Derek’s POV
My jaw clenched as I stared down my father and Serena. The weight of their expectations pressed against my chest like a vise.
"That’s not going to happen. I’ll raise my daughter on my own. Neither of you will get anywhere near her, because it’s clear that none of you actually care about her wellbeing." My voice carried a finality that left no room for argunt.
My father simply ignored the declaration, sliding into the driver’s seat of their car. The ride back to the guest house passed in tense silence, my knuckles white as I gripped my hands in my lap.
The mont we stepped through the front door, my stomach dropped. Hugo stood in the center of the living room like a storm waiting to break. His powerful arms were crossed over his broad chest, dark eyes blazing with barely contained fury as they locked onto .
"How does it feel knowing you destroyed her ntal health?" Hugo’s voice cut through the air like a blade.
My gaze darted away, unable to et those accusatory eyes. Heat crawled up my neck as sha twisted in my gut.
"Don’t stand there judging . It wasn’t intentional," I muttered, the words feeling hollow even to my own ears.
Serena stepped forward, her face flushed with indignation. "Why don’t you ask her how it feels to wreck my marriage?" she shot back at Hugo, her voice shrill with desperation.
Hugo turned that withering glare on her, and I watched as she visibly shrank under its intensity.
"Are you naturally this stupid, or is your beta brain just completely empty?" Hugo’s roar echoed off the walls.
Serena’s body trembled as if she’d been physically struck. I realized she’d grown so accustod to unleashing her fury on that she’d forgotten not everyone would simply absorb her abuse in silence.
When Hugo’s rage turned on her, she looked to with pleading eyes, silently begging for my protection. I remained motionless. She’d earned every word of Hugo’s wrath.
"She didn’t destroy your marriage. She doesn’t even want to be recognized as the mother of his child. Tell your husband to stop stalking her. She said no, and no ans no." Hugo’s finger jabbed in her direction, each word delivered like a physical blow.
Serena’s hands clenched into fists at her sides, her whole body vibrating with the effort to restrain herself from striking him. But even in her fury, she recognized the dangerous energy radiating from the alpha before her.
"My husband doesn’t want her!" she scread, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Can’t you see what this really is? He wanted a child from , and when I couldn’t deliver, he decided Bella would do instead!"
My breath caught in my throat at her raw honesty. The pain in her voice cut deeper than any physical wound.
From the corner of my eye, I saw my father erge from the kitchen, a glass of wine in hand and wearing that insufferable smirk that ant trouble.
"So you’re the father of one of her children?" my father asked with casual cruelty.
The veins in Hugo’s forearms bulged as tension coiled through his powerful fra. His head turned slowly toward my father, and the temperature in the room seed to drop several degrees.
"Father, I warned you not to bring that up," I hissed through gritted teeth, dread pooling in my stomach as I watched the scene unfold.
But my father was already in full swing, wine loosening his tongue and amplifying his natural lack of tact. "I’m simply curious about the logistics. How exactly does a she-wolf carry pups from different alphas? Did she sleep with multiple n in one night, or was it spread out? Though I suppose it must have been the sa night, given that the children were conceived together."
Hugo’s veins shifted from blue to crimson, the color of barely leashed violence. His face darkened to match, and when his gaze found mine, pure terror shot through every nerve in my body. I’d seen that look before. It ant complete and utter destruction.
"Tell your father to keep his mouth shut. Those questions are going to lead to catastrophe," Hugo’s voice had transford into sothing inhuman, a growl that promised death to anyone who crossed the line.
"And I won’t let any of you take those children from her. She’s suffered enough." With those final words hanging in the air like a threat, Hugo stalked from the room.
Guilt crashed over in suffocating waves. Everyone seed convinced I was the villain in Bella’s story, and the accusation burned more than I’d expected.
After Hugo’s departure, my father fixed with that sa arrogant stare. "Don’t worry about that alpha. He’s all bark. Besides, I give you my word—that woman and her children will be living with us soon enough."
The pressure in my chest beca unbearable. I needed the sanctuary of the woods, needed to escape before the walls closed in completely.
As I moved toward the door, Serena stepped into my path. Tears carved tracks down her cheeks as she looked up at with shattered eyes.
"How could you do this to ? Didn’t you care about , even once?" Her voice broke on the last word.
"Serena, move," I said quietly, but she planted herself more firmly in front of .
"No. I need to know. Did you never love ? Not even a little?" The desperation in her voice made my chest ache.
I couldn’t et her eyes. The truth was complicated and painful. After our marriage, sothing had grown between us—not the consuming fire I’d felt for Bella, but sothing warm and real nonetheless. I’d fallen for her quiet strength, had imagined our future together.
But the mont Bella returned, those gentler feelings had been incinerated by the blazing intensity of my first love. If forced to choose, there was no contest. Bella carried my daughter. Bella was the mother of my child. And Serena could no longer give what I craved most.
"I love Bella," I said simply.
Serena’s hand flew toward my face, but stopped inches from contact. Sothing inside her seed to crumble, and she stepped aside with eerie calm.
"You’re free to pursue whatever makes you happy. My love for you runs so deep that I’d rather watch you find joy with her than force you to stay and be miserable with ." Her voice was barely above a whisper.
The words hit like a physical blow, stealing the breath from my lungs.
"Just one thing though. Even if you banish to the servants’ quarters, let stay close to you." She brushed past toward our bedroom, leaving standing alone with the weight of her sacrifice.
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