Bella’s POV
The storm had settled over our house just as the weather forecast predicted, creating the perfect backdrop for an evening of case review. I sat at my desk with a steaming coffee mug, fingers tangled in my hair as I studied the files spread before .
Chloe’s voice drifted up from downstairs. "Alpha Derek is here to see you."
My stomach tightened. Derek never made unannounced visits, especially not during weather like this. Sothing was wrong.
"Send him up," I called back, setting down my pen.
I had moved to the terrace despite the storm, needing the cool air to clear my thoughts about the ongoing investigation. The case had been consuming my mind for days, and I hoped the fresh perspective might help.
Derek’s footsteps echoed on the stairs before he appeared, his usual composed deanor replaced by visible agitation. His eyes darted around nervously, and I could practically feel the tension radiating from him.
"I’ve been wrestling with this case too," I said, watching him pace near the doorway. "Did you discover sothing new about the illness?"
He stopped moving, his jaw working silently for several monts. When he finally spoke, his words made my blood run cold.
"I’ve been wanting to have this conversation for a while, but I kept backing out. Then when your husband showed up today, I realized I couldn’t wait any longer."
The way he emphasized ’your husband’ sent warning bells through my head. I leaned back against the outdoor furniture, studying his face carefully.
"What conversation? You’re making nervous, Derek."
His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. Everything about his body language scread that this wasn’t going to be pleasant.
"I know," he said simply.
"Know what exactly?" I pressed, though sothing in my gut already suspected where this was heading.
"I know about Vance’s affair."
The words hit like a physical blow. My pen clattered to the table as I stared at him in disbelief.
"Seriously? This is what you ca here to discuss? My marriage?" My voice carried a sharp edge of annoyance.
"So you’re aware that he’s cheating?" His tone had shifted to sothing harder, more confrontational.
"No, Derek. Parker misunderstood sothing he saw. There’s no affair." I spoke through gritted teeth, hating that I had to defend my personal life.
"Parker is an alpha with keen instincts. I doubt he misread the situation. The point is, I can’t stand the thought of my daughter living under the sa roof as an unfaithful man."
There it was. The real reason for his visit. My hands trembled with barely contained fury.
"That’s none of your business, Derek. Vance is an incredible husband and a far better father than you ever were to our children. If I’d known you ca here to attack my family, I would have left you standing in the rain."
His expression darkened. "I offered you an alternative, Bella."
"What alternative?" Confusion mixed with my anger.
"I told you I’m prepared to take full responsibility for you and the children. All of them." His voice was steady, but his eyes burned with an intensity that made uncomfortable.
"Excuse ?" The words barely made it past my lips.
"You heard perfectly. I want you back in my life. You and our children. Why would you choose to stay with a man who openly disrespects you in your own ho?"
The audacity of his proposal left speechless for several heartbeats. When I found my voice again, it ca out deadly calm.
"Have you lost your mind? I’m married. You’re married. And what made you think I’d want any kind of relationship with you?"
"Don’t give excuses about the past—"
"I’m not making excuses. I’m telling you the truth. I have zero romantic feelings for you, Derek. I don’t want to be with you in any capacity beyond co-parenting."
His jaw tightened visibly. He nodded slowly, his hands forming fists before he forced them to relax.
"So I destroyed my life for you, and you just stopped loving ? Just like that?"
It sounded like the accusation in his voice was designed to make feel guilty, to make question my own feelings. It didn’t work.
"I was never in love with you, Derek. It was a teenage infatuation, nothing more. I’m grateful for our children, but that’s where it ends. I don’t want you. I don’t want you in my life that way."
A bitter laugh escaped him, filled with pain and sothing darker.
"Perfect. Absolutely perfect. You betrayed my trust, stole from my family, invaded my father’s private office, and I paid the price with extensive ti trapped in a marriage I never wanted. And now you get to dismiss like I ant nothing. Brilliant."
His words stung because there was truth in them, but I refused to let him manipulate with guilt.
"What about our mate bond?" he continued, his fingers drumming against the table surface. "Does that an absolutely nothing to you?"
I t his stare without flinching. The conversation had gone too far, and his desperation was making increasingly uncomfortable.
He must have read the rejection in my silence because his laugh turned cold.
"Fine, Bella. If that’s how you want to play this." His voice dropped to sothing that made my skin crawl. "Then I’m going to need custody of my daughter."
The threat hung in the air between us like a blade. For a mont, I couldn’t even process what he’d said. The words felt distorted, impossible.
I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to clear the ringing in my ears. When the full aning hit , it felt like the ground had shifted beneath my feet.
This wasn’t the Derek I thought I knew. This was soone capable of using our child as a weapon.
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