Chapter 28: Returned

It had been two months since the incident, yet Mabel still wasn’t satisfied with the punishment Lucille received from Edward.

Deep down, she craved her own form of revenge, slow, calculated, and personal.

Since that day, she had replayed everything over and over in her mind. At first, she was confused. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

She knew Edward well, too well. If Lucille had stormed into that room uninvited, Edward would have reacted instantly.

He would have lashed out or thrown her out. But he didn’t. He stayed calm. Quiet. Which meant, he had seen her coming. He let her in. Just like Lucille had claimed.

The truth stung.

Edward had allowed it, maybe even planned it. Just to make her jealous. Just to punish her for rejecting him.

Since then, bitterness had filled her. She had even thought about walking away from Edward.

How could she stay with a man who didn’t care about her pride? A man who would humiliate her so easily, just to please himself?

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t let him go.

She had no mate. No destined partner. Edward was her only hope. His future was lined with power, wealth, and influence. If she could claim him, her life would be set, comfort, status, luxury. Forever.

But how could she succeed, with Lucille still living in his house? Lucille, who walked around in the name of servitude, yet somehow kept drawing Edward’s attention?

That thought made her return to Edward’s estate, her heart burning with jealousy. She was determined to put that omega slave in her place, once and for all.

The sound of the car horn caught the guard's attention. Quickly, he rushed to the gate, opened it, and the sleek car drove in.

Once parked in the garage, Mabel unlocked the door and stepped out, closing it softly behind her.

"Is he in?" she asked the guard.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered politely.

"Take my suitcase out of the trunk. Put it in the room next to his," she instructed, tossing the car keys to him.

He caught them and nodded. "Yes, ma'am," then hurried to do as she asked.

Mabel walked through the house with elegance, passing through the hallway and heading straight for the sitting room. She didn’t stop there, instead making her way to his bedroom.

Without knocking, she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Edward sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard, staring at his laptop screen.

"Mabel?" His face changed when he saw her.

"You didn’t mention you were coming," he said, his voice filled with a mix of emotions she couldn’t quite place.

"It’s a surprise," she said with a bright smile, walking over to him. She wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug.

Edward stiffened, his body tensing at the unexpected sight of her. For two months, she had refused to speak to him, and now she suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, gently pulling away from her embrace.

"Do I look bad?" she replied, her lips curling into a teasing smile.

"I missed you," she whispered, giving him a quick kiss, which he didn’t pull away from.

He studied her carefully. "You avoided me for two months."

"I was angry," she confessed, her voice steady. "That girl really annoyed me that day."

"But she was punished," Edward reminded her.

She shrugged, pouting. "Yes, you punished her, but she never apologized."

She had hoped Edward would make Lucille apologize, but instead, he only made her clean the pool, just as Lucille had expected. And that was the end of it.

Edward looked at her, his expression unreadable. "So, because of Lucille, you ignored me for two months?"

He shook his head slowly, disappointment creeping into his voice. "I didn’t know she mattered so much in our relationship."

"I'm sorry. I’m really sorry." Her voice softened, and she pulled him back into her arms, placing soft kisses all over his face. "I wasn’t angry with you. I was angry with her."

"That's alright. It's good to have you back," he said, kissing her briefly before turning his attention back to the screen.

"My parents sent their regards. They plan to visit soon," she mentioned casually.

Edward quickly turned to her, his eyes widening in surprise. "Your parents?" he whispered, a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice.

"Yes. They're aware I'll be staying for a month with you," she said, keeping her tone light, as though it was nothing unusual.

The truth was, her parents had no idea she was visiting Edward. They didn't know anything about her relationship with him, but she added those words in, hoping to make him believe they were aware. She wanted him to understand that there was no turning back now.

"A month?" Edward frowned deeply.

"Why a month?" He raised an eyebrow, his curiosity obvious.

She had never stayed more than two days at his house, and now it was suddenly a whole month.

"And why on earth did you tell them about us?" he asked, a note of frustration in his voice.

Mabel pouted, but underneath, bitterness began to bite. She knew Edward wasn’t ready to take their relationship to the next level.

"I love you. You love me. They should know we have something," she said softly.

Love? Edward almost sneered at the word. He didn’t feel anything resembling love for Mabel.

The only thing he had with her was physical pleasure, and that was it. He had no plans for a future with her, nor had he ever thought about involving their families.

"Did you even think to ask me first? Is this what our relationship has come to?" His voice turned sharp and cold.

"You make decisions without even considering how I feel?" His tone grew more intense, his anger rising.

"I won’t tolerate disregard like this!" He snapped, his words fill with fury.

Her heart twisted painfully. "He doesn't love you," Lucille's voice echoed in her mind.

Lucille was right. There was no love in him. And as for disregard, hadn’t Lucille been the one who had fed it to him time and time again? Yet, he never asked for an apology.

"It’s not what you think. I told them because I was excited, not to hurt you," she said, keeping her voice steady, even though her chest felt tight and suffocating.

He shot her a cold glance, his eyes icy for a moment. "I see," he muttered, turning back to the screen, his attention slipping away from her.

If she wanted to tell the whole pack, fine. It was her choice. But he would never be pushed into a relationship.

"I’m going to freshen up. Let’s have dinner together afterward," she said, standing up from the bed.

"Alright," he replied, his gaze still fixed on the screen.

As she reached the door, she paused. "I’ll be in the next room. Can Lucille prepare my bath?"

"Whatever," he waved his hand, dismissing her.

"Tell her yourself. She won’t listen to me," she suggested with a smirk.

"Alright, I’ll do that," he said, picking up the phone from the nightstand and dialing the numbers.

She shot him a quick look before leaving the room, a wicked smile creeping onto her face.

It was time to start putting that omega in her place.