Lahat ng Kabanata ng Contracted By My Ex’s Father In Law : Kabanata 141 - Kabanata 150

DANTE———Her words were like thrown stones—sharp, desperate, meant to hurt. She was backing away, screaming at me, calling me paranoid, insane. Every denial, every angry shout, just confirmed the truth screaming in my gut. She was lying. She was hiding something so big it was tearing her apart, and it was tearing me apart with it.She picked up a small, heavy crystal ornament from a side table and hurled it at me. I ducked, and it shattered against the stone wall behind me. "You're a monster!" she screamed, grabbing a book next. "You see betrayal everywhere because that's all you know!"I saw red. The rage, the jealousy, the hurt—it all boiled over into something primal. I lunged forward as she drew her arm back to throw the book. I didn't grab the book. I grabbed her. My hands closed around her upper arms, and I spun her, pinning her back against the cold stone wall next to the fireplace. I caged her in, my body pressing against hers, my face inches from her terrified one.“STOP!”

IRENE Time lost all meaning in the small, sunlit clinic room. It could have been minutes or hours. We just stood there, Dante and I—side by side—at Rowan’s bedside. The only sounds were the ticking clock on the wall. Rowan’s shallow, ragged breathing, and the pounding of my own heart.My mind was a storm. Seeing Rowan so broken wiped away the messy tangle of our betrayal and left behind something raw and simple: he was Dante’s heart. Not in the way I was, but in a way that was just as vital. He was his brother in all but blood, his shadow, his other half in ruling this fierce, wild world. And he was lying here because of me. Because our secret had created a crack, a distraction, a moment of doubt that had nearly cost Dante his life, and had cost Rowan… everything.Dante hadn’t moved. He was a statue of grief and fury, his eyes never leaving Rowan’s face. The tension between us hadn’t gone away; it had just been buried under the heavier weight of possible loss.Finally, the old h

DANTE **********I didn't run to the clinic. An Alpha does not run. But my steps were long and fast, eating up the stone corridors. The healer's words echoed. Urgent. What could be urgent? Was he worse?The thought sent a cold spear of dread through my chest, right next to the burning coal of my anger.The clinic was quiet. The smell of herbs and blood was still there, but fainter. The old healer stood outside Rowan's door, talking softly with his apprentice. They bowed when they saw me."He is awake, Alpha. The fever is down. He is weak, but his mind is clear. He insisted on speaking to you alone."I gave a short nod and pushed the door open.Rowan was propped up on more pillows now. The greyish pallor was gone from his face, replaced by the waxy look of someone who had brushed against death. But his eyes were open, and they were clear. They tracked me as I entered and closed the door."Alpha," he said, his voice a dry rasp. He tried to sit up straighter, wincing."Stay down," I ord

IRENE*******The walk to the clinic felt like walking to hell. My heart was a frantic, trapped bird in my chest, beating against my ribs with every step. The maid moved silently ahead of me, her footsteps echoed on the stone. I could only hear the roaring of my own panic.We reached the familiar hallway, the clean, sharp smell of herbs and medicine hitting me. The stern head healer was there, talking to his apprentice. He looked up as we approached.I noticed the door to Rowan’s room was open. The bed inside was empty, stripped of its sheets.My steps faltered. “Where is he?”“Ah Miss Irene,” the healer said, giving a short nod. “You are looking for the Beta?”“Yes,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “I was told he asked for me.”The healer’s brow furrowed. “He did, earlier. But he is not here. Once his fever broke and he could sit up, he became… restless. He insisted on being taken to his own quarters. Said he couldn’t heal surrounded by the smell of sickness.” The old man shook h

IRENEI watched from my Alpha office window as Irene walked back from Rowan’s home. Her steps were slow, her head down. She had been gone a while. Too long for a simple visit to a sick man. The old, cold knot of suspicion tightened in my gut, even though Rowan’s story made sense. Even though he had almost died for me.I needed to erase it. All of it. The doubt, the strange scent, the image of them in the dark room. I needed to mark her again, in the most basic, primal way there was. To remind her body, and mine, who she belonged to.I waited for her in our room. I had just come from the training grounds, the heat of a hard workout still on my skin. I stood by the fireplace, a towel around my waist, drying my hair with another.The door opened. She slipped in, looking tired, and was next startled to see me. Her eyes went wide, then dropped, taking in the sight of me—bare chest, the towel low on my hips. She gulped. A tiny, nervous sound. Good. Let her be nervous. Let her remember