Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Alpha's Regret After His Daughter Died: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

(Adrian's POV)"Adrian, let's sever the mate bond."I thought I'd heard her wrong."What did you say?""I said, let's sever the mate bond." Evelyn looked at me, her voice quiet. "I'll file the request with the Elder Council today. All you have to do is sign it.""All this because I said a few harsh things?" I stared at her. "Evelyn, aren't you done with this act yet?"She didn't answer.I'd come back fully intending to apologize to Stella. That day by the pool, I'd been too hard on her. She was just a kid. But Evelyn kept saying, over and over, that Stella was dead, and I didn't believe it. Only two mornings ago, Stella had been hanging on to her mother's skirt, tipping her little face up to call me Daddy.Last night, while the fireworks were going off, Vanessa had told me, "Adrian, I'm not going to hold a grudge against a little kid. What bad intentions could a child possibly have? Kids only learn that stuff from the grown-ups around them."I hadn't said anything at the time. But now,

(Evelyn's POV)Adrian was silent for a long time.Then he reached up and brushed the tears from my cheek with his rough fingertips. His touch was gentle, tender in a way I'd never felt from him before."Don't cry, Evelyn." He looked into my eyes, his voice low and soft. "I've never once thought about severing the mate bond with you. Yes, Vanessa's back. She's been through a lot, so I'm going to transfer enough money from my personal account to make sure she never has to worry again. But that's all. From now on, I'm going to learn how to be a good mate and a good dad. I'll take care of you and Stella the way I should have."I looked at his face, so close to mine, and listened to words I used to dream about hearing.My heart skipped a beat before I could stop it. I'd waited six years to hear this. But now it was too late. I didn't need him to be a good mate anymore, and my Stella would never need him to be her daddy again.I leaned back against the headboard. I didn't say anything, but I

(Evelyn's POV)The cold glow of the screen was harsh in the dim bedroom.So that was where the bag came from. He'd taken his lover shopping, and she had picked one out for me while she was at it.I gave a bitter laugh and didn't answer the text.I wasn't even angry. I didn't have the strength left to confront Adrian. I felt only numbness.I set the Hermès box on the coffee table and took the agreement to sever our mate bond out of my purse. I slid it under the box with a sticky note on top that said, "Sign it and have your lawyer contact me."Then I went upstairs to pack.The walk-in closet was full of clothes Mark had bought for me on Adrian's behalf, all with the tags still on. My jewelry box held six necklaces, two of them exactly the same. I didn't take a single thing.I packed just one suitcase: a few of my old clothes, Stella's favorite stuffed bunny, the one washed so many times it had faded, her pink princess dress, the unfinished drawing from her desk, and the little white jar

(Evelyn's POV)My first instinct was to explain. But when I saw Vanessa behind him, I suddenly wanted to get under his skin."That's right. If you can sever the mate bond with me for Vanessa, why can't I sever it with you for Caleb?" I leaned back against the raised end of the exam table and met Adrian's dark, furious gaze. I didn't bother hiding the challenge in my voice.Ethan froze beside the table. He awkwardly pushed his rimless glasses up his nose and glanced from Caleb's arm around my shoulders, to Adrian's livid face, to Vanessa leaning against the doorframe. He clearly had no idea what to make of this tangled four-way mess.Ethan covered the large scrapes on my knees and arms with sterile gauze and tidied the instruments on his tray. He cleared his throat, breaking the tense silence. "Your wounds are taken care of. They're only surface injuries, but being dragged along the road scraped off a lot of skin. I need to go over your aftercare with your family.""You can tell Caleb."

(Evelyn's POV)Caleb Foster's palm was hot—so hot it made me flinch.Feeling a little awkward, I pulled my hand back and gave his shoulder a push. "Caleb, stop joking around."His smile slipped for a second, but he covered it fast and let the subject drop. "Okay, no more jokes. Come on, I'll take you home."Caleb drove me back to my parents' house.He got me settled on the couch and sorted the meds Ethan had prescribed into morning, noon, and night doses, filling the pill organizer one little compartment at a time. Then he poured the expired milk from my fridge down the sink."Okay, Caleb," I said. "I can take care of myself. Go home and get some rest.""With your ankle swollen up like that? How are you going to take care of yourself? I'd worry about you.""I really can. If you sit here watching over me, I'll never fall asleep."Caleb couldn't win that argument. He pulled out his phone. "Give me your number."If anything comes up, you call me. Even in the middle of the night.""Got it.