Chapter 37

[Third-Person’s POV]

Alexander wasn’t going to lie. He was fairly annoyed and slightly hurt.

He wasn’t used to people giving him questionable looks or rather looks of suspicion. Any decision he’d ever made was met with immediate, trusting obedience. Amongst gaining countless pieces of land and expanding his ever-growing pack, his judgment had never been brought into question.

Yet, this woman...His Luna...Forced him to rethink his entire self—all because he’d made the remark that she ought to go to bed.

It seemed silly, pointless event, but this made Alexander feel as though he was entering into uncharted territory.

Evelyn, on the other hand, remained dubious. She was slightly aware of the look she was giving Alexander but felt that it was completely justified.

Why would someone like him care about her in such a way? Marriage or not?

He hadn’t exactly given any indication that he genuinely cared for her. Why start now?

She could tell that Alexander was trying to collect himself, desperate to find his usual stoic resolve. He gently cleared his throat and squared his shoulders back.

“I want to know what happened at the gathering,” he said forwardly.

Evelyn bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from letting out another blunt statement or question. Why would he care to know what happened? The thought suddenly occurs to her, had Wendy or Nina mentioned something to him? Or worse, had Wendy actually told home what happened with Caroline and Fiona?

Her stomach flipped with uncertainty. She lifted her arms up to cross them over her chest, hoping to find an ounce of security at that moment.

“There’s nothing really worth talking about,” she said.

This time, he narrowed his eyes and returned her look of skepticism.

“I don’t believe that,” he stated. “There’s something that you’re not telling me. What is it?”

She let out a shuddering breath and shook her head.

“I don’t feel like talking about this right now,” she told him. “You’re right. It’s late, we should get to bed.”

Alexander was far from satisfied but he chose to keep quiet. The two made their way back toward the master bedroom in awkward silence which neither one of them was willing to break.

Alexander assured her that he didn’t need any help getting into bed and that she should get herself ready for bed, instead. He waited until the bathroom door closed behind her before getting out of his wheelchair and slipping under the covers.

He picked up the book he’d been reading from the nightstand and flipped it open to his saved page. He could faintly hear Evelyn finishing up in the bathroom and pretended to place his focus on the words in front of him.

He secretly peered over the top of the book as Evelyn came out of the bathroom and made it over to her side of the room, making the tension around them very apparent. His stomach churned into knots.

She won’t even look at me.

Evelyn pulled back the covers and slid under the blankets, but made no attempt to grab for her own book that was waiting there. Out of the corner of his eye, Alexander notices Evelyn is simply lying back on her pillow, staring up at the ceiling.

Her lips part as though she’s getting ready to say something but they eventually end up closing each time. He had to force himself to keep from making a comment or demanding her to simply speak whatever was on her mind.

It was driving him borderline insane. The thought of actually getting any new reading done was a laughable joke at that point. Alexander closed the book and went to switch off the lamp light. He hoped that sleep would come fast...

Suddenly, the empty tone of Evelyn’s voice spoke out through the darkness.

“Is it necessary that we sleep in the same room?” she asked out of nowhere.

His heart slammed painfully against his rib cage. Any chance of him falling asleep was gone.

[Evelyn’s POV]

I didn’t need the light on to know that Alexander was glaring at me from across the room. I guess it was a bit cowardice of me to only open up about my thoughts, knowing that he wasn’t able to fully look at me. And then to drop a random bombshell of a question like that out of nowhere...

I was hoping that by walking through the garden, it would have cleared my head. But no.

Certain things kept replaying on an endless loop. Fiona’s tormenting comments and the whole scene with Rena—it made me feel upset and angry above all else.

I wished I had never been reminded about their past relationship. Now it’s all I could think about. And as if I needed any more salt added to this perpetual wound, things weren’t exactly looking great for my own relationship with Alexander.

We hadn’t grown any closer since before and as time went by, nothing was indicating any sudden change. So why the hell did he see the need for us to be in the same bedroom at night?

It wasn’t as though anything was actually happening. He hadn’t ever given any sign or indication that he was remotely interested in me.

“Is it necessary that we sleep in the same room?”

The question hung heavily in the room. From what I could make out through the darkened shadows of the room, Alexander gave me a surprised look.

“What do you mean?”

I let out a long, deflated breath. “Can I be honest with you for a moment?”

“Yes.”

“I know that our marriage was a match made by a third party and that you and I have very little emotional connection to each other. Yes, we’re married and I will do my utmost to care and provide what is necessary for my role as Luna. But when it comes to just you and me...Maybe we don’t need to pretend to be more than what we are,” I explained softly.

As much as it hurt to say those words, I was glad they were finally spoken. I felt a huge weight lifted off my chest. It wasn’t like I was looking for a solution to our situation—rather an adjustment.

I could hear the hesitation in his voice. “I...Suppose we don’t necessarily have to...”

God enough for me.

I nodded. “I’ll ask one of the staff to help me move into another bedroom. Don’t worry, should anyone ask questions, we can just say that my back was hurting on the mattress in here and it was just easier to move to another room or something.”

For a short moment, I was half expecting Alexander to speak out and argue. Tell me that the plan was stupid...Tell me that we needed a better story to tell people...

Tell me that you don’t want me to leave and that we can try and work on our relationship!

I wanted to believe that all of Fiona’s accusations about us were wrong. All I wanted was assurance. A lifeline that I could grab ahold of.

But, if he truly felt nothing then maybe this was a good way for me to start cutting back on the feelings that were trying to come through for him.

Alexander remained silent. Against my better judgment, I had to take that for my answer.