Bella’s POV
The locked terrace door rattled violently against the storm’s fury. Through the trembling windows, I could see the mansion’s solid construction withstanding nature’s assault.
"Not bad?" Hugo’s voice carried amusent mixed with disbelief.
"You were absolutely terrible. Don’t pretend you’ve forgotten how you made our lives difficult. Every ti another woman approached us, your face would darken like a thundercloud. You’d glare at her until she practically ran away." His laughter filled the room as he painted this picture of my younger self.
The mories crashed back like waves against the shore. I had been consud with jealousy whenever anyone showed him attention. I would literally position myself between him and other won, desperate to reclaim his focus.
As the full weight of my past behavior hit , I covered my face with both hands and groaned.
"God, I was mortifying," I mumbled through my fingers, wishing the floor would swallow whole.
The soft clink of glass made peek through my hands. He had poured wine and placed it within reach.
I accepted the glass gratefully, stealing a glance at him. My embarrassnt seed to delight him, and surprisingly, I didn’t mind his amusent.
"I thought it was charming," he said, making lift my head sharply.
"Really?" The question escaped before I could stop it. He nodded with certainty.
I shifted restlessly on the couch. Case files cluttered my desk, each one a reminder of our stalled investigation. We had hit another dead end.
Here we sat, drinking wine and watching the storm rage outside. The open office door frad the view of the terrace and its shaking windows perfectly.
"Absolutely charming," he confird.
"If you never sent those ssages, who was pretending to be you, Bella?" His voice dropped to a whisper, but the question hung heavy between us.
"I hate to state the obvious, but isn’t it clear?" I settled back into the couch and sipped the wine. It burned initially, then llowed into sothing warm and soothing. The bitter undertones sohow made my muscles relax.
I watched him struggle with the uncomfortable truth.
"My half-sister," I finished his unspoken thought. His eyes dropped to his glass before he drained it completely and refilled it imdiately.
"Could she really have done that?" he asked, though we both knew the answer.
"My phone was left behind when I disappeared. Soone used it to respond to you. It had to be soone with access to the house," I explained logically. He nodded slowly, processing this.
"That’s ancient history, Hugo," I tried to dismiss it, but he shook his head violently and raked his fingers through his hair.
"No, it’s not ancient. You don’t grasp how this affects everything," he said through gritted teeth.
"What’s so complicated? I wasn’t there to text you anyway. Maybe whoever responded actually helped you forget about ," I suggested, though the words tasted bitter.
The reality was I had already vanished by the ti soone answered his ssages. Yet this revelation clearly tornted him beyond reason.
"You’re missing the point, Bella. Soone deceived about your feelings. Soone I’m supposed to marry, and I still don’t know what else they’re capable of," he hissed, and finally I understood his dilemma.
"I suppose you have valid concerns," I conceded quietly.
"Would you have forgiven Vance for sothing like this?" he pressed.
My grip tightened around the wine glass as his intense gaze held mine.
"Marriage isn’t a ga, Bella. You don’t commit to soone just because circumstances demand it. When deception is involved, it poisons everything," he explained, and his words made feel insignificant.
My own marriage had never been rooted in love. It was purely transactional.
Hugo must have interpreted my silence correctly because he continued his interrogation.
"How did you et Vance?" He downed another glass quickly. "And does he know the children aren’t biologically his?"
"I was employed as his housekeeper when he discovered my pregnancy," I answered honestly. His head jerked up, and I saw tears gathering in his eyes.
"But it worked out fine, Hugo. The arrangent wasn’t degrading. Being a housekeeper didn’t diminish my worth, at least not in my opinion. I never felt ashad," I rushed to explain, alard by his emotional response.
"So you were carrying a child while working in dostic service?" he asked, identifying what disturbed him most.
"Countless won work throughout their pregnancies, Hugo, even married ones right up until delivery," I attempted to normalize the situation.
Understanding his tendency toward emotional spirals, I wanted to prevent that. Knowing his past behavior had been calculated rather than cruel made less resentful toward him.
While Derek and Parker had their own issues, their problems were fundantally different. They shouldn’t have been intimate with if they couldn’t handle their families’ expectations.
Derek should have warned about his father’s interference. Parker had plenty of ti to decide. If he could accept an alpha’s daughter, why not ?
"You’re drifting again," Hugo observed with a frustrated grunt that carried deeper aning.
"I was considering what you said about pretending because you didn’t want them to take again. What exactly did you an?" I pushed, noticing his resigned nods as he realized I wouldn’t relent.
"They discovered my feelings for you." He paused here, consuming another glass before continuing. "After reading the diary, they suddenly declared their interest too. They claid they were being fair by giving you options, despite knowing I had loved you silently for years. It felt like betrayal, but they justified it by saying you wanted their attention." His words were slightly slurred now, and sothing clenched painfully in my chest.
"Do you believe their justifications were sincere?" I continued pressing, knowing his friendship with them provided insights they hadn’t shared with .
A bitter smile crossed his features.
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