All Chapters of Cherish Me, Daddy: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

LUCEN'S POVMy nails dug into my palms, leaving shallow crescents. “You acted helpless.”“Yes.” Ghon said smirking which made my blood boil further.I gritted my teeth, I spat every word with venom. “You manipulated my pack. You tricked me.”“Yes.” He chuckled, a sound that grated against the metallic scent filling my nostrils. “You Alphas are so predictable. Show you something pitiful and you rush to save it.” His gaze glittered, a predator’s shine. “And you did exactly what we hoped.”Rage boiled in my chest, hot and ferocious, but another memory surfaced... Eli’s face, his eyes clouded with hurt each time another omega’s scent brushed against me. The memory twisted my anger into something sharper, something that cut straight to my core.Ghon seemed to sense the shift. His smile cracked, a mock sympathy sliding across his features. “Oh yes, that part was my favorite.” He leaned in, voice low. “I made sure my scent lingered on you every time. You were kind enough to release your pher

ELI'S POVWe stepped into the grand stairwell, the cold night air slipping through the tall windows and brushing against my skin. I focused on my breathing, forcing it into something steady, something controlled. Inhale… slow. Exhale… steady. The marble beneath my feet felt too solid, too real, every step echoing louder than it should, like the world was amplifying my weakness.For a fleeting moment, I thought... I made it out.The thought came quietly, fragile, almost disbelieving. I had survived the room. I walked out. I was still standing.So I kept moving. One step. Then another. Beside me, Lucen walked in silence. I could feel his presence without looking... steady, watchful, restrained. Not suffocating like before. Not distant either. Just… there. Like he was waiting for something.Waiting for me to fall. My fingers curled slightly at my side. ”Don’t, I told myself. Don’t you dare fall now.” I muttered to myself in my mind.“I’m fine,” I muttered under my breath, more to myself

ELI'S POVWaking up felt like clawing my way out of deep water.Every breath dragged, heavy and uncertain, like my lungs were still deciding whether they trusted the air. My body didn’t feel like mine… it felt hollowed out, scraped clean and left too fragile to hold anything steady. For a long moment, I just lay there, eyes still closed, listening to the slow rhythm of my own breathing.Alive.The thought came quietly.Barely believable.My fingers twitched against the sheets. The sensation was dull, delayed, but it was there. Real. I forced my eyes open, and light immediately stabbed through my vision, making me flinch. The ceiling came into view, blurred at first, then slowly sharpening.My room.I made it back.“…sir?” The voice pulled me out of the haze. Familiar. Soft.I turned my head slightly, the motion heavier than it should have been. “Ana…?” My voice came out rough, barely audible, like it had forgotten how to exist.Relief flooded her face instantly. “You’re awake,” she sa

LUCEN'S POVI never liked crowds. The hum of strangers and the anonymous chatter... it all felt like a tide trying to wash me out of the world I had built for myself. Yet today, I found myself in the middle of a busy mall, the kind of place that Eli loved because it reminded him of mornings spent with his mother. I had followed him, not out of affection but out of habit. Habit, after all, is what keeps a man from spiraling when his protection is an unpredictable animal.Eli was standing at the stall, he was looking at the row of body soap. He looks like he was dissecting each product, comparing their ingredients or maybe their prices.I saw him before Eli even spoke a word. The stranger stood too close, his presence a thin blade cutting through the thin veil of personal space I had drawn around Eli. He moved with a practiced ease, slipping his hand into Eli’s space as if claiming a seat at a table he’d never been invited to. His grin was the kind that makes strangers think they own t

ELI'S POVThe car fell into silence after that. Lucen leaned back slightly against the seat, his expression once again composed, unreadable. The intensity from earlier hadn’t completely disappeared... I could still feel it lingering in the air, but now it was buried beneath that familiar cold mask he wore so easily.Too easily. My fingers curled slightly against my lap. He’s still angry. Of course he is. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. He wasn’t looking at me anymore. His gaze was fixed forward, distant, like I wasn’t even there.That shouldn’t bother me. It shouldn’t. Our relationship was a contract after all. But it did. “…you’re not going to say anything?” I asked, breaking the silence.No response. Not even a glance. I frowned slightly. “Lucen.”Still nothing. Seriously? I exhaled quietly, leaning back against the seat. Fine. If he wants to play it like this… “Are you going to stay mad the whole ride?” I muttered, crossing my arms.Silence. I clicked my tongue softly.