The Mad Alpha's Substitute Bride

Chapter 171: Glass Memory

(ALICE)

Holly is forcing me to drink the glass of water she thrust into my hand, but I just want to be left alone.

"Can I get you something else?" she asks anxiously. "Perhaps something to eat."

She sounds so near to tears that I look up at her and give her a weak smile. "I’m fine, Holly. But I’d like to be alone for a while. You can go."

That seems to be the only thing she doesn’t want to do, but she gives me a jerky nod. "I’ll be right outside. If you need anything, just let me know. I’ll come right away."

"Thank you."

Once she’s gone and I’m all alone, I let out a gust of air.

So much for keeping my cool.

My legs feel wobbly. Why did he even come here? Was he trying to get me riled up? If so, then he succeeded.

Where does he get off trying to act all hurt that I got married and had a child? How dare Darian act as if I did him some great injustice?

"Did I love my fake husband?" I mutter to myself, seething. "You bet your damn ass I did. Best fucking relationship of my life!"

I want to throw something against the wall, but I really don’t want Holly coming back in here and parking herself in my office.

I lean back in my desk chair and glare at the ceiling instead. "He did it all to protect me? He’s so full of shit!"

I rub the spot over my chest. It hurts. I should have kept a level head. Why did I snap? At least he doesn’t know that Mira is his. Thank God for small blessings.

My phone vibrates, and I pick it up to see Mary’s name on the screen. I answer the call with, "Darian came by my office just now."

A hiss from the other end of the line. "What did he do? Are you alright?"

"He was angry that I got married and had a child." I pick up the glass paperweight on my desk and crush it in my bare hand. "He had the nerve to act all upset, as if I had betrayed him."

"But he’s with Willow!" Mary bursts out. "What a hypocritical piece of—"

"Oh, I threw that in his face." The glass shards of the weight are digging into my hand, but I don’t care. "Then, he started telling me that he married Willow but never mated her. As if that makes a difference."

I pause for her to agree with me, but Mary doesn’t reply immediately. "It doesn’t, does it?" I ask her.

"Darian says he never mated Willow?" The hesitance in Mary’s voice has me frowning.

"What does it matter, Mary? He married her. He shares her bed. He’s with her!"

"It does make a difference," Mary says reluctantly. "If he hasn’t mated with her, then that means he’s not—He probably hasn’t bedded her."

"Hasn’t bedded her?" I echo. "You mean, they’ve never had sex?"

"Exactly."

"What?" A strange anxiety is starting to build up within me. "How can you jump to that conclusion?"

"I’m not jumping to any conclusion, Alice," my friend responds. "I’ve been so careful about not telling you anything about what’s happening in this part of the world, but I’ve been hearing things, and if what you’re saying is true, then it makes a lot of sense."

I sit up straight. "What things have you been hearing?"

"Well, Darian and Willow have been together for seven years now. When they make public appearances, Darian never touches her. He follows all the royal protocols, but he never touches her, not even her hand. On top of that, they haven’t had a child yet. Shifters are rarely sterile. And before anyone in the royal family gets married, they undergo testing by healers." Her voice lowers and fills with glee. "Their tests were clear. They can both conceive. Well, you already knew that Darian has no problem in that department.

Despite that, Willow has not got pregnant. I did find it strange, like many others do, but now that you tell me he never mated her, that explains a lot."

When she doesn’t elaborate, I growl, "Explains what, Mary? I don’t know what you’re talking about."

She clears her throat. "If Darian never gave Willow the mating mark, that means he’s never slept with her. Once a wolf-shifter couple gets married legally, the first night they spend together is when the male gives the female his mark. It’s common knowledge. And let’s say he doesn’t give her the mark for whatever reason. If he sleeps with her several times, his wolf is going to insist upon giving her the mating mark. If Darian has been able to hold out this long, it can only mean one thing: he has never slept with Willow."

"But Cyrus used to sleep around all the time. He never marked anybody."

"I know, but this is different," Mary explains patiently. "Most shifters can be a little promiscuous before they come of age. Not everyone, but a lot of our kind. The instinct to find a mate is very strong after you come of age. That’s when shifters slow down. Even if they do sleep around, they don’t choose the same partner more than twice. Otherwise, their wolf wants to mark them. It’s all very complicated. But the point is, Willow hasn’t been knocked up, and Darian doesn’t even touch her in public. I don’t think he’s lying to you. Not only has he not mated her, he’s never even touched her.

He’s been living like a monk all these years."

My anxiety is growing worse. "What if you’re wrong?"

I hear the scoffing sound from the other end of the line. "I’m a senior healer, Alice. I’m not often wrong about these things. What I want to know

is why he chose Willow when he never wanted to sleep with her? What kind of life is that?"

I can smell the blood coming from my palm where the shards of glass are now piercing my skin. "Mary—"

"What did he say to you, Alice?"

"He said everything he did was to protect me. But he was lying. He was lying, wasn’t he? How was doing what he did to me protecting me? He tortured me, Mary! He let the witches torture me! I still—" My voice grows thick with emotion. "There are times when I wake up in the night, still caught in that nightmare. I haven’t forgotten anything from that day—how it felt, where it hurt, or anything! I remember begging him, and I remember Willow kicking me in the face. He let it all happen. You can’t justify what he did to me just by telling me he hasn’t slept with her for seven years!"

"Alice! Alice, I’m not," Mary says gently. "I’m not justifying anything. I’m not saying anything. You are."

Shaking, I let the remainder of the paperweight slip from my hand to the floor. The shards scatter everywhere, but I pay no attention. My face is wet with tears, and I wipe them fiercely with the back of my hand. "I hate him. I hate him so much, Mary."

She sighs. "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

I stare at the pieces of glass sticking out of my hand. Deliberately, I pull them out, one by one. "He was acting strange. It doesn’t matter what he said. I don’t care what his reason was for putting me through it all. I didn’t deserve that. I didn’t deserve any of it."

"You’re right." She pauses before asking, ’Was there anything else?’ Anything he said that stood out to you?"

"Something about making a deal with the devil if it meant saving me. He was so full of it."

Once again, there is silence from Mary’s end. I scowl. "I can hear you overthinking."

"I love you, Alice, but one of us has to look at the situation from a level-headed perspective. I want to know what he meant by making a deal with the devil."

"I don’t really care, Mary. I just want him to go away. He has disrupted my life enough. If he wants to be a monk, let him go and be a monk. I don’t want to know his reasons for doing what he did to me. Because whatever he tells me, I’m not going to believe it. I’m not going to be a gullible fool again only for him to stab me in the back. I have Mira to think of now."

"I understand that, Alice. I’m not telling you to do anything. Has he said anything about Mira?"

I sigh in relief. "He thinks she’s my daughter from my human husband. As long as the two of them don’t meet, he will never find out the truth. You’re flying in next week, and you’ll bring something to suppress her scent, won’t you?"

"Don’t worry. I have everything arranged. It’ll be alright, Alice. This was the first time you were alone with him, and the confrontation didn’t go as badly as I’d imagined. I don’t think you have to worry about running away anymore. Darian doesn’t seem to be interested in ruining your life like you initially thought."

I have to agree with her. However, that doesn’t mean I won’t be careful.

Once we end the call, I ask Holly to get me some lunch from the deli nearby. However, the sandwich doesn’t taste as good as I remember. It seems bland. Maybe it’s me, though.

My heart isn’t in it.