Free Web NovelChapter 45: Chapter 45
After breakfast, Fleur lingered beside the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the winter landscape spread beneath a pale morning sun.
Golden light spilled across an endless blanket of snow, turning every frost-covered surface into a glittering field of crystals. Below, dark ribbons of cleared asphalt cut through the white expanse, carrying vehicles that moved steadily through the biting cold.
For a moment, she allowed herself to simply breathe and watch.
"Fleur."
Christian’s deep voice shattered the silence. She turned to find him framing the doorway, his broad shoulders filling the entrance and his expression entirely unreadable.
"We’re leaving."
The sheer coldness in his tone made her chest tighten. Fleur cast a final glance around the suite. Their luggage had already been swept downstairs by the bellboy and loaded into the waiting SUV. Nothing remained of their stay except the lingering, ghostly traces of the previous night—the rumpled sheets still held the shape of tangled limbs and stolen warmth, silent witnesses to a passion neither of them had possessed the strength to resist.
Yet the man standing before her now bore no resemblance to the one who had held her so fiercely beneath the moonlit darkness.
Last night’s Christian had been intense, possessive, and dangerously irresistible. The man waiting for her now was once again the ruthless Alpha King, a monarch who kept his emotions buried deep beneath layers of impenetrable ice. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Following a silent check-out, they climbed into the waiting vehicle, an oppressive quiet settling between them the moment the doors snapped shut. Christian kept his attention fixed forward, his knuckles white as his hands gripped the steering wheel like an anchor. He made no effort to break the tension.
Staring out the passenger window, Fleur’s thoughts began to spiral. Had last night been nothing more than a moment of weakness? A fleeting lapse brought on by fever and isolation? Was he regretting it already? Was that why he couldn’t even bring himself to look at her?
Every passing mile only deepened the knot of uncertainty twisting in her chest until the silence became genuinely unbearable.
Unable to stop herself, she stole a glance at him. The sharp line of his jaw was visibly tense. His profile remained as striking as ever, carved with the kind of masculine perfection that made women lose their minds, but he was entirely distant. The man who had made her feel treasured only hours ago now felt a million miles away.
Lost in the suffocating quiet, Fleur barely noticed the journey passing. It was only when the SUV slowed to a crawl that she realized they had arrived outside her apartment building.
Christian stepped out first. Circling the hood, he opened her door before her fingers could even reach the handle. As Fleur climbed out, he retrieved her luggage from the trunk without a word, signaling one of his trailing guards to carry it inside.
Then, he simply turned away.
No goodbye. No explanation. No lingering glance. He walked straight back to the driver’s seat.
A sharp, physical ache pierced Fleur’s heart. Disappointment was too mild a word; the casual coldness of his departure hurt far more than she cared to admit.
Still, as she watched the door click shut, she forced herself to remain rational. Perhaps this was simply who Christian Wayne was. He had never been a man to stay emotionally attached; his reputation as a ruthless king spoke for itself, and women had always drifted through his life like passing shadows.
Thinking about it, she found it almost miraculous that their marriage had managed to last three years. The thought should have stung, but instead, it brought a wave of profound relief.
At least he hadn’t recognized her.
If he had remembered who she truly was, he would never have let her walk away so easily. Their shared past was filled with too much agony, too many jagged scars that had never properly healed. The absolute last thing she wanted was to be dragged back into that toxic Chapter of her life.
Taking a steadying breath, Fleur squared her shoulders and walked toward the building’s entrance.
What she didn’t see was Christian’s gaze burning into her back. From behind the tinted glass of the SUV, he watched her every step, his wolf stirring restlessly beneath his skin, pacing and refusing to look away.
Only after she disappeared completely into the elevator did he finally tear his eyes from the glass. Sliding behind the wheel, he hit the gas, and the vehicle pulled away into the city traffic.
