Chapter 148

Olivia’s POV

“You’ve failed us, Olivia,” Father said, his gaze sharp and his tone sharper. “We were expecting you to be Luna.”

“I could still be Luna,” I told him.

“No,” Mother said. Her own eyes were like daggers, each piercing me down to the heart. Even as a child, she had never showed me warmth. I wasn’t sure why I had expected to find any now.

Perhaps it had been life on the road that made me hope my parents would be happy to hear from me.

Instead, they seemed more worried about my presence in their house would do to their reputation.

“You’ve ruined all your chances, Olivia,” Mother continued. “You burned your bridges. And now we are going to do the same to you.”

“You’ve always been something of a disappointment,” Father said.

“I can fix this,” I said. “I just need some time and money to pull myself back up. I’m sure of it!”

“You tried to kill the Alpha’s mate,” Mother said, though I imagined what upset her most wasn’t that so much as the next thought, “And you got caught.”

“You were careless,” Father said. “We will not be the same. Take what you want from your room. We are going to destroy the rest.”

“You aren’t welcomed back here,” Mother said.

“We’re going to disown you,” Father said.

“You won’t drag us down with you.” Mother again.

“I get it,” I said bitterly. “Let me get my things and I’ll get out.”

In my bedroom, I had very little that actually mattered to me. My childhood was nothing but my parents’ expectations pushed down onto me. I didn’t have toys or games. I couldn’t even keep my thoughts safe in a journal. If they had found it, my parents would have read it.

So I didn’t go to my bedroom for any mementos or keepsakes.

Instead, I pulled all the books from my shelfs and make a pile of them on my bed. Then I lit a match.

I walked out of the house before the fire took hold. Truth told, I didn’t care if the house burned down or not. I just wanted to send a message and that seemed like the best way.

I walked to the nearby town, pleased when I heard the wail of firetrucks heading back the way I came.

My good mood didn’t last very long. In between ducking into alleyways to avoid the patrolling guards and enforcers, I caught sight of the news through the windows of the television repair shop.

Healer Amber Is Alpha Rafael’s Sister! Read the bottom scroll on the television screen.

That bitch took everything from me. My title. The man I was supposed to marry.

And now she was some lost princess?

Bullshit.

Right then and there, I vowed for revenge.

Though… with how things were, I would need some time to organize a good enough plan. After my last one failed, I wasn’t sure I’d have the effort to try again.

Hearing this news lit a fire within me though.

I had a few favors I could still call in.

Watch out, Amber.

This wasn’t over yet.

Julian’s POV

Mom was asking about Olivia. Had she not heard about Olivia’s disgrace?

With Mom’s fragile mental state, I didn’t want to upset her, but I couldn’t just let her continue to have this misconception, could I?

No, I owed it to Amber and Alice, to make up for all the mistakes and secrets of the past, to tell Mom the truth now. Maybe she had time enough left to get to know her true daughter-in-law and her grandchild. She at least deserved that chance.

“Olivia isn’t here,” I told Mom. “Do you remember Amber?”

“Amber?” Mom asked. Her eyes went a little wide for a moment. All of the sudden, the heart monitor kicked into high gear, beeping wildly. Her blood pressure monitor wailed too. A siren screeched in the hallway, signaling for the doctors to come in right away.

As the doctors and nurses came running, one turned to me and asked, “What did you do? You upset her!”

All I had tried to do was talk about my wife.

The nurses injected Mom with something, a sedative maybe, and she seemed to calm down.

Was this how it had to be, then? Was talking about Amber too much? Did I have to keep the woman I loved a secret again for my mother’s sake?

How could I possibly survive that?

My heart heavy, I stepped out of the room when directed by the nurses so the doctor could work.

I pulled out my phone. Amber still hadn’t called me back, and now I wasn’t sure if I should try to reach out again.

The pull of our bond tugged at me, feeling uncomfortable now when it was usually a comfort.

Maybe I had acted too soon dumping those pills. Maybe, with this distance, I really needed them now.

Frightened about what I had just experienced – had I nearly killed my mom? – I walked to the nurses’ station.

I remembered the name of the prescription, so I asked her for some.

She gave me a curious look. “That’s not something we just give out, Alpha.”

“I know,” I said. “I had a prescription but I misplaced it.”

“Why would you need such a thing?” she asked.

I swallowed hard, then told her the truth. “I miss my mate, but she doesn’t want me back. I’m feeling the strain.”

Understanding crossed the nurse’s face then. “Yes, I understand. Give me a moment.”

She disappeared into a backroom. Before I could feel some regret, she returned with the bottle of familiar looking pills and handed them over to me.

As I turned away, I unscrewed the cap and down two of them.

Amber’s POV

I sat at Rafael’s dining room table with him and Mary. There was brunch food before us but no one was eating. Instead, Mary was glaring at me, while I was trying not to notice. Rafael was on the phone a lot, and when he wasn’t, he was rubbing at his temples like he had a throbbing headache.

“The good news is, generally, people seem to be handling the news rather well,” Rafael said. “Early polling shows that the public is excited about a new potential princess, especially one as well-known and well-liked as Healer Amber.”

“What’s the bad news?” I asked him.

“Your clinic is already overrun with people hoping to see you,” Rafael said. “I’m not sure when you’ll be able to return to work.”

That wasn’t just bad news, it was terrible!

But we were so close to finding a permanent solution! “I can’t just quit now,” I said.

“Even if you went, Amber, you won’t be able to get anything done. The public is practically crawling the walls. They are here too, lining up outside the fence, hoping to see you.”

“What a hassle,” Mary muttered. “Bet you regret what you’ve done now, huh?”

“I didn’t do this,” I snapped at her, not for the first time.

Her cool steady glare remained on me. She didn’t believe me now, just like she hadn’t believed me all the times before.

“I can make a statement,” Rafael said. “Demand the people leave you alone.”

“You think that will work?” I asked.

Rafael was quiet, which was a no.

“If they are curious about me, then they will be curious about Alice too,” I said, realizing. “Rafael, we need to get her here.”

“If it’s not already too late,” Mary said.

“What does that mean?” I demanded.

“If they found out where you worked, you think they don’t know about your daughter?” Mary asked. “I bet there are crowds there already.”

Rafael picked up his phone.

My heart sank.

Gods, why did I ever think she would be safe on her own?