The Woman He Saved

Proposal

“I want them to pay!” she declared, “No I want them to die!” Cara banged the table so hard that everyone was startled.

“How dare you act so disrespectful in front of the alpha? Such insolence is intolerable and I will not have it!”

“Nothing scares me at all, I am a wounded tiger, I have nothing to lose I have already lost everything. If I am to go down I might as well take someone with me!” Cara barked back and her eyes sparkled with determination.

“Then I might as well…” before the lady would pull the rest of her gun out she was silenced by the man behind the desk.

“Be quiet!” he growled sending chills down Cara’s spine .

Although Cara had tried to act strong, the depth and intensity of his voice was able to make her legs shake a bit. She tried hard to remain calm.

"I don't know if I should admire your guts or I should feel sorry for your ignorance of the whole situation in front of you," as he spoke these words his eyes changed colour into a deep red colour.

She moved back and covered her mouth in shock.

"Do you understand now what this means or are you that dumb?" he asked looking deep into her eyes.

Cara could not believe what she had just seen. Growing up she had been a fan of urban myths but never did she imagine that she would come face to face with one of them.

Those red eyes meant a whole lot and with her recollection of what that woman had said it only meant he was an alpha, a werewolf.

"You are the alpha, you are a werewolf!" she shouted with shock in her voic3.

"Now you got the hang of it, Meghan get a chair for our guest," he ordered the woman she had talked to before.

A chair was placed behind her and she was forced onto it. She felt a bit of pain in her abdomen and held back any expressions.

"So I see, revenge is that what you seek?" he asked her.

Cara nodded her head a bit and no words escaped her mouth.

“Woman how far are you willing to go for this your so-called revenge?” he moved with great swiftness and before she had gotten hold of the situation he was standing next to her.

A faint sound escaped her mouth as she sought the right answer in her mind.

“It seems to be the only way out of the situation I am in. I trusted the wrong people and I am in this mess because of that so I don't care even if I have to go to hell and make a deal with the devil I will do it willingly. Even if I have to go down there to hell and drag him by his lapels back to earth I will gladly. So as far as I know my life is not of important than what I am feeling right now. I will go to any lengths to get the revenge and get my daughter back!" she stood up and faced him head-on.

She felt her bones grow weary and she feared that she might have taken her speech a little too far.

“Then what if I ask you to become my bride?" he asked her as he moved forward and held her hand.

She almost choked on her saliva, how could someone ask that of her.

“Is this a test? And if I fail will you kill me?” she stammered trying to escape his grip.

“Miles!" Meghan as he had called her shouted with great irritation written all over her face.

“How dare you shout at your alpha?” he yelled back at her.

Meghan moved back with so much fear in her eyes.

“I am sorry!” she looked down

He shifted his focus back towards Cara again.

“What do you say?” he smirked as he asked her.

It was overwhelming and she felt a great urge to puke. She could not hold herself back and she hurried out of the room. She knelt next to the toilet as she puked her heart out. She looked at her face in the mirror as some bandages covered it. She could not believe that someone she loved could end up ruining her this much.

Who would like a hideous beast like me, with all these scars and burns?

She had once been an epitome of beauty but the betrayal she had suffered from her husband and best friend had left those scars on her face as evidence that true love was nothing but a myth more than the existence of werewolves which had proved to be a real.

It was true that he had saved her but that was no reason to joke with terms like marriage.

“Cara!” he knocked on the door.

“What, what do you want?” she asked him.

“You know this is not the way to do things, you might as well open the door and we can have a rational conversation like adults."

She ignored him as she stood looking at the door. The door was kicked hard and it fell next to her.

“Hey!” she shouted.

He moved towards her and gently caressed the side of her face.

“Why are you doing this to me? What’s there to admire about me, look at my face it’s disfigured?” she pointed at her face.

“The scars are what makes you that beautiful,” he chuckled lightly before walking away.

She could not believe everything he had said and her past had taught her not to trust people easily as the last man she had trusted was the one who had put her in that position she was in.

********

Cara met Richard Mesa back during her college days, one could say it was not love at first sight. They were together in Law school at Oxford University and the years they had been there, they had managed to give an illustration of what the third world war might have been like. Constantly challenging each other, it was an eyesore even for the lectures to watch. No one dared pick sides when it came to their continuous fights and all people could do was sit and watch in the terraces.