As the elevator doors slid closed, Fleur caught a fleeting glimpse of the departing SUV before it vanished from sight. Two people. Two separate paths. Two hearts carrying heavy burdens neither knew how to voice.
When the elevator finally chimed on her floor, Fleur unlocked her door and stepped into the warmth of her apartment. Instantly, two small figures hurtled down the hallway toward her.
"Mommy!"
Bright, blinding smiles greeted her alongside Lea’s warm welcome, and the darkness weighing on her heart instantly began to scatter.
Fleur dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms tightly around her children. Their familiar, sweet scent surrounded her, acting as a soothing balm to the restless ache in her chest.
Chloe and Gabriel immediately launched into a chaotic, excited symphony of stories about everything that had happened while she was away, their little words tumbling over one another as they competed for her undivided attention.
Their pure enthusiasm pulled a genuine laugh from her throat. Slowly, the tension that had haunted her all morning loosened its grip.
For a little while, nothing else mattered. Not Christian, not their complicated history, and not the confusion consuming her mind. There were only her children, and the safety of this moment.
Meanwhile, across the city, a heavy darkness hung over the Alpha King’s penthouse. The vast space remained shrouded in shadows until Syrus entered, flipping on the overhead lights.
A furious, low curse immediately echoed from the dark corner of the room. "Get the hell out."
Syrus sighed, his gaze landing on the man sprawled in a heavy armchair near the balcony. Christian Wayne looked nothing like the feared tyrant who commanded packs and corporate empires alike.
An unfinished bottle of top-shelf Scotch sat on the table beside him, and a negligible amount of amber liquid swirled lazily inside the glass dangling from his fingers. His broad shoulders were slumped, his expression entirely hollow. Defeated.
"Christian," Syrus said, rubbing his temples in exasperation. "Where the hell were you? You ditched your security detail and vanished without a word. Half the city has been looking for you." freёwebnovel.com
Christian drained the rest of his glass in a single swallow. "Why would anyone be worried? I’m not a child."
"That’s not the point."
"It sounds exactly like the point."
Syrus exhaled sharply, his frustration mounting. "For once in your life, can you stop being impossible and just tell me what happened?"
"Nothing happened." Christian reached straight for the bottle, drinking directly from the neck.
Syrus stared at him, incredulous. "Nothing happened? Then why are you sitting in the dark trying to drown yourself in alcohol?"
Christian let out a bitter, humorless laugh that echoed sharply against the glass walls. "What I do with my time is none of your business."
Syrus’s patience finally snapped. "Do you have any idea how exhausting this is? Every time you pull a disappearing act, everyone has to drop everything to hunt you down. I can’t focus on running the pack, I can’t focus on my own life, because I’m too busy wondering if you’ve finally decided to self-destruct for good."
A dangerous, low growl rumbled deep from Christian’s chest, his inner wolf bristling violently at the accusation. But Syrus didn’t flinch; he held his ground, refusing to back down.
When Christian finally spoke, his voice was dangerously quiet, cold, and entirely empty. "Then leave."
An oppressive silence fell over the room. Christian rose heavily from the chair and strode toward the balcony, his back to his friend. "Leave me. Like everyone else does."
The glass balcony door slid shut behind him, cutting off the wind. As he stepped outside, something slipped from his relaxed fingers and fluttered carelessly onto the hardwood floor inside.
Frowning, Syrus stepped forward and bent down to pick it up. It was a glossy photograph.
As he turned it over, his eyes widened in shock. It was the picture of Fleur Swann’s twins—the exact same photograph he had uncovered and shown Christian during the initial investigation.
Confusion swirled in Syrus’s mind, quickly giving way to a sudden, chilling realization. Why had Christian been carrying it around? Why was he staring at it while drinking himself into a stupor?
Only one answer made any sense—the same terrifying suspicion Syrus had been fighting against from the very first moment he had laid eyes on those children. The same truth he had been desperately trying not to believe.
Because the twins looked far too much like Christian Wayne.
