Chapter 163

[Evelyn’s POV]

I sat back in my chair and let out a long breath.

It felt like my stomach had suddenly filled with lead. I could have easily guessed that Oliver would have wanted to bring up the topic of Alexander. After all, he was the Alpha’s right-hand man. No doubt, he’d been the one to deal with Alexander’s behavior and current mental state.

“I had originally told Alexander that he and I needed to talk,” I explained. “Granted, we still do. Although, that was before Ian had removed the stitches and I discovered what I remained underneath it all.”

“Why won’t you let him see you without the mask?” Oliver asked. “I get not wanting others to see, but why him? Why shut him out?”

The corners of my eyes crinkled from the dejected feeling that came over me. I slowly shook my head.

“For the sake of time and lack of energy, I'm going to say that it’s purely based on insecurity and leave it at that.”

Oliver gave me a pointed look.

“Alexander is not vain. He’s known to be many things but conceited is not one of them.”

“What about when it comes to him being honest?”

Oliver’s eyes widened. “Are you insinuating that he’s a liar?”

I shook my head. “He’s no more of a liar than I am,” I stated. “It’s true that I had initially agreed to our marriage on the grounds that I knew it would benefit my brother’s ongoing treatments. I married him under the fully believable assumption that he was bound to that wheelchair and horribly disfigured. Imagine my shock when I came to discover that none of it was true.”

This time, Oliver appeared sheepish. He raised his hand to rub the back of his neck, not knowing what to say.

“Alexander had purposely frightened away two other potential Lunas before me. Again, considering the truth that he’s not paralyzed, why did he do it? Unless, of course, he had his own reasons for wanting to agree to the marriage...”

“I’m afraid that something you’re going to have to ask him, personally,” he muttered.

“I know, Oliver,” I said solemnly. I resented the irritable swell of emotion that knotted in my chest. “A big part of me is afraid of finding out the answer to that question. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’m going to reach out to Edward’s doctor. Thank you again for helping me with this.”

Oliver gave a curt nod before leaving.

[Third-Person's POV]

Alexander was not in a good place, mentality. He didn’t know how to help Evelyn or what to do to help ease her pain.

He almost regretted the fact that Ian had removed her stitches—at least before, she was still, somewhat, willing to speak to him. But now?

Now, it felt as though she were actively avoiding everyone once again. According to what Oliver had been able to report to him, Evelyn’s only motivation for leaving her room seemed to be the greenhouse.

It’s better than her holding up in that damn bedroom.

That godforsaken bedroom that Alexander was one mental breakdown away from being set on fire. He hated the fact that she still refused to move back into the master bedroom with him.

He knew Evelyn was suffering from nightmares. How could she not be?

The events that unfolded that night were so traumatizing that even he was having a hard time sleeping the whole night through. He kept seeing horrible, dismal clips of Evelyn lying on that metal table surrounded by a pond of her own blood.

It was enough to make him jolt out of a dead sleep in a full-out body sweat every time. And he knew he wasn’t the only one who was being tormented.

Most nights since the near-fatal incident, he could hear Evelyn through the walls. It sent a cold chill through his blood.

It took every ounce of his self-restraint to not barrel down the hall and bust through her door. God only knows what would happen if he so much as dared to do that. Even if his intentions were solely to ensure her wellbeing, he couldn’t risk upsetting her.

He’d spent the last couple of days held up in his office with little to no sleep himself. His mind felt like it was being pulled in several different directions all at once. The Alpha King. Fiona and Isabella. But what continued to eat away at him the worst was his worry for his wife.

He was desperate for a real chance to talk to her and tell her how she shouldn’t be ashamed of her scars.

But something in the back of his mind was telling him that it was a lot more complex than that.

In the meantime, Alexander had dealt with Samantha the best way he could for now. He placed both her and Liam under severe probation, not allowing them much freedom beyond their own parameters.

Samantha was quick to think that she had the right and ability to refuse such an order.

“Who the hell do you think you are?! What right do you have to sanction another Alpha within his own home??” she whined.

He did his best to not grin at the fact that Evelyn had truly messed up Samantha’s nose. She had, indeed, broken it. Alexander hadn’t possessed an ounce of remorse.

“To quote my wife, ‘You deserve far worse than that’,” he told her.

To no one’s great surprise, Liam hadn’t tried so much as to argue against Alexander’s orders. He was wise enough to know that there was no point in trying to put up any sort of a fight. Samantha glared at Liam with a look of disbelief.

“You can’t be serious! You weak excuse for an Alpha! You’re just going to let him walk all over you—”

“ENOUGH!” Liam shouted.

Samantha froze; her eyes widened in total panic. Liam sneered in disgust at his wife.

“I can’t even begin to say how disappointed and disgusted I am with you for what you were a part of. For Christ’s sake, Evelyn is your sister.”

Samantha angrily trudged out of the room, leaving the two Alpha’s alone. Liam ran a rough hand through his hair. For what it was worth, Alexander was somewhat impressed by Liam’s behavior, considering he had his doubts about him for a while.

Although he still wasn’t sure what to make of his last statement before he left.

“I’ve never wanted to hurt her in the first place.”

He made it sound as though there was something once going on between him and Evelyn. The thought alone made his blood boil.

But, at the very least, they now knew where Isabella was.

All that was left was Fiona.

Yet, Alexander wasn’t at all concerned about tracking her down. Once they received the results back from their labs which would, undoubtedly, prove Fiona’s involvement, he would be able to put out a public warrant for her arrest.

Alexander looked forward to the day when he would be able to bring all three women to court, in front of the Alpha King. This time he’d made an even bigger show of it all. The press would have a field day to know that their own king had failed to keep his citizens safe from such dangerous, evil people.

It was going to act as a massive social strike against the Royal Family.

A soft knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts.

“Sir,” Oliver greeted.

He held a thin folder in his hands and wore a smile that gave away what was inside of it. The corner of his mouth curled into a devious smirk.

“We got her.”