Chapter 7 You're the One Afraid of Being Seen
1299 Words
I didn't even get a word out before the call disconnected, leaving my protest about being exhausted unsaid.
Liam turned to me with raised eyebrows. "Another Pack business dinner tonight?" he asked.
I shook my head. "I have no idea. He didn't mention it."
We had barely touched the dishes on the table. Not wanting to ruin our dinner, I quickly opened w******p to decline Alpha Damien, but Liam cut me off before I could.
"Don't refuse," he urged. "What if it's about my promotion?"
My brief daydream of a quiet night evaporated instantly.
"Is becoming Gamma all you ever think about?" I snapped. "Can't you see how drained I am? I don't want to go. I just want to rest."
Liam immediately switched to guilt, clasping my hand with theatrical tenderness.
"Celia, I am sorry, all right? I'm a failure, I get it. If I weren't so useless, you wouldn't have to bother with him. But you know our situation. We're out of options."
His hands slid onto my shoulders, massaging them in that calculated way of his, his breath hot against my ear.
"Alpha Damien is calling you personally? It must be important. Once I land that Gamma position, I will prove my worth. You won't have to suffer anymore."
The ugly truth was that Alpha Damien owned me. My family's debts had been paid off by him, which meant I couldn’t say no.
Liam had trapped me in a marriage built on guilt and pity. They say a woman's regrets after marriage are just the price of her poor choices before it. I used to think I had entered this marriage clear-eyed, but lately I doubted myself.
When the car stopped outside Penelope's, Liam grabbed my wrist before I could exit. "Sweetheart, don't forget to seize the opportunity tonight," he said.
Seize the opportunity? The irony was almost laughable.
Here was a man who could not father children, yet he was obsessed with having one.
"How exactly?" I retorted. "If he uses protection, what am I supposed to do?"
"Use this to tamper with it." With a conspiratorial smirk, Liam tapped my brooch.
My blood ran cold.
The real reason he had pushed me to wear the brooch was clear. It wasn't an accessory.
It was a tool for his scheme.
Liam begged in a desperate, wheedling voice, "My life is already set in stone. If we could just have a child together, my life would feel whole. It doesn't matter who the father is. As long as it's yours, I will raise it as my own. Go on, Celia. I know this is hard on you."
Every time he said those words, a pang of disgust twisted in my gut.
I couldn't help but ask, "You really don't mind raising another man's child?"
He hung his head like a kicked dog, his usual spineless look taking over. "I'm not a real man. I'm worthless. I can't even look at myself."
He clung to me, bawling like a child, his tears making my heart clench with guilt.
"Enough, stop crying," I soothed, rubbing his back. "I spoke too harshly."
No man wants to be cheated on, and in his shoes, I understood. It wasn't that Liam didn’t care about blood ties. He just couldn't change reality.
But he was prideful to a fault. He would sooner swallow broken glass than let anyone find out he was infertile.
So he would rather use another man to impregnate me than risk his reputation.
I pushed open the private room door to find Alpha Damien slouched comfortably, taking slow, deliberate sips of coffee.
His gaze locked onto me, dragging up my legs like a physical touch.
Liam had picked this outfit, a skin-tight, thigh-high black dress meant to entice. Shrugging off my coat bared way too much leg, and I tugged self-consciously at the hem.
As I sat, Damien's hand settled possessively on my thigh. "How did you get here?" he asked.
I avoided his eyes. "By taxi."
He just lifted an eyebrow, silently calling my bluff.
A glance toward the window confirmed it. He had seen Liam drop me off.
I ducked my head. "He drove me."
"You," he said, his tone somehow warm despite the disappointment. He poured the coffee with agonizing slowness. "Warm yourself up," he said, his voice low. "It’s cold out."
"Thank you," I said, taking a delicate sip of coffee.
"About what I mentioned earlier, have you considered it?" he asked abruptly.
His question threw me off. "Considered what?"
"At the airport, when we parted. I told you to leave him."
"Oh, that..." I fumbled, caught unprepared. My gaze fell to the cup between us as I sank into thought.
His arm draped casually over my chairback as he declared, "You are divorcing Liam tomorrow."
His tone brooked no argument. It was an order, not a suggestion.
"Alpha Damien, I can't do that," I said.
"What's so special about him?" I felt him shift closer, his knee brushing mine.
I could have asked him the same. Why this obsession with my marriage?
Steeling myself, I countered, "I know you and I won't last. I'm not fooling myself. You're just caught up in the novelty. Why put me through this?"
I took a shaky breath. "And if I divorce? It would be convenient for you. I would be at your beck and call. But I would just be another divorced woman in this city, alone with no one to turn to. Liam is my rock. He has been there for me through everything. I will not abandon him."
This was not about appealing to his pity. I needed him to understand my life wasn't his personal playground to amuse himself in.
As expected, his expression didn't flicker. He kept pouring coffee until it overflowed, the dark liquid spilling across the table.
"Alpha, it is overflowing," I said.
"People have limits," he said quietly, "just like this cup."
The message was clear. I was overstepping.
"Celia," he said, setting down the teapot and meticulously wiping his hands. "If you won't walk away, I will make it happen for you."
"I..." I began, but before I could refuse, Alpha Damien raised his hand, locking eyes with me.
"Who are you trying to fool, clinging to a loveless marriage? What has Liam ever done besides hold you back?"
"Love," I blurted out. “It’s not a loveless marriage.”
At that word, his lips curled faintly, not in mockery but with something closer to pity, or the exasperation of watching someone stubbornly blind themselves to reality.
"You think Liam loves you?" he asked.
I nodded without hesitation. "Yes."
He tilted his chin toward my phone. "Call him. Right now. Tell him to come get you."
Confused, I obeyed. Maybe my earlier refusal had annoyed him. When I dialed Liam, his tone was laced with annoyance.
As I shrugged on my coat to leave, Alpha Damien followed me out.
We stood at the entrance, the night air sharp with cold. He grabbed my hand and tucked it into his coat pocket. The moment I tried to pull back, afraid of being seen, his grip tightened, unyielding.
"Damien," I whispered, scanning the shadows, "someone might see."
He turned, his gaze lazily trailing down to me, "You're the one who is more afraid of being seen, aren't you?"
"If an outsider saw you being too familiar with a married woman, it could hurt the Pack's reputation." I fumbled for my words under his teasing look.
"Are you worried for me," he countered, "or just scared?"
Admitting I feared gossip would only invite trouble. "For you," I said.
He saw through my lie but did not press further. "Relax. I'm the Alpha. It's no one’s business who I spend time with."
- Writer