Richard blamed Cara for having a nepotism fixed mindset whilst she blamed him for being inflexible and one-sided.

“All your points are based in support of the wealthy and you do not acknowledge that justice should be served despite one's status in the society. The rich have an advantage over the poor even in the courts of laws and you are the people who make it easy for the rich to escape judgement,” he would say.

“That is absurd, justice is served despite one status in the society. Take for instance the Rodrigo case of last year, the aristocratic society was a mess because its member had sentenced Rodrigo to a death sentence. You are rigid and choose to ignore what is in front of you. You are all for pity parties," that was her defence.

They never met eye to eye and every time they did they ended up fighting.

“I will pay for the outing,” she had said during one of their group outings.

“That is your problem, you trust fund babies you assume that everyone else is broke to even get themselves a decent meal!" he lashed out at her.

Richard always hated coming second and for the first time in his life, he was put in that position to add to the embarrassment it was by a woman. He was one of those inflexible men who believed that women's place in society was at home taking care pf children. He believed that it was through her connections that she had made it into Law school and always coming first. He ignored all the possibilities that maybe she had the looks and the brains. He resented her in place of all the rich people who had messed with him in the past.

After they graduated they went their separate ways but fate had other plans for them. They had met in court and for some reason Richard had won the case. The case made Richard feel superior about himself and he decided that he might take his chances with Cara.

“Let me take you out for drinks,” he had volunteered, “No I will make it dinner,” he changed his mind instantaneously.

“Okay sure,” she stammered as she was surprised.

He had resented her for as long as she could remember and suddenly he had changed his mind.

For their dinner he had taken her to one of the hottest and hard to reserve spots in town. It was a place where aristocrats met and dined. It was different to the image he had potrayed in the past.

“So Mr.' I Hate Rich People' is now feeding off his rich clients, is it?” she asked him sarcastically.

“I finally realized that if you do not do what is necessary to survive life will pass you by quickly whilst you are bitter about other people. I got a job at Morel and Smits, I am an associate there and if all goes well I will be made partner. A man has got to eat and stay healthy,” he bragged about his achievement.

“Wow, you are making it big. That is great,” she smiled at him.

“Yes, it is, life has been treating me great for a change not that you would understand." he replied as he chewed on his food, "I have always wanted to know, hey who came first in our graduating class back in school?"

“I came out third, maybe it’s some nerd we barely gave attention to. So are you married now?” she replied changing the subject.

He put his fork down and smiled at her before saying, “No I haven’t found the one I am still looking ”

With those words a new romance was born, it was like they were totally different than when they were in college. He had a gentleness he had lacked back in college and Cara was a sucker for gentle men. In less than a year of dating, they shocked the whole class of 2016 when they announced news of their wedding. It was no news to anyone who had known them back in college about how much they had been a mess constantly fighting.

“Tell me every detail, how did I happen?” Skylar who was one of Cara’s college friends was mostly shocked about the news.

“It just happened we just ended up liking each other,” that was her only reply.

"Are you sure?" Skylar had empasised on that question with much worry.

If Cara had been able to read in between her worrying then maybe she would havr been able to avoid the disaster she was now in.

She loved him and her biggest regret then was the time they had spent hating each other. She was more than ready to make new memories with him, and in no time they had been blessed with a daugher they chose to name Hannah.

Her life was just flowing in a perfect order and she was willing to do anything to keep it like that. After much deliberation on the topic of her quitting her job, she had finally drew the white flag to make her husband happy. It was not a decision she had made easily but seeing him happy made her feel contented. Everyone who knew and understood how much she loved working, was greatly worried over her sudden decision but as an adult they had let her be.

Just before her third wedding anniversary, her parents were involved in a fatal accident that claimed the lives of them both. It was a devastating time for her but Richard had been there for her that she had sailed smoothly through that hard wave. Being an only child all of the Matthews wealth went to her, adding her to the list of richest women in London.

A lot of people predicted the dark cloud that was about to hover over her head and they had advised her to find a way to keep her inheritance separate from the assets she had accumulated together with her husband over the years in their marriage. She scorned at the idea of it as she never envisaged that he might betray her. She believed that if she stayed in his shadow supporting him, respecting him nothing would go wrong. However after much debating she had listened to her friend Skylar and put her daughter as the one to inherit everything she had.

