Chapter 52

Agnes

As soon as I saw that headline, I practically bolted out of bed and ran straight to Elijah. I found him in the living room, his tie loose and his feet kicked up on the ottoman with a book open in his lap. I shoved the phone in his face without preamble.

“Look at this.”

He frowned, leaning closer. My hand shook as he read the headline, then saw the grainy photographs; one from our kiss in the restaurant, and then another from the airplane. The narrative was clear enough without me having to explain it to Elijah.

Elijah sighed heavily and shook his head. His fingers plucked the phone from my hands. “You shouldn’t waste your time with this garbage,” he said calmly and smoothly.

“Wait, what are you doing?” I asked, watching as he scrolled to the settings menu on my phone.

“Deleting your news app,” he replied, his voice maddeningly calm.

“You can’t just delete my app!” I protested, lunging to grab the phone back.

But he held my phone out of reach, his other hand blocking me with the ease of someone used to wrangling toddlers. “Your next lesson as a Luna,” he said, “is to learn to ignore the tabloids. They thrive on attention, Agnes. The more you read, the more you feed them.”

“Elijah, give me my phone,” I demanded, heat rushing to my face.

He glanced at me, unimpressed. “Do you really need to keep reading stories like this? What exactly is it going to accomplish?”

“I just—” I faltered, clenching my fists at my sides. “It’s not like I’m trying to feed them! I just want to know what they’re saying so I can defend myself!”

He handed the phone back with a resigned sigh. The app was now gone. “And that’s exactly what they want,” he said. “The moment you acknowledge these stories, you give them power. Trust me on this—remaining aloof and disconnected from the media is often your greatest weapon as someone in the public eye. Stay calm, stay silent, and let the tabloids run themselves in circles trying to figure you out.”

I stared at the blank home screen, biting my lip. “So I’m just supposed to let people think I’m pregnant?” I blurted out.

“That’s not what I said,” he replied, lifting an eyebrow at me. “I’m just saying there’s no point in staring at the tabloids. You won’t change their minds. And if you were to do something like comment on a post or try to make a statement, it would just paint you as the suspicious one.”

“But we have to do something,” I insisted.

“And we will. If it comes up, we’ll tell people the truth: that you were motion sick.”

“And if they don’t believe us?”

He simply shrugged and returned his gaze to his book. “Then that’s on them. Not us.”

The next morning, I tried as best I could to take his advice. I got dressed for work and kept my chin high as we walked into the pack building. The staff greeted us politely as usual, but I could see their gazes drifting down to my stomach.

Unfortunately, Elijah had to rush away for a meeting right away, leaving me walking through the building on my own. The moment he was gone, the stares increased tenfold.

I could feel their gazes practically boring holes into my belly, like they were trying to spot a baby bump beneath my blazer. But I kept reminding myself of Elijah’s lesson and kept my head held high. Soon enough, they’d figure out that it was just a rumor and nothing more.

At least, not until a secretary paused in the hallway to beam at me.

“Congratulations, Luna!” she said, her hands clasped together.

I froze mid-step. “I’m sorry?”

“On the baby, of course!” she said brightly. “I saw the news this morning. What a blessing for the pack!”

I blinked at her, my mouth opening and closing as I searched for something diplomatic to say. “That’s just a rumor,” I finally managed awkwardly, before quickly excusing myself. I tried not to notice the woman’s disappointed face as I hurried away, but it wasn’t easy.

The comments kept coming as I made my way through the building. A few more people stopped to offer their congratulations, and each time, I gently informed them that it was just a rumor and nothing more.

Of course, hardly anyone believed me. They’d answer with winks and smirks, as if they thought I was trying to keep the so-called ‘pregnancy’ under wraps or something.

And then Ava appeared.

She practically stepped into my path, her arms folded across her chest. As usual, she had that smug look on her face, the one that made me want to turn around and walk the other way. But I stopped, suppressing a sigh.

“Hello, Ava.”

“So,” she said without so much as a greeting, “you’re pregnant… again.”

Her voice was nothing short of condescending. I could feel the gazes of some nearby onlookers who were lingering to see what I said.

“I’m not pregnant,” I said firmly, moving to walk past her.

But Ava stepped in my way again. “Oh, really?” she cooed. “Because the pictures of you throwing up on the plane tell a different story. And what a convenient time to have morning sickness, don’t you think?”

“It was motion sickness,” I said through clenched teeth. “The story was twisted by the tabloids, as they always are. You of all people should know that.”

Ava’s smile simply widened. “Of course, Agnes. I’m sure it was just ‘motion sickness’. But let me give you some advice—trying to trap Alpha Elijah with a baby won’t work. He’ll divorce you soon enough, and no amount of theatrics will change that.”

My jaw tightened, and I took a step closer, ready to give her a piece of my mind. But before I could speak, another voice cut through the room.

“Wow, Ava,” a familiar voice called out. “That’s rich coming from you. I guess you’d know all about using a baby to trap a man, huh?”

I turned, surprised to see the girl from the library standing across the hallway—Gertrude, I believed her name was. She was scowling at Ava with her hands on her hips.

Ava turned to glare at her, clearly caught off guard. “Excuse me? What do you know about me, librarian?”

Gertrude just chuckled and strode up to Ava. “Everyone knows that you’re really the type who would fake a pregnancy just to keep a guy interested. Maybe you’re projecting a little too much onto our Luna.”

The small crowd of onlookers stifled their laughter, and Ava’s face turned an impressive shade of red. She opened her mouth to retort, but no words came out. Clearly, she wasn’t expecting anyone to side with me, which was ridiculous. I was the Luna now, and she was nothing but a jealous, petty bitch.

Finally, after a moment of flustered silence, she spun on her heel and stalked away without another word.

I turned to Gertrude, stunned. “Thank you,” I said softly.

She shrugged and grinned at me. “Don’t mention it. I couldn’t bear to stand idly by while another woman insults my wonderful Luna.”

Her words made my shoulders slump a little with relief, and I couldn’t help but smile. But just then, the sound of the intercom crackled to life, interrupting our conversation.

“Luna Agnes, please report to Alpha Elijah’s office,” Elijah’s receptionist called out.