Chapter 9
In shock, Kieran clutched his cheek, his eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at his father.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!”
“You were the one who told me that Zara never earned a penny in this house. You said she did nothing but clean like a maid—isn’t that exactly what you said? And now you’re hitting me because of her? You claimed she never contributed financially and was no different
from a servant.”
He chuckled bitterly. “The only thing she ever did was barely take care of me, but you were the one providing for her all along. I’m not even her biological son, so why shouldn’t I speak the
truth?”
Jameson gazed into his son’s furious eyes, feeling as if he’d aged a decade in an instant. His voice trembled when he spoke.
“I was blinded by my anger! I didn’t mean it that way. Yes, your mother… she didn’t have
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Chapter 9
much of a career. She handled the cleaning and cooking, but she raised you. Have you forgotten? She dedicated so much of herself to you. Although she’s not your biological mother, it’s because I made a mistake when I was young. Yet you are still the child she carried painfully through those months, those years, and gave birth to. She cared for you, nurtured
you.”
Jameson’s voice overflowed with emotion, nearly pleading. He never imagined he would one day have to defend me to his son like this.
He never thought he’d have to sit down and explain to his son how much I truly meant to
him.
Kieran had just got married and he’s going to need my help in the future. When the pup arrives, one of the mates will have to continue working, right?
Alice, always so frail and never contributing, she’ll never be of help in raising the pup. Hire a nanny? They would never trust a stranger.
So Jameson mused: severing ties with me, or
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worse, banishing me from the home would be a foolish decision. In truth, Jameson’s feelings for me hadn’t completely vanished.
We’ve spent a lifetime together.
Even though Alice held a higher place in his heart, I was still his wife—his mate through the
passing years.
Yet Kieran was indifferent. He couldn’t see the
future, only his pride and resentment.
To him, I was no longer a mother, just a shadow of a memory, a forlorn maid who cooked his
meals and folded his clothes.
Strangers on the street probably garnered more respect from him than I ever did.
The fact that his father hit him on my behalf
fueled his anger further.
Watching his father, Kieran spat out one last comment before storming out. “Think whatever you want, but I’ll never acknowledge her as my
mother.”
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Jameson nearly fainted from the mixture of rage and heartache.
He had given Kieran everything-absolutely everything-and yet he was repaid with this.
coldness.
Later, he consoled himself, remembering that Kieran was still young and immature. Perhaps
he would come around.
We spent forty years together as mates.
Jameson wasn’t about to find another mate
and start anew at this point in his life.
He had grown weary of Alice and intended to sever those ties for good upon returning home.
Although he often said Alice was the soulmate of his wolf, deep down he knew—a soulmate
does not always make a good mate.
I was the one who shared life’s journey with
him.
But now that Kieran knew the whole truth, if he refused to support me in my old age, Jameson had no idea what he would do.
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That thought landed heavily in his heart, prompting him to sigh once more.
He had to talk to Kieran again, maybe have me take on more chores, assist with the grandchildren.
Even if I was not Kieran’s biological mother, I raised him for decades. I shouldn’t be cast
aside.
Yet despite all of this, Jameson was still trying
to break me, to compel me to bow down and beg, just for a peaceful retirement.
Meanwhile, Kieran had made up his mind.
He walked directly to Alice, bitterly announcing, “Aunt Alice, I now know you are my real mom. Why don’t you move into our house?”
“As for that she-wolf, I’ll make sure she’s out of
here by the time I return home tomorrow.”
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