Chapter 8: Painful Memory

Francesca’s POV

Long after the brunch had come to an end and all the guests left the drawing room, including Bianca, I was still seated in the armchair. I seemed unable to move or speak, brain slowly trying hard not to think too much about my mother and Alpha Ian in bed. In fact, I was trying not to think about what the Alpha was like in bed at all. It wasn’t the kind of thoughts I wanted to harbor. I didn’t need my imagination to run wild. The man was marrying my mother come tomorrow. I didn’t know what it was exactly I felt, but it needed to die down. It needed to be obliterated because there was no space for it in my life. It would only bring me pain and complicate everything. I resolved that it was a silly crush borne out of Alpha Ian’s devasting good looks and effortlessly dominant nature.

“Francesca,” Jessica Reginald called out in a soft tone.

“Yes, mum,” I replied, turning my head sideways to stare at her. My mother was sitting on the long sofa alone. In fact, I hadn’t no