Chapter 89

[Evelyn’s POV]

“It’s so nice to have you back, Evelyn,” Nina said with a cheerful smile.

I’d agreed to Wendy’s invitation to have tea with her that following day. Part of me still wasn’t sure how I felt about integrating myself back into my old routine. Something about it felt a bit forced on my end.

I wasn’t exactly looking to hide back in my room; but, I still felt as though I was receiving strange looks from the staff.

And who could blame them?

I honestly could have just as easily forgone the afternoon tea and remained working in the greenhouse. I wish I could have said that returning to my old routine was easy, but I would have been lying.

Things still felt a bit uncomfortable for me as I tried to maneuver my way around.

But Wendy was rather insistent. And in a way, I was able to understand why. By continuing on the path I was on, it would have only prolonged my feelings of uneasiness.

Since Alexander and I were actually trying to make things work between us, it only seemed right that I would give the other facets of my life the same dutiful attention.

“Thank you. It’s nice to be back here,” I said meekly.

While Nina was busy getting each of us our tea, Wendy turned to look at me with an expected glint in her eyes. She was eager to know how Alexander and I’s dinner turned out last night. And, hell, I couldn’t blame her.

Even I was still taken aback by the amount of things we’d sorted through. I couldn’t believe how open he’d been when explaining some of the more tense topics.

“So, tell me. How are you and Alexander?” she asked.

I graciously accepted the tea from Nina and took a few much-needed sips. I thought out my words carefully, not wanting to give off the wrong impression.

“We’re...Taking things very slow with each other.”

Both Wendy and Nina shared a knowing look with themselves.

“Define ‘slow’,” Nina prompted with a cheeky smile.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just that we saw a delivery truck stop by earlier this morning. We weren’t expecting any major deliveries today, so no one really had any idea what was being dropped off. From where we were standing, it looked to be a new mattress.”

There was no stopping the imminent blush from staining my cheeks. Oh. My. God.

Well, it appears the man is actually staying true to his word.

One of the most shocking parts of our conversation was that he wanted me to move back into his bedroom. After Alexander had made it rather clear that he didn’t find me unattractive, I understood the reasoning behind a majority of his actions. He was choosing to keep himself at a distance both physically and emotionally for fear of attachment.

It made sense but I truly hoped that he was serious and meant what he said. I wanted him to let me work more closely with him. If he said that Michael was behind the car accident, then I was inclined to believe him.

I let out a defeated breath. “One of the things that Alexander wanted to negotiate was having me move back into the master bedroom.”

When this whole matter was initially brought up, I hadn’t thought that he intended for me to sleep in the same damn bed with him.

Oh, who the hell am I kidding? Some of the best sleep I ever had since I came here was when Alexander and I shared the same bed.

Tonight was going to be a tad bit strange. Knowing that the new bed had already arrived, would Alexander expect me to move back into his room immediately? It wasn’t something that he and I had actually discussed in great depth.

Wendy’s eyes lit up with excitement whereas Nina was practically jumping out of her seat.

“Really?! Oh, that’s wonderful! I’ll inform the staff to start moving your—”

I held up a hand to stop them from getting ahead of themselves.

“Please, don’t make this out to be any more than it is,” I said. “Like I said, he and I are taking things slow. We’re still working through our many issues one day at a time.”

“So, what I’m hearing is that I shouldn’t be getting my hopes up about any possible future great-grandchildren anytime soon?”

My eyes bugged out of my head. “Wendy!”

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Thankfully, everyone’s attention was stolen by the sudden noise of one of the staff members banging frantically on the door.

“Come in,” Wendy called out.

As I suspected, a single maid came rushing in with a small white envelope in her hands.

“Apologise for the sudden interruption,” she gasped. “But this letter has just come in and the carrier informed me that it was with the utmost urgency that Eveleny received it.”

My stomach twisted in knots as I dreaded the unknown contents of that envelope. The maid kindly handed it to me and I regrettably tore into it.

I grazed over the message and was instantly struck with an overwhelming urge to run. I needed to leave!

I shot up from my seat. My voice came out trembling. “I need to go. Something’s wrong.”

Wendy got up from her own seat and steadied my wavering balance.

“What is it?” she asked.

“It’s a letter from one of the staff members from my family’s pack. Something is wrong with my brother,” I croaked. “His condition has gotten severely worse. I need to go back home.”

[Third-Person’s POV]

Despite Alexander having gone to sleep alone once more, he had actually woken up with a new revitalized energy. Things were going to work out between him and Evelyn. He was determined to make that happen.

Having seen each other at breakfast, he felt that things were off to a decent start. Evelyn seemed a bit more at ease. And the Alpha continued to be gracious toward his grandmother who made a rather incessant request that Evelyn begin joining her for afternoon teas again.

When word had been given that the newest installment to the master bedroom had arrived, the man was practically buzzing. Yes, once the room was rearranged, he would reach out to Evelyn and seek her approval.

If she likes it, then I will ask for her to move back in with me. And if not? Well, shit. I’ll gut out the room entirely and rebuild a whole new wing onto the manor until she’s satisfied.

A sudden knock on the door had Alexander glancing up from his work.

“What is it, Oliver?”

“Alexander, it’s me,” a soft feminine voice called out.

His eyes widened. “Evelyn? Come in here.”

He could tell from the frantic tone of her voice that something was deeply wrong. As soon as his wife entered the room, he noticed the distinctive puffiness around her eyes as though she’d been previously crying.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” he demanded.

She sniffled and handed over the letter she’d been clutching to her chest. Alexander quickly scanned through it and gave her a sympathetic look.

“I’m sorry to hear about your brother.”

“Alexander, I need to return back home to find out what happened,” she told him with urgency.

In truth, he didn’t want her to leave. But refusing to let her go to her own family would undoubtedly revoke everything he tried to amend.

“Alexander! Sir!”

Another voice broke out through the silence. This time, it was Oliver. The Beta came storming through the office door with a wild look of pure exhilaration.

“Oliver?”

“We found it,” he said. “We found the car.”