All Chapters of Too Late, Alpha — She’s a Queen Now: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Darius’s phone rang just as Lyra was finishing her orange juice. I barely glanced up, until I saw the caller ID. Baby. My chest tightened.It was ridiculous, really. I’d promised myself I was done caring. But love isn’t something you can just switch off. Especially not when it’s tangled around your ribs for years. I looked away, pretending I hadn’t seen it. Darius noticed. Of course he did. But he didn’t bother to hide it. Instead, he answered right there at the breakfast table, his voice lower, softer. “What’s wrong?” he murmured into the phone. Lyra, completely missing the tension in the air, perked up. “Is that Aunt Emma?” Darius didn’t even hesitate. “Yeah.” I didn’t flinch. I just kept stirring my coffee like it meant something. But inside, something was quite broken. Lyra opened her mouth to ask to talk to Emma—but caught herself. She remembered I didn’t like her, and guilt flickered across her face. She dropped her toast and suddenly didn’t want to eat anymore. Then Da

By the time we arrived, the banquet hall was already buzzing with energy—laughter, champagne, and the hum of gossip bouncing off crystal chandeliers and polished marble floors. I stepped in wearing the ivory embroidered gown. Simple. Classic. Safe. Almost instantly, I felt it—eyes tracking my entrance. Some lingered too long, some looked away too quickly. Admiration, curiosity, judgment; it all swirled in the air around me. But I didn’t flinch. Years of being married to Darius had taught me to walk through a room like I belonged, even when I didn’t feel it. The host, Leo—a long-time friend of Joe’s—smiled and started to greet us. But before he could say a word, a voice shouted from the entrance.The entire room shifted. Something was coming. No—someone.Whispers rippled across the crowd like electricity on water. A collective breath held. I didn’t even need to turn. My body already knew. Leo stiffened, his smile faltering. Then he gave Joe and me a quick, awkward nod and moved pa

Footsteps echoed outside the door. Darius was back. “Daddy!” Lyra’s tired little voice perked up. “Hey, sweetheart.” His deep baritone filled the room as he stepped inside. I shifted instinctively, ready to put Lyra down so he could take her, but she clung to me like a little vine, her tiny fingers reaching toward him. He leaned in, close enough that the air between us carried his familiar cologne—a scent that once meant home to me. But beneath the sharp, masculine notes were softer, almost powdery. Feminine. Perfume. Not mine. And not just any perfume, I’d smelled that exact fragrance clinging to Emma at the banquet earlier tonight. My stomach tightened. I turned my head away and stepped back until the scent faded, until I could breathe again. He didn’t notice. Or maybe he did and chose to ignore it. His gaze was on Lyra as he pressed a hand gently to her forehead, his brows drawing together. “Her fever—has it broken?” My voice came out steady, but cold. “The doctor says i

The room went still the moment I stepped in. Every head turned toward me, eyes sharp with curiosity. “Joe, is this… our new teammate?” one of them asked, their tone a mix of excitement and disbelief. Joe’s easy smile didn’t falter. “You guys are well-informed. This is Rae—” Before he could finish, James’s voice cut through like a blade. “So, you kicked my junior off the project… for her?” The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees. Joe’s jaw tightened. “Yes. I was going to explain to you privately—” James laughed, but there was no humor in it. He turned his gaze on me, eyes burning. “My junior just earned her Ph.D. from one of the top ten research institutes in the world. She’s twenty-five. And yet somehow, Miss Rae here was able to squeeze her out? That must mean your resume is… what? Beyond extraordinary?” I knew exactly who he was talking about—Emma. She’d been crying to him last night, spitting out the word personal reasons like poison when she told him Joe had

When Joe and I walked into the private dining room, Emma and Rocco were already lounging on the sofa, with wine glasses in hand. “What are you two smirking about?” Emma asked, one perfectly arched brow raised. Rocco’s smile was pure mischief. “Oh, nothing. We just happened to bump into someone… interesting, a little while ago.” His tone was weighty, like he was dangling bait. I ignored it. ——After dinner, Darius and Lyra returned home. The moment the car stopped, Lyra bolted out and into the house. “Mom! Mom!” Linda stepped out from the kitchen, drying her hands. “Madam isn’t home yet.” Lyra’s face fell. “She’s never home anymore,” she muttered, trudging upstairs with a pout. Darius stood still in the entryway, coat still on, a shadow passing over his face. “Sir?” Linda asked quietly. He shook his head. “It’s nothing.” Then he followed Lyra upstairs without saying another word. ——I didn’t go home that night. The next morning, Lyra came down expecting my cooking, only to find