Chapter 189

“I am not leaving here until we talk,” Victor declared. “You are not being reasonable. It isn’t like you.”

I looked at him defiantly. He was making it more difficult for me to do the right thing. “How do you know? Maybe my real family are unreasonable people.”

He ran a hand over his hair and made an exasperated sound.

“Despite not knowing your parentage, I know you well,” he argued. “I’m not leaving until we sit down and talk about it like I wanted to when Alex first told us about Olivia.”

“I don’t see the point,” I said. “Talking won’t change anything. Alex wants to give what you have always wanted to Alberta’s husband. And once again, I am not Alberta.”

“Daisy, I don’t know what will happen to the leadership position,” Victor said. “I’m not worried about it right now. You shouldn’t be either.”

“I don’t believe you,” I said. “It is all you have wanted for years. It’s why you made the agreement with me in the first place. If you were willing to be engaged to a girl you didn’t know to get something, it means a great deal to you.”

Why wouldn’t he leave my apartment? He was making things much harder by clinging to the past and some misguided loyalty. The Goddess had reshuffled the deck, and everything in my life had changed. We both needed to move on.

“Yes, I’m disappointed to not get the job,” he admitted. “But it’s not the end of the world. I run my family’s corporation. I have money and power.”

He sat me down on the couch next to him. “I didn’t tell you something because you had your hands full with your presentation for the board, but Alex planned on handing over the job to me today.”

“I’m not finished speaking,” he said when I tried to get up and walk away from him. “Yet, I’m here with you because I care more about you than any job.”

His news made me feel worse. He was throwing away his chance to get the job on me.

I always knew my new life as an Alpha princess was too good to be true. When this all started, my foster sister scoffed at the idea that I could be Alex Wilson’s daughter, and she was right.

“The fact is Alex isn’t going to give you the job you deserve because of me,” I said. “Because I’m not Alberta.” I was tired of repeating myself, but he wouldn’t listen.

Victor sighed. “You don’t know that. Neither do I. We must give him time to think about it. The mistake at the lab was a shock to Alex, too. He may come to realize that nobody else has been trained for the duties of the position as well as I have been.”

“No, you heard what he said too. Alex wants his daughter’s husband to be the leader of the association.” I reminded him. “And I’m not his daughter. I’m useless to you now.”

“I don’t even know who I am,” I whispered to myself. After thinking I was Alex’s daughter for months, it was confusing.

“You are an Alpha,” he reminded me. “You can’t fake it. It was proven on the night of your first shift.”

He ran a finger over my cheek, sending shivers down my spine. “And Daisy, you are smart, beautiful, strong, and incredibly stubborn. You have a bright future if you reach for it.”

“Most Alphas have their family name and fortunes behind them when they are starting out,” I said. “Nepotism is how wealthy families remain wealthy families. Plus, because of my unknown parentage, most Alphas won’t allow me to prove myself and hire me.”

Victor remained silent.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “You know I’m right.”

“I’m sure Alex didn’t leave you penniless,” Victor said. “He still cares about you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, he gave me money, but I’m not keeping it. He doesn’t owe me anything. I’m not his daughter. I’ll get a job after I graduate from high school and support myself somewhere I can afford.”

“You can be too stubborn for your own good.” Victor put his hands on his lean hips and shook his head. “What about William? You could still marry him like you wanted. He’s probably still in love with you.”

“No.” I stood and walked over to the windows. “My family is unknown. That means I'm not good enough for his mother. She would never allow it.”

Victor knew Lily James well enough to know my words were true. She wouldn’t want her grandchildren to be of unknown heritage.

“You can still do anything you want,” he insisted. “Think of it as a new start. Whatever happens in your life is now up to you.”

I lost my fight to hold back my tears, and Victor rushed to my side. He put his arms around me, instantly making me feel safe and calm.

“Keep this apartment and the money. Alex has plenty more,” Victor urged. “You could start your own company. You can make it a business that would support you well and achieve your goals of helping Betas.”

I shrugged. It was a possibility I hadn’t thought of. But it didn’t make me more eligible to be any prominent Alpha’s wife.

“What about your plan to become a lawyer to help Betas and Omegas?” he asked. “Maybe what happened is the Goddess’s way of showing you that is your true path, not the life of a businesswoman.”

I pulled away from him and wiped away my tears. He was right. I needed to decide my path forward, and I had to stand on my own two feet. Leaning on him for support was no longer an option.

“You may be right,” I said. “I have a lot of thinking to do about my future. I’m taking a few days to process everything before going back to school to decide what I should do.”

“That’s good. Take your time. And Daisy, I want you to know that no matter what you decide, I will always be your friend,” he said. “You can still count on me.”

No, I couldn’t let him throw away his future. I wouldn’t hold him back from his dreams.

I shook my head and forced myself not to cry again. I should be grateful he didn’t love me. It would have made it much harder to let him go.

“No, we can’t be friends,” I said. “I know how important the leadership position is to you.”

I took a deep breath and cringed deep inside at the images in my mind that my next words gave me.

“You must pursue Olivia to get the job you’ve always wanted, and she won’t like it if you are friends with the girl who briefly took her place.”

“Daisy, don’t talk like that,” he said. “I can’t abandon you.”

He was concerned about abandoning me! That told me it was only pity that kept him from walking away.

Anger and shame stirred inside my soul. It was humiliating to be pitied by anyone. It was even worse knowing Victor’s admiration for me had turned to pity.

I had to do it. It would be the hardest thing I’ve had to do, but I had to let him go …for both of us.

Channeling my anger, I looked him in his eyes so he would know that I meant what I said next. “Victor, I want you to leave my apartment and never come back.”

He shook his head in disbelief once again. “Daisy …”

I strode to my door and opened it. “Please go, right now.”

“Daisy, don't do this,” he said.

“Go!” I demanded and turned away to keep him from seeing my tears.