Her marriage was about to be tested, various people approached her with va claims about her husband’s infidelity which she had chosen to ignore. Cara believed that people would always talk but one encounter had left her in doubt.

“Hello Cara, do you remember me?” a lady had approached when she was doing her shopping.

It was not an unfamiliar face but she could not link it to a name.

"I am sorry I don't recall," she politely said.

“I am Leonor, we were in college together,” the lady said.

“Yes I remember now, how are you doing?” she hugged her.

They had not been close in college but they had no bad blood between them.

“I am okay, how about you?"

"I have been good thank you. So where are you working now?" Cara asked.

"I am helping out in my family business. Lest I forget, I heard about the divorce I am so sorry I never took Emma to be the backbitting type. How could she steal Richard from you?" Leonor scorned.

Cara was confused as to what she was talking about. Nothing was wrong in her marriage with Richard.

"What do you mean?" she had a confused look on her face.

“I heard about your divorce and how Richard is now with Emma. Am I wrong?"

“What? That is not true I am married to Richard, we have been married for three years now and we have a daughter who is two," she raised her hand to show her wedding band.

“I am sorry, maybe Iheard wrong. I didn't mean to cause trouble. See you around,” Leonor ran off.

It had become much of a habit having people look at her with pity over a divorce she knew nothing about. She needed to hear her husband’s views on the case, as a lawyer she had learnt to make conclusions based on evidence presented.

She drove to her husband’s office. Richard had been promoted to partner, this was one of the benefits which came along with the Matthews name he had married into. He worked with Emma who happened to be Cara’s college friend. Cara could not believe why people where coming up with such an outrageous rumor, Emma was engaged to someone else.

“Hello ma’am Mr. Mesa is in a meeting right now,” the receptionist stopped her from entering his office.

“Tell him his wife is here and its urgent," she ordered the receptionist who was proving to be arrogant.

The ruckus had gone on for about five minutes before Richard's office door opened. Emma walked out of the office.

“What is this all about?” Emma asked before she spotted Cara.

“I told her Mr. Mesa was in a meeting and she kept on insisting to go in,” the receptionist said.

“I shout fire you for that, don’t you know who she is?” Emma said with an angry face.

“Don’t fire her she was doing her job,” Cara walked past them into the office.

Her husband sat on his chair.

“What is it?” he asked her with a wry look.

She understood why he was serious, they had promised each other that the office was a no go area and it was the first time she had showed up unannounced.

“What is this I am hearing about a divorce ?” she said angrily.

“What do you mean, who did you hear that from?” he stood up and walked towards her before placing his hand over her shoulder.

“Leonor we were in college together.”

“Leonor!” he called out the name with shock written all over his face.

“Cat got your tongue,” she shouted at him.

“No, I am shocked that she would do that. Leonor and I dated back in college, I broke up with her in college when she cheated on me. That is why she must be bitter and spreading such outrageous rumors."

“Don’t lie to me!” she paced around the room, she knew when he was not being completely honest with her and it was one of those moments.

“Babe why would I lie to you. I am sorry I did not tell you about her, I felt that we didn't need to talk about the past. I dated a lot of girls which I regret a lot and I didn’t want that to ruin our marriage but if you feel like it is necessary I will tell you all about them. I am sorry,” he held her gently and gave her a light kiss.

His kisses still melted her even after three years of being married.

“If I have to do that, I will,” he hugged her before looking at her with a dejected look on his face.

“No, you don’t have to do that. I believe you,” she hugged him again.

He helped her to a chair and she sat before he kissed her lightly on the forehead.

There was a soft knock on the door

“Come in,” Richard responded.

Emma walked into the room.

“I am sorry for eavesdropping, Caracan I tell you something,” Emma had a somber look when she said these words.

Cara simply nodded yes.

“You have been my friend since elementary school and I will never do anything to ruin that relationship. My relationship with your husband is strictly professional," Emma explained.

It was true that she was her oldest friend and Cara was going to take her word for it.

