All Chapters of Three Alphas For The Wrong Bride: Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

Zaria’s POVThe clock over the diner’s back door read 5:40 when I finally untied my apron. The moment I stepped onto the pavement, my toes started throbbing. I walked with my feet turned slightly outward, trying not to put too much weight on them.Behind the dumpsters, I counted my tips. Forty-one dollars and a handful of coins. I folded the money into the envelope with the rest of the week’s earnings, tucked it deep into my jacket pocket, and took off for the bus.The 5:52 was already coming up. If I missed it, I’d miss the first visiting window and Odette would act like she wasn’t waiting for me.She was awake when I got to her room. The oxygen tube was tucked under her nose, and her hair was flattened on one side from the pillow. She was staring at the door like she’d been watching it for an hour.“You look terrible,” she said before I could even say good morning.“You look worse, and you’re the one in the bed.” I chuckled and dropped my bag on the chair, going straight for her bl

Zaria’s POV Gerald drove with both hands on the wheel, and Marguerite kept her eyes on the window. I sat in the back with my bag on my knees, pressing my thumbnail into the strap until it left a groove.Every time I checked my phone, there was still nothing from Aldren. I typed Did she get there? to the number on the transfer form, deleted it, then typed it again.The house stood behind a gate that opened on its own. The driveway stretched so far that I watched the gravel pass beneath us for nearly a minute before the front doors came into view.Gerald parked, and a woman in a gray uniform came out and reached for my bag. “I’ve got it,” I said.“It’s no trouble, miss.”“It’s fine. Thank you.” I held on to it. My work shirt was inside, along with my phone charger and a photo of Odette at the lake that I kept in the side pocket. The woman glanced at Marguerite. Marguerite gave the smallest shake of her head, and the woman stepped back.The front hall was bigger than the entire diner.

Zaria’s POV He let go of the door a few seconds after I stopped expecting him to. He stepped back, and the metal made a small sound as it settled. I stayed in my seat with my bag against my stomach, my whole body still until Gerald came around the car and cleared his throat.“Jericho,” he said. “Good to see you.”“Gerald.” Jericho didn’t look at him. His eyes moved from my hands to my face, then past my shoulder. “Your daughter’s room is ready. The ceremony is at ten tomorrow.”He turned and walked toward the house without checking if I was following.So that was my husband. I got out of the car, my knees unsteady, and followed him.I don’t remember the room very well. There was a bed too high for me to sit on without hopping, a window that looked out at nothing but the sea, and a tray on the table with a glass of water and one white tablet beside it.A woman I hadn’t met stood in the doorway with her hands folded. She was tall, with gray in her black hair, and her mouth was set in a