Chapter 5

Anna’s POV

Eric only smiled and said, “Mom, aren’t you going to introduce us?”

The living room fell silent. Everyone’s expressions turned tense.

Mary’s smile disappeared at once. “Anna, this is your brother-in-law, Eric.”

Silas glanced at Eric coldly, as if he were looking at a stranger.

So did Mary and the rest of the guests.

Their reactions felt strange. Shouldn’t being Silas’s twin brother make Eric important too?

After all, Silas was the Don of the Monroe family now. Possibly the most powerful man in New York.

And yet everyone looked at Eric as if he was someone they wished would disappear.

Eric heard Mary’s cold introduction and let out a soft, self-mocking laugh. Then he turned and walked upstairs.

Watching him walk upstairs alone made my heart ache, like it had been pricked by countless tiny needles.

I felt the loneliness around him.

I had never imagined Eric was treated like this in his own family.

Soon, the living room returned to laughter, conversation, and congratulations.

No one seemed to care that Eric had left. Almost as if they were glad he was gone.

I no longer had the energy to socialize or wear a fake smile. I walked toward the bathroom, hoping to freshen up and clear my head.

the moment I opened the bathroom door, a powerful force yanked me inside.

It was Eric.

He stared down at me, his eyes burning with displeasure.

“You have no idea,” he said coldly, “how badly I wanted to kill Silas when I saw his hand on your waist.”

My heart jolted. “Stop. We’re at your mother’s house. Let me go.”

Eric didn’t listen. “If only I were the Don of the Monroe family,” he murmured, “I would be the one standing beside you.”

He lifted my hand and pressed it against his face. “Anna, I missed you. I haven’t seen you for a whole week. Did you miss me?”

Then his voice suddenly darkened. His gaze locked on my neck. “Did he touch you?”

He turned me toward the mirror and pointed at the red mark there.

I smacked his hand away. “He didn’t touch me. He barely even comes home. You know that better than anyone. Otherwise, he would have caught you in his bed a long time ago.”

“It’s best that he didn’t,” Eric said quietly. “If he had, I would have ripped his hand off.”

In the mirror, I watched him lean down and press a kiss to the red mark.

Then he bit down, hard enough to leave a darker one over it.

“It hurts,” I whispered breathlessly. “Eric, are you a wolf?”

Eric slowly lifted his head. Our eyes met in the mirror.

“I might as well be one,” he said softly. “Because once a wolf chooses someone, that person belongs to him for the rest of his life.”

Just then, Silas’s voice came from outside the door.

My blood turned cold.

I suddenly remembered that when Eric dragged me inside, he hadn’t locked it.

Panicking, I reached for the lock.

But Eric caught my hand and pressed it against the wall instead, sliding his fingers between mine.

“You’re that afraid of being seen with me?”

“No,” I whispered. “It’s complicated. Let me lock the door first, okay?”

Eric’s teasing smile disappeared.

“Say you love me,” he said, his eyes burning into mine. “Say you love only me. Otherwise, I’ll let Silas open this door, and I’ll kiss you right in front of him.”

Silas’s footsteps grew closer and closer.

Before those footsteps reached the bathroom, a girl's voice rang out first.

“Silas, where have you been? Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?”

From her tone, it was obvious she knew him.

Then I heard Silas’s voice, softer than usual. “Who brought you here? I told you I would come find you..”

The girl cut him off and pouted. “But I missed you. You promised me that you and her were only an act. Why did your mother mention a baby? Have you touched her?”

“Shhh, come with me. I’ll explain everything.” Silas urged her to leave.

I looked at Eric in confusion, but he seemed like he had known about Silas and that girl for a long time.

“She’s Silas’s ex-girlfriend. His childhood sweetheart, Vanessa,” Eric said. “Do you want to know why I’ve been the one coming to your bed every night?”

I nodded.

But somehow, before Eric even said it, I already had a vague feeling I knew why.