Chapter 74

[James’ POV]

James was not liking where this conversation was headed. Of course, when he first had the idea to go after Mia, he hadn’t entirely thought out what he was planning on saying to her. Apart from checking in on her physical state, it wasn’t as though he was capable of talking her into returning home with him...

No. He knew better than to think something like that would be possible. Emotions were still running hot. And James figured he was lucky enough that Mia was even willing to speak to him. Then again, that was turning as well as he’d hoped either.

He felt his heart drop into his stomach like it was made of lead. He refrained from curling his hands into fists and fought to keep his own emotions in check. The last thing he wanted was another argument.

He knew she was upset about how things transpired since Evelyn came back—but was she seriously contemplating the idea of wanting to end things?

James’ voice filled with trepidation. “What are you saying exactly?”

He was nervous to even ask such a question, knowing that the answer could very likely lead to another piercing pain in his chest.

She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. “It feels like you and I have had nothing but problems ever since we signed the damn contract. I don’t know, maybe your mother was right...Maybe we’re just not good together. Maybe we ought to think about—”

“Don’t you dare,” he gritted between his teeth.

“Getting a divorce.”

James gaped at her with disbelief and was immediately flooded with devastation. His wolf yelped and snarled to life with such force that it nearly knocked him over.

‘Divorce?! Our mate doesn’t just want to leave us—she wants to cut all possible ties to us!!’ Jack screamed with vexation. ‘You did this! You’re the reason she’s trying to pull away!’

James wished he had the time and space to speak properly with his wolf without causing a scene. Aside from wanting to check in on her in person, James was also hoping that merely being in her presence would give his wolf a chance to cool down and ease the anxiety that was coursing through him.

But this was beyond anything he could have expected.

“You can’t mean that,” he said tightly.

“And you can’t honestly tell me that you’re not still in love with Evelyn,” she countered. “I see the way you look when the two of you are together. You’re happy—I mean truly happy.”

A long spell of silence went by.

Why? Why didn’t he say anything to counter her claim? By remaining quiet, James knew it was enough to validate her statement. It wasn’t as though the words were stuck in his throat and he was having a hard time finding a way to say them. James truly had nothing to say.

And it was the same bout of silence that caused an overwhelming wave of shame to come crashing over him.

Mia sighed in defeat. “You should go. I need to rest.”

“Mia, please come home with me.”

She shook her head once more. “I can’t. Not when the two of you are still in that house.”

As Mia closed the doors, James caught an unmistakable sight of tears gathering in her eyes. It caused another wave of pain to hit James like an iron fist in the gut. Good God, none of what was happening was right!

It pained him, knowing that he would be returning back to the house alone. The only bright side was that his anguish was now accompanied by anger and determination.

Something had to be done about Evelyn. James knew that at some point he was going to have to reach out to Rudolf and Monica about the whole ordeal. He wished it could have been under better circumstances but...Something had to be done.

On the way back to the car, James pulled out his phone and made a direct call to Rudolf Lawrence.

“I’m not going to lie, I never thought I’d ever receive a call from you,” Rudolf snickered.

James rolled his eyes. He didn’t have time for the mindless bickering. “Spare me the taunting remarks, will you?”

“Care to tell me why the hell you’re calling then?”

“Evelyn is currently staying at my house and I think it’s time that she became reacquainted with her real family,” James said.

He already knew that this conversation was going to go over like a damn dumpster fire. And, sure enough, he was right.

“Have you lost your fucking mind?” Rudolf asked accusingly.

James didn’t have it in him to argue any further. Right before he ended the call, he shouted at the speaker. “Then come to the house if you don’t believe me!”

...

Within the hour, Rudolf and Monice were standing in the main hall waiting to be greeted by a very pissed-off James.

He remained silent and gestured for the two of them to follow him. James led everyone into the kitchen where Evelyn was sitting at the counter. The woman glanced over her shoulder, causing the two siblings to stop dead in their tracks.

Both Rudolf and Monica stared at Evelyn in complete shock. What surprised James was that neither sibling showed any trace of genuine excitement, but rather disbelief and skepticism. Rudolf turned to James. “How about you and I step out for a few moments and let these two catch up?”

James followed Lawrence out into the hallway. Rudolf, clearly steamed with the current development, crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. “Alright tell me everything.”

James dove into the full story of how Evelyne practically appeared out of nowhere. He went into depth about how he’d been trying to figure out what happened to her but was receiving little to no results. Most importantly, James stressed the negative impact that this whole situation had on his relationship with Mia.

“Where is Mia?” Rudolf questioned.

James forced down his shame. “She’s staying with her friend at the moment.”

“You mean she’s gone?”

“Yes!”

Rudolf rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Oh geez, how did you manage to fuck up this relationship?”

“Don’t fucking test me, Lawrence! Had your sister not shoved Mia down the stairs, I wouldn’t have half the problems I do now!”

“Evelyn would never do that! She was the sweetest girl to ever exist!”

“I know!” James shouted back. “That’s why I still cannot believe what I saw earlier.”

The Evelyn that James once knew would have never done something so heinous. She had always been a kind and gentle-hearted woman. But something was clearly off with her now.

Suddenly, a thought clicked in James’ mind.

“What if this woman isn’t who we think she is?” he asked. “What if that woman in there isn’t Evelyn?”