“Okay,” Cara stood up and kissed her husband goodbye, “I have to go pick Hannah from daycare. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

****************

Something still felt off to her and she met with Skylar who was her best friend and they had been in college together.

“What did Leonor tell you?” Skylar asked with anticipation all over her face.

Cara narrated everything that had happened starting from her meeting with Leonor and how she confronted Richard.

“Leonor and Richard indeed dated, but on this matter I personally choose to clear Leonor of any suspicions. Leonor recently got married to a millionaire and the family business she was talking about is from her husband’s side. They are happily married I have to say. The rumor has been going on amongst all of our former classmates. I met Matt and Oscar, we were in college together and they said the same thing about Emma and Richard. Men hardly gossip but the level of emphasis they put on the relationship between Emma and Richard is something on a whole new level. I have always warned you about Emma she is a green snake lying in wait in the green grass. Something is going on and we have to figure out what it is," Skylar had a serious look.

In as much as she wanted to believe her husband something was off. She needed to figure the truth out and if her suspicions were wrong she would just apologize to her husband.

“What do you suggest?” she asked Skylar.

“Let us hire a private investigator, I know someone who is reputable. He will have all the answers in less than a week," Skylar suggested.

The idea had not crossed her mind but it seemed to be the right one at that moment.

The private investigator had promised to have proof if there was indeed an affair in less than a week, but the wait had not been easy. Having to act as if everything was okay despite knowing that it was not was not an easy task. Amidst the doubts she had changed her will and had stated Skylar as the one who will be in charge of the Matthews estate until Hannah would come of age.

Her phone rang and she picked it up hastily.

“Come out,” Skylar only said those words before hanging up.

She picked her on the go bag and walked to her driveway. Skylar had parked her car there, she opened the passenger door and stepped into the car.

“The investigator just contacted me and gave me a name of a place we have to go to right now. Are you ready for the truth?” Skylar had a concerned look on her face.

“Yes let’s go,” Cara replied with no ounce of hesitation.

She looked at the name and it was one of the resorts they frequently went to before getting married to Richard. As they fast approached the place her heart raced faster. Her mind told her to just let it go and act like nothing happened whilst another mind told her to confront the truth and act from there.

They drive into the driveway and Skylar handed the car keys to the valet. They walked to the reception.

“Hello I am Mr. Mesa's wife may you direct me to his room,” she spoke to the receptionist.

“Ma’am I am sorry, he is in a meeting."

Skylar slid five hundred euro bills towards him.

“It is the last room down the corridor to your left. If anything happens I will say you got past me forcefully,” he looked the other way and let them get past him.

They followed the direction and came to the last room they had been directed to.

Cara hesitated before pressing the door bell.

“Room service is here,” Emma opened the door wearing nothing but a mini night dress.

She was startled and released the glass of wine that was in her hands.

“Honey are you okay what was...?” Richard stopped his sentence midway as he spotted Cara.

He had nothing but a drying towel around his waist.

Cara could not find the right words to express the betrayal she felt from the two most important people in her life.

"I can explain!" Richard said.

“I have always had my doubts about you Emma, putting up a show. I knew you were fake but I didnt think you lacked a spine, betraying your friend like that. I should just beat you right now," Skylar started to fold her long sleaved shirt.

“Don’t get your hands dirty, I will make them both pay for this. Richard, Iwill make sure you lose everything in alimony and I will take Hannah with me. Emma we are done and I will make you pay also!" Cara pulled Skylar's hand and walked away.

“Cara hold on!” Richard screamed after her, "I am sorry, think about our daughter” Richard gave the most insane excuse.

She could not believe that was going to use their daughter as an excuse at a time like that. She had to get away from him and all that she could do was run to the car.

“I am sorry, I wasn't able to protect you. I thought he had changed bu I was wrong," Skylar hugged Cara.

“It’s okay, I will get through this," Cara smiled nervously as if to reasure herself more than Skylar.

Cara had never trusted anyone in her life and for the first time she put her guard down only to be betrayed.

She was in no condition to face her daughter and Skylar had volunteered to take her for the night. She needed to clear her head and find a way forward.

As she was drilling herself on what she was going to do her front door rang, the only person who came to mind who might have been there was Skylar.

She opened the door and before she could act bullets came flying and hit her chest. She fell to the ground.