Chapter 141

[Third-Person’s POV]

There were many people around that dining room table who held their own amount of disdain toward the couple, or even Evelyn specifically. But the only person who truly earned Evelyn’s rage was Isabella.

She glared down at the woman with a newly found hatred that had her hands itching to throw something. Evelyn wasn’t naturally a violent person, but her Stepmother had truly managed to make her consider altering that part of herself.

The woman was nothing short of manipulative and vile.

It came as no surprise that not a single person sitting around the table was looking to stop Evelyn from leaving. Half of them weren’t even willing to lift their heads up from the table. Caroline, holding on to her smugness still, merely sat back in her chair and happily sipped away at her wine.

Had she possessed the strength herself, Evelyn would have flipped the table over for how angry and upset she was. Worst of all, she had no idea what thoughts and feelings were flying around in Alexander’s mind at the moment.

But before anyone could dare say another word, the Alpha pushed himself back from the table and the two made their way to the door. Evelyn wanted so badly to explain herself and everything that had just unfolded.

She felt shameful and filled with regret for not having this conversation with Alexander sooner. She should have told him everything the moment they were just starting to work things out. It’s as though she intended to keep it a secret forever.

Of course, it all had to come out by the wrong people and in a malicious, destructive manner. Now, she was left to face the mess that Isabella and Caroline dug up.

Her heart felt heavy in her chest as she and Alexander made their way back to the house in silence. She could tell from the discernible look on his face that he was not okay. And she couldn’t blame him.

As much as she wanted to explain herself, she wanted it to be in a more secure and safe environment. Evelyn waited patiently until they got home and bared through the unbreathable tension.

The car had hardly come to a full stop before Alexander stormed out and made his way into the house. Evelyn tried her best to be quick on his heels. “Alexander, can we please talk for a moment?” she asked breathlessly.

He said nothing and continued to walk straight to his office. He practically slammed the door in her face had Evelyn’s reflexes not been fast enough to stop it.

“Hey!” She let out a huff. “Would you stop and just give me a chance to explain—”

Alexander turned around and glared at her head-on. The anger that flashed across his eyes caused her heart to skip a beat.

“Explain what?” he snapped. “Explain that the only real reason why you married me was for money?”

She bit the inside of her cheek and fought the burning emotion that seared in her throat.

“Please, listen to me,” she begged. “At the time, I wasn’t given a choice.”

Evelyn immediately pinched her features from how badly that statement sounded.

“What I’m trying to explain is, that my parents told me that without that money from the agreement, there would have been no possible way for me to continue Edward’s treatments. Please, don’t forget the fact that we didn’t know each other at the time.”

Alexander tore his eyes from her and made his way around his desk to sit down. He leaned his arms forward on the desk and buried his face in his hands.

The fact that her own family would hold that over her head was monstrous enough—that, at the very least, he could agree with. But it still stung deep, that money had been the reason why she was so persistent in marry him that day. Her determination to make things work between them had been because of the paycheck that the bastard King had attached to the agreement. Evelyn had used their marriage to make sure that her brother continued to get the care that he needed.

Could he really fault her for that? No.

But it still hurt. It hurt him to know that her only motivation for their marriage was based on money. The darkest parts of his mind wanted to throw him back in time when Rena had left him for someone of higher status.

“You lied to me,” he muttered under his breath.

She furiously shook her head. Her heart ached between her lungs. “No. I didn’t lie.”

“Then what would you call it?” he countered back.

“Being placed between a rock and a hard place,” she said firmly. “You know I would do anything to ensure my brother’s health. When I made this decision, it was purely for him.”

Alexander’s mouth twisted into a sneer. “Tell me this then, if you had the funds all along to help your brother, would you have ever accepted the match?”

Evelyn dropped her eyes to the floor and pulled her arms close to her chest.

“You want the truth?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah, for once, that would be nice,” he hissed. “Tell me.”

She lifted her gaze up to him. “Probably not.”

Alexander scoffed, making Evelyn’s own anger resurface.

“Don’t you dare make any insinuations toward me when you’re the one who’s been lying and keeping secrets from me from the very beginning!” She pointed her fingers directly at him. “You’re the one who tried to scare me off like all the potential Lunas. You lied to me about the fact that you were never paralyzed or disfigured to begin with!”

The muscle in his jaw twitched.

“I had been placed under the assumption that my soon-to-be husband was going to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair and live behind a mask—”

“It’s different.”

“No, it’s not, you stubborn bastard!” she cried out. “The day we got married, you had asked me why I was so determined to marry you—and I had told you it was because I admired your strength and determination to go on even as you were. That wasn’t a lie, Alexander. That wedding was never about me. It was purely for my brother and I was willing to accept that. And I did. As time went on, I got to know who you were and I developed genuine feelings for you.”

She blinked back the tears in her eyes, not wanting to let him see how emotionally torn up she was becoming.

She let out a slow, tremulous breath. “Yes, the money that the Alpha King paid my father was what ended up tipping the scales. What was I to do? Should I have let Edward die? Should I have given up?”

“How do you expect me to answer a question like that?”

“I don’t,” she bit out. “I’m just trying to get you to understand my side of the situation.”

Alexander gently shook his head and lowered his eyes to his desk.

“I don’t know what to think right now,” he said coldly. “I need time to sort it out.”

Unfortunately, Evelyn knew that she was expected to take her leave. She didn’t want to make things any more tense between them; so, against her better judgment, she left his office with the sole regret of ever having gone to that stupid dinner party.