Derek’s POV
The mory still burned like acid in my veins. Standing in that opulent room, watching my father’s arm snake around her waist, I felt the familiar rage bubble up from sowhere deep and dark.
"What is she doing here?" The words ca out sharper than I intended, but I didn’t care. My hands curled into fists as I stared at the woman who had destroyed everything.
Felicia stood there like she belonged, her young face wearing that sa smug expression I rembered from years ago. She was still beautiful in that cheap, obvious way that had apparently captivated my father enough to betray my mother.
The sight of them together made my stomach turn. This woman had been nineteen when my mother found them together. Nineteen and already skilled enough to wrap my father around her finger while my mother lay dying of heartbreak.
"What exactly are you trying to tell ?" I demanded, though part of already knew. The dread was building in my chest like a storm.
"I’m marrying Felicia." My father’s words hit like a physical blow.
The blood rushed to my head so fast I thought I might pass out. After everything that had happened, after the promises and the lies and my mother’s death, he was going to marry his whore.
For the first ti in years, I had felt sothing close to hope tonight. Sothing that resembled peace. And now this.
"You said you stopped seeing her after Mom died!" The shout tore from my throat, and I could taste the salt of unshed tears.
Felicia stepped back with theatrical grace, examining her nails like this conversation bored her. She had won, after all. Why should she care about my pain?
"Why are you so surprised?" My father’s voice carried that familiar condescension that made want to hit sothing. "I assud your friend had told you."
The ntion of Bella made sothing inside snap.
I lunged forward, reaching for his collar, but his guards were already moving. He backed away, pointing at like I was so rabid animal instead of his son.
"She didn’t know," I snarled. "Bella would never keep sothing like this from ."
Felicia’s laughter rang out like broken glass. My father joined her, and the sound made my skin crawl.
"You really don’t know her at all," he said, and his smile was pure venom. "Bella has known about us for months. I made sure of that. You can check the security footage if you want. She stood right there and watched with Felicia."
Each word felt like a knife twisting deeper.
"She chose to keep quiet because she knew that if she told you, I’d cut off her access to you completely. Smart girl, really. She picked her own interests over your feelings."
The room spun around . Not just because of his betrayal, but because the one person I had trusted completely had been lying to my face.
Present day.
"Your Highness, the file you requested."
The maid’s voice pulled back to reality. I watched her place the docunts on my desk before she disappeared, leaving alone with mories that felt like poison.
"You’re not seriously working right now, are you?" Serena erged from the bathroom, her hair still damp from the shower. She looked from the file to the closing door, then marched over and slamd it shut.
"No more interruptions," she declared, but I barely heard her.
I picked up the file without really seeing it. Anything to avoid looking at her, to avoid the conversation I could feel building.
"What’s wrong with you?" she demanded, perching on the edge of the bed. The silk nightgown she wore left little to imagination, riding up her thighs as she sat.
Once, that sight would have made forget everything else. Now it felt like looking at a stranger.
"Nothing’s wrong," I lied. "I’m just concerned about the illness spreading through the pack. Children are dying, Serena."
She tilted her head, studying like I was a puzzle she couldn’t solve.
"I know that’s serious, but this isn’t about sick children. This is about you pulling away from ."
"I’m not pulling away from anything." The defensive edge in my voice probably proved her point.
"You are, and I want to know why." She moved closer, her voice softening. "I want us to try for a baby."
The file slamd shut in my hands before I could stop myself.
"A baby? Really?" I couldn’t keep the frustration out of my voice. "So we can go through the sa cycle again? You get your hopes up, take the test, it cos back negative, and then you spend weeks crying?"
I stood up, needing distance from this conversation.
"Is that really what’s bothering you?" Her voice had changed, gone cold and sharp. "Or is this because she’s back?"
The words stopped dead. I had been heading for the window, but now I turned to face her, my heart hamring.
"You thought I wouldn’t figure it out?" She rose from the bed, her eyes blazing. "I found the diary pages you’ve been hiding."
My blood turned to ice.
She walked to the nightstand and pulled out two familiar pieces of paper. Pages I had read so many tis the words were burned into my mory.
"This is Bella’s diary, isn’t it?" She held them up like evidence. "She writes about you like you’re the center of her world."
I moved before I could think, snatching the pages from her hands.
"How dare you go through my things?" I towered over her, my voice coming out as a growl.
But even as anger consud , part of wondered what else she had read, what other secrets were about to co spilling out between us.
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