Bella’s POV
The words tumbled from my lips before I could stop them. "Yes, it’s all true. That night, after I spoke with you three, I returned ho to find the doctor had already contacted my family. Camilla had poisoned them against , filling their ears with lies. They were furious beyond reason. I won’t bla her for everything, but she was there when they started their verbal assault. They actually threatened to murder my unborn child."
My chest tightened as I forced myself to continue. The mory still burned like acid in my throat.
"But sothing changed in that night. For the first ti, I found the courage to defend myself and my baby. That’s when I fled to my bedroom." I paused, watching Hugo’s face contort with what looked like physical pain.
"Then what happened?" His voice was barely above a whisper, his hands pressed together so tightly his knuckles had turned white. He couldn’t even look at .
"I could hear their footsteps in the hallway, but none of them dared enter my room," I said quietly.
Hugo’s head jerked up, his eyes locking with mine. There was no doubt there, no skepticism. Just raw anguish that sohow gave the strength to push forward.
"I heard my stepmother plotting with the others." The words felt like broken glass in my mouth.
"What kind of plot?" He leaned back against the wall, eyes squeezed shut as if preparing for a blow.
"They were going to wait until everyone left for Alpha Jack’s birthday celebration. When the entire Oga district was empty and deserted, they planned to push down the stairs." My voice shattered on the last words, and his eyes flew open in horror.
"They wanted to kill my baby. By the ti the council arrived to investigate, there would be no pregnancy to protect. No evidence of their cri."
Hugo sat frozen, his face drained of all color. But the intensity burning in his eyes made every nerve in my body stand on edge.
"How did you—how did you escape?" His voice cracked with emotion I couldn’t quite identify. Compassion, yes, but sothing darker lurked beneath it. Guilt, perhaps.
"I climbed out my bedroom window," I whispered. "Then I made my way to the shipping docks where they load cargo for transport. The workers there don’t check for wolf scents on people like ."
I t his stare directly. "I suppose I blended in with all the other unwanted things being shipped away."
The silence stretched between us before I found my voice again. "Now explain to what you ant about exchanging text ssages."
"We did text that night. After you left the eting, I sent you several ssages. You read them and responded. I told you about my plan, everything I was thinking."
His voice had gone soft and distant, his gaze fixed on the storm raging outside the windows.
The wind was howling now, but the real tempest was building inside this room.
"I don’t understand. You rejected and the baby in front of everyone, so why would you text privately? What kind of sick ga were you playing?"
That got his attention. His head snapped toward , eyes blazing.
"I wasn’t playing any gas with you," he snarled.
"Then why didn’t you speak up when I told you about the pregnancy in front of the others?" The bitterness in my voice surprised even . "Why didn’t you defend before they could take you away from again?"
He started to respond quickly, but then his last word seed to hit him like a physical blow.
"What do you an ’again’?" His lips barely moved as he ford the question.
Before I could answer, the door exploded inward. Both of us whipped around to face the intruder.
Derek stood in the doorway like an avenging angel, his face twisted with rage.
"What the hell is happening here?" His voice cut through the room as he looked between Hugo and , as if we were children caught misbehaving.
"Don’t you dare burst into my room and interrogate like you have so kind of authority over , Derek," Hugo’s voice was deadly quiet.
I guessed the anger from learning the truth was finally spilling over, and I could feel it building in myself as well. I rose to my feet, squaring my shoulders to face Derek head-on.
"Did you tell him everything? Did you run crying to him about our conversation?"
Derek took several aggressive steps toward , but I thrust my palm up, stopping him cold.
"Even if I did, what makes you think you have any right to question about it?" My words were ice-cold.
Derek spun toward Hugo instead, his eyes landing on the phone in his friend’s hands.
"What is that?" In one swift motion, Derek lunged for the device, clearly aiming for the text conversation visible on the screen.
He only caught a glimpse before Hugo yanked it away, but it was enough.
Despite wanting to confront Derek about his intrusion, Hugo still looked shattered from the revelations about my past. The knowledge that I hadn’t been the one sending those ssages was eating him alive.
Those texts haunted too. The cruel, heartless words sent under my na were burned into my mory.
"So you’re both just sitting here wallowing in ancient history. Why?" Derek’s voice dripped with contempt. "Did you co running to him for sympathy, hoping he’d take your side?"
His arrogance made my blood boil.
"No, Derek. You’re the one who started this ss. The fact that you can stand there questioning after everything you’ve done makes wonder if I ever knew you at all."
I watched realization dawn on his face as he began to understand how badly he’d damaged our relationship.
"I see what’s happening here. You’re only focusing on my anger instead of recognizing the love behind it. If you could see how much I care for you, you wouldn’t be so furious with ."
"Stop right there." Hugo finally found his voice, stepping between Derek and . "You cannot demand that she divorce her husband and marry you when she’s made it clear she doesn’t want that. Especially when you already have a wife."
The storm outside seed to pause, waiting for the explosion that was surely coming.
User Comments
0 comments from readers