Chapter 4
Chapter 4
+5 Points
That night, I didn’t sleep in the master bedroom.
I quietly carried my suitcase into the unused guest room, forgotten in the corner just as I
was.
Midnight came, and sleep remained a stranger
to me.
I walked out, hoping a glass of water would ease the pain in my stomach, but I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard Alice’s voice
coming from the master bedroom.
“I should be the one attending Kieran’s mating ceremony,” she said passionately. “I’m his
mother.”
I was frozen in place.
Alice’s voice trembled, each word stabbing into my heart like a blade.
“If you hadn’t said you didn’t want a pup, I
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wouldn’t have implanted our embryo in Zara’s womb. But now… it’s too late.”
Jameson sighed heavily, his voice carrying a weight that felt noble and great.
Tears blurred my vision, my wolf contorted with
disbelief and fear.
He spoke again, softly, trying to comfort her.
“Don’t worry. Even if we can’t announce your identity to the world, when Kieran gets married, you’ll be seated at the head table. You’ll be
introduced as his mom. You deserve that.”
Alice quieted down, comforted by his words.
“But…” she hesitated, her voice soft and
uncertain. “What if Zara really wants to sever your mate bond? What if she really wants to leave?”
Jameson laughed shortly, contemptuously. “She won’t. Zara has depended on me for forty years. No job, no skills-where could she possibly go?”
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“She’s nothing like you,” he added sarcastically. “You’re talented, able to find work anywhere.
Zara? She can only sweep floors and wash dishes.”
Their laughter echoed between the walls, like rotting wood.
I collapsed to the ground.
This was reality, the raw truth.
I wasn’t a mate, nor a mother.
I was just their unpaid maid, the surrogate.
All because Alice didn’t want to carry the pup herself.
I endured the pain, brought him into this world, raised him.
And now, they want to return him to her, as if the pup I birthed belonged to her from the
start.
I swallowed my tears, clutching the burning pain in my stomach, stumbling back to the
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guest room.
+ 5 Points
Three days later, Jameson and Alice appeared, looking pristine.
He wore a charcoal gray suit with a matching tie, while Alice donned a flawless navy blue silk dress, like a pair straight out of a fashion magazine.
They halted when they saw me sitting in the living room.
Alice smiled triumphantly, her face glowing with victory.
“Zara, don’t be upset. I know the bride called me ‘mom’ first today, but it’s just a formality,” she said sweetly. “She’ll call you mom every day after this. I’m just temporarily sharing part of the responsibility.”
Jameson didn’t smile.
He frowned, looking at me with complete disapproval,
“If you hadn’t let yourself become like this,
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Kieran wouldn’t have had Alice stand in for you. You should be thanking her instead of throwing a fit.”
His tone was superior, as if bestowing a favor upon a stray wolf.
He added, almost as a warning, “Diana is moving in tomorrow. Try to clean this place up, will you? If you act like a proper housekeeper today, I may still consider you as my mate.”
I forced myself to smile, slowly nodding.
It didn’t matter anymore.
The new owner of this house would soon arrive.
Anything I cleaned today was not for Jameson-
nor for them.
Seeing me agree so quickly, Jameson frowned, suspicion flashing across his face, as if something was amiss.
He opened his mouth, seemingly about to ask my plans, but Alice gently tugged on his sleeve.
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45 Points
“Let’s go,” she said. “We’ll be late.”
He hesitated for a moment, then followed her
out the door.
As soon as they left, I pulled my suitcase from
behind the couch.
I was about to drag it out when Kieran burst through the door.
He nearly crashed into me.
He stopped, his eyes drifting to the suitcase.
“What a joke,” he groaned, rubbing his temples. “Mom, can we not do this today? I’m already swamped, and now you’re pulling this stunt?”
He glanced around, disgruntled. “This place is a mess. Can’t you clean up a bit?”
I didn’t answer, silently walking past him.
He reached out to block my path.
“Where are you going?”
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I stared directly into his eyes.
+5 Points
“Where I go is none of your concern. I’m not your mom, am I?”
His eyes widened in shock. “What are your talking about?”
But before I could respond, his phone rang.
He picked it up clumsily, still glaring at me.
“I don’t have time for this,” he barked into the phone, then hissed at me, “If you can’t help, don’t make things worse. Dad and I are already overwhelmed. If you leave-don’t come back.”
He thought his words would intimidate me.
But they didn’t know everything had already been arranged.
I didn’t look back.
He had long forgotten that this house was my dowry-a gift I gave to this family.
This house was never his father’s property.
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It was mine.
The house had already been sold, the paperwork was in progress.
I had timed it perfectly, so when I boarded the plane to leave this pack, the payment would go straight into my account.
As for them?
They would be left outside, homeless.
But none of this mattered anymore.
They were no longer my concern.
For forty years, I poured my life into a mate who
never deserved it.
Not anymore.
From now on, I will live for myself.
I choose freedom.
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