between one traffic light and the next.

When she woke, the car had stopped.

Claire blinked and pushed herself upright. A gated estate stretched ahead under the hill lights, the manor rising beyond it in stone and glass, grand enough to make her chest seize for a moment.

She turned to Adrian. “Where are we?”

“Home.”

The single word left her staring.

He opened the door for her and offered his hand. Claire stepped out slowly, looking at the unfamiliar house, the broad steps, the silent staff waiting near the entrance. Her mind felt wrapped in cotton.

Adrian laced his fingers through hers and led her inside.

The foyer opened high above them, polished and still. A gray-haired butler approached at once.

“Prepare a room for Mrs. Blackthorn,” Adrian said.

Claire stopped walking.

Mrs. Blackthorn.

The butler bowed. “At once, sir.”

Claire stood in the middle of that strange, elegant house, Adrian’s hand still around hers, and stared at the staircase ahead while the last of her sleep fell away.