Free Web NovelChapter 33: Chapter 33 Found Diary Pages
Derek’s POV
The memory still burned like acid in my veins. Standing in that opulent room, watching my father’s arm snake around her waist, I felt the familiar rage bubble up from somewhere deep and dark.
"What is she doing here?" The words came out sharper than I intended, but I didn’t care. My hands curled into fists as I stared at the woman who had destroyed everything.
Felicia stood there like she belonged, her young face wearing that same smug expression I remembered from years ago. She was still beautiful in that cheap, obvious way that had apparently captivated my father enough to betray my mother.
The sight of them together made my stomach turn. This woman had been nineteen when my mother found them together. Nineteen and already skilled enough to wrap my father around her finger while my mother lay dying of heartbreak.
"What exactly are you trying to tell me?" I demanded, though part of me already knew. The dread was building in my chest like a storm.
"I’m marrying Felicia." My father’s words hit me like a physical blow.
The blood rushed to my head so fast I thought I might pass out. After everything that had happened, after the promises and the lies and my mother’s death, he was going to marry his whore.
For the first time in years, I had felt something close to hope tonight. Something that resembled peace. And now this.
"You said you stopped seeing her after Mom died!" The shout tore from my throat, and I could taste the salt of unshed tears.
Felicia stepped back with theatrical grace, examining her nails like this conversation bored her. She had won, after all. Why should she care about my pain?
"Why are you so surprised?" My father’s voice carried that familiar condescension that made me want to hit something. "I assumed your friend had told you." ƒrēewebnovel.com
The mention of Bella made something inside me snap.
I lunged forward, reaching for his collar, but his guards were already moving. He backed away, pointing at me like I was some rabid animal instead of his son.
"She didn’t know," I snarled. "Bella would never keep something like this from me."
Felicia’s laughter rang out like broken glass. My father joined her, and the sound made my skin crawl.
"You really don’t know her at all," he said, and his smile was pure venom. "Bella has known about us for months. I made sure of that. You can check the security footage if you want. She stood right there and watched me with Felicia."
Each word felt like a knife twisting deeper.
"She chose to keep quiet because she knew that if she told you, I’d cut off her access to you completely. Smart girl, really. She picked her own interests over your feelings."
The room spun around me. Not just because of his betrayal, but because the one person I had trusted completely had been lying to my face.
Present day.
"Your Highness, the file you requested."
The maid’s voice pulled me back to reality. I watched her place the documents on my desk before she disappeared, leaving me alone with memories that felt like poison.
"You’re not seriously working right now, are you?" Serena emerged from the bathroom, her hair still damp from the shower. She looked from the file to the closing door, then marched over and slammed it shut.
"No more interruptions," she declared, but I barely heard her.
I picked up the file without really seeing it. Anything to avoid looking at her, to avoid the conversation I could feel building.
"What’s wrong with you?" she demanded, perching on the edge of the bed. The silk nightgown she wore left little to imagination, riding up her thighs as she sat.
Once, that sight would have made me forget everything else. Now it felt like looking at a stranger.
"Nothing’s wrong," I lied. "I’m just concerned about the illness spreading through the pack. Children are dying, Serena."
She tilted her head, studying me like I was a puzzle she couldn’t solve.
"I know that’s serious, but this isn’t about sick children. This is about you pulling away from me."
"I’m not pulling away from anything." The defensive edge in my voice probably proved her point.
"You are, and I want to know why." She moved closer, her voice softening. "I want us to try for a baby."
The file slammed shut in my hands before I could stop myself.
"A baby? Really?" I couldn’t keep the frustration out of my voice. "So we can go through the same cycle again? You get your hopes up, take the test, it comes back negative, and then you spend weeks crying?"
I stood up, needing distance from this conversation.
"Is that really what’s bothering you?" Her voice had changed, gone cold and sharp. "Or is this because she’s back?"
The words stopped me dead. I had been heading for the window, but now I turned to face her, my heart hammering.
"You thought I wouldn’t figure it out?" She rose from the bed, her eyes blazing. "I found the diary pages you’ve been hiding."
My blood turned to ice.
She walked to the nightstand and pulled out two familiar pieces of paper. Pages I had read so many times the words were burned into my memory.
"This is Bella’s diary, isn’t it?" She held them up like evidence. "She writes about you like you’re the center of her world."
I moved before I could think, snatching the pages from her hands.
"How dare you go through my things?" I towered over her, my voice coming out as a growl.
But even as anger consumed me, part of me wondered what else she had read, what other secrets were about to come spilling out between us.
