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Chapter 28

Author: Joe Michael
last update Last Updated: 2025-09-12 03:07:09

The Empty Apartment

Adrian carried flowers in his hands. White lilies, Henry’s favorite. He had woken that morning with a clarity that stilled the doubts he had wrestled with for months. Yesterday, in front of the entire world, he had told Henry what his heart had hidden for years. And though Henry had not answered, Adrian believed he had seen something in his eyes — a flicker of hope, a softening, a silent acknowledgment.

It was enough. Enough to make him rise before dawn, enough to make him stop by the florist and choose blossoms fresh with dew, enough to carry them now as he climbed the stairs to the modest apartment Henry shared with Evelyn.

Adrian rehearsed what he would say. “I don’t need an answer today. Just let me stay. Let me walk with you into tomorrow.”

He smiled at the thought. He was not Elias with his fire, nor Damien with his wealth. He had no throne to offer, no empire to wield. But he had patience. He had loyalty. He had love. And perhaps — perhaps that was what Henr
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  • The One He Chose   Chapter 30

    Whispers in the CityThe city never slept, but tonight its pulse carried a strange disquiet.News of Henry’s disappearance spread faster than wildfire, carried from the graduation grounds like a rumor born on the wind, swelling into something no one could contain. By nightfall, every street corner, café, news outlet, and gossip page was alight with the story:The boy who was once an exile had vanished, just when the world had begun to see him.At the school, the celebration of the graduation had turned sour. Confusion replaced laughter, and whispers filled the hallways like smoke after a fire.Students clustered in groups, their caps still tucked under their arms, the joy of the day long forgotten.“Did you hear? Henry’s gone.”“They say he ran away with his mother.”“Ran away? Or was he taken?”Theories blossomed, wild and reckless. Some said Elias had hidden him away in the forest to prepare him for Alpha trials. Others swore Damien Dowell had flown him in a private jet to a secret

  • The One He Chose   Chapter 29

    The city stretched before Damien like a kingdom he owned, yet tonight it mocked him. The glitter of skyscrapers reflected in his office as if reminding him that power meant nothing when the one person he wanted had slipped through his fingers.“Gone,” he whispered, his voice murmur. The word tasted bitter, heavier than any business loss he’d ever endured.Henry. Evelyn. Both vanished.Damien’s office was silent, only the clips of his system and the city traffic outside. He stood at the center of his living room, still dressed in the tailored suit he had worn to the graduation, his tie discarded, the first two buttons of his shirt undone. His fists clenched at his sides as he tried to steady his breathing.He had walked into the ceremony that morning with his usual confidence, sure that his presence alone would remind Henry who truly held the power to change his life. He thought his declaration—bold, unapologetic, filled with promises of a life of wealth and influence—would be the turn

  • The One He Chose   Chapter 28

    The Empty ApartmentAdrian carried flowers in his hands. White lilies, Henry’s favorite. He had woken that morning with a clarity that stilled the doubts he had wrestled with for months. Yesterday, in front of the entire world, he had told Henry what his heart had hidden for years. And though Henry had not answered, Adrian believed he had seen something in his eyes — a flicker of hope, a softening, a silent acknowledgment.It was enough. Enough to make him rise before dawn, enough to make him stop by the florist and choose blossoms fresh with dew, enough to carry them now as he climbed the stairs to the modest apartment Henry shared with Evelyn.Adrian rehearsed what he would say. “I don’t need an answer today. Just let me stay. Let me walk with you into tomorrow.”He smiled at the thought. He was not Elias with his fire, nor Damien with his wealth. He had no throne to offer, no empire to wield. But he had patience. He had loyalty. He had love. And perhaps — perhaps that was what Henr

  • The One He Chose   Chapter 27

    Elias arrived at the school early, his pack warriors trailing behind him. He had barely slept after the ceremony. Too much had been at stake, and Henry’s silence had haunted him through the night. He had expected—no, believed—that Henry would seek him out before the dawn. That he would step into his arms and accept the place that was rightfully his at the side of an Alpha.Instead, he found silence.Now the campus was empty, the echoes of yesterday’s graduation fading into the hum of ordinary life. Students had gone home with their families. Cars that had once filled the lot were gone. Only scraps of ribbon clung to the grass.“Where is he?” Elias demanded, his eyes scanning the grounds.His Beta, Marcus, cleared his throat from behind. “We checked his apartment this morning, Alpha. He and his mother weren’t there. The door was locked, but the neighbors said they left with bags before sunrise.”Elias froze. The words hit him like a physical blow. Left?“What do you mean, left?” His to

  • The One He Chose   Chapter 26

    The school was booming with cars and people from all over the world. Families reunited with laughter and pride, surrounded by roses and perfume, the campus decorated in gold and blue ribbons fluttering in the afternoon breeze. Cameras flashed, students in gowns posed for pictures with their proud parents, and everywhere there was the sound of accomplishment—cheers, claps, and the occasional tears of joy.But Henry stood apart, his hands clenched behind his back, watching it all as though from a glass wall. He should have felt triumphant. He had worked harder than most of his peers, dragged through mud and prejudice, and still managed to stand tall. Yet as the speeches ended and the last applause died, his heart was heavy.Because they were all watching him.Adrian, the principal, stood in his formal suit, his eyes warm, silently pleading as though his confession during the ceremony wasn’t enough. Elias, the newly restored Alpha, carried himself like royalty, the weight of his title pr

  • The One He Chose   Chapter 25

    A Mother’s CrownThe dawn of graduation day came with a trembling beauty. Gold light spilled around the campus, dew glittered like diamonds on the grass, and bells rang in the chapel tower as though announcing the birth of a new chapter.But for Henry, the day wasn’t about his gown or the speeches of men who loved him. It wasn’t about the Alpha, the CEO, the Principal, or even the whispers of the town. It was about the woman who sat in the dormitory window with her hands folded, watching the sunrise as though it belonged only to her.His mother, Evelyn.The woman who had walked with him through exile, who had bent but never broken, who had turned silence into sanctuary.Henry had been asked—almost begged—to prepare a speech for the ceremony. The student body wanted it, the teachers wanted it, even the suitors wanted it. But Henry didn’t want to speak about himself. He wanted to speak about her.And so, on the morning of the most important day of his life, Henry sat at his desk with a

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