Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

185 Chapter 185

Seraphina’s POV

The little girl's chubby arms around my waist. Her sticky face pressed against my stomach. That word-*Mama*“-

echoing in my ears.

I couldn't shake it.

Back at Margaret's place, | went through the motions. Helped set up for her birthday dinner. Smiled at the right

times. Laughed when

everyone else did. But my mind kept drifting back to that street corner, to those innocent eyes looking up at me

with such certainty.

“Sera, honey, you're burning the garlic bread.”

Margaret's voice snappedback. Smoke curled up from the oven.

“Shit!” | yanked the tray out, nearly dropping it. The bread was charcoal black.

Margaret took the tray from my hands, her eyes soft with concern. “What's going on with you tonight?”

“Nothing. Sorry. I'll make another batch.”

“We have plenty of food.” She set the ruined bread aside. “Talk to me.”

“I'm fine. Really.” | forced a smile. “Just tired from the drive.”

She didn’t look convinced, but she let it go. For now.

Dinner was loud and chaotic in the best way. Margaret's friends filled her dining room with laughter and wine and

terrible dad jokes. |

sat at the corner of the table, picking at my pasta, trying to be present.

“So Sera,” one of Margaret's book club friends-Linda? Lydia?—leaned toward me. “Margaret says you're a

professional boxer. That must

be so glamorous.”

“It has its moments.”

“Do you travel a lot?”

“Yeah. Constantly.”

“That sounds exhausting.” She took a sip of wine. “Do you ever think about settling down? Starting a family?”

The pasta turned to cement in my mouth. | forced myself to swallow.

“Linda,” Margaret cut in smoothly. “Sera’s only twenty-six. Plenty of tfor all that.”

“Oh, | know! | just meant—" Linda backpedaled. “My daughter’s your age and she’s already talking about

freezing her eggs. These young

women today, so practical about these things.”

| excused myself to the bathroom. Locked the door. Stared at my reflection.

*Mama.*

15:06

<

185 Chapter 185

That little girl's face swam in my vision. | gripped the edge of the sink until my knuckles went white.

Get it together, Seraphina.

After we cut the cake and sang Happy Birthday, | started gathering my things.

“Where do you think you're going?” Margaret materialized in front of the door, arms crossed.

“Home. It's getting late.”

“Stay.” It wasn’t a request. “The guest room’s all made up.”

“Margaret, | can't—"

“You're distracted. You nearly burned down my kitchen. You almost gave yourself second-degree burns.” She

stepped closer, her voice

dropping. “You think I'm letting you drive two hours in this state?”

“I'm fine to drive.”

“You're really not.” She raised one finger when | opened my mouth to argue. “One night. That's all I'm asking.

Stay. Lettake care of

you for once.”

Something in her voice—the tenderness beneath the command-made my defenses crumble. Maybe | was more

tired than | thought.

“Fine.” The word cout defeated. “But I'm leaving first thing Saturday morning. | have a match Monday. |

need to get back and

practice.”

Margaret's whole face softened with relief. “Perfect. I'll make pancakes.”

Saturday morning ctoo bright and too early, sunlight stabbing through the curtains like an accusation. | felt

hungover even though |

hadn’t touched alcohol. My head pounded. My eyes were swollen. Everything hurt.

Margaret made good on her pancake promise, piling my plate high with blueberry ones-my favorite, because of

course she

remembered.

“You barely ate dinner last night,” she said, sliding the syrup across the table. “Eat.”

| managed half a pancake before my stomach twisted into knots. The sweetness madenauseous. “I really

need to get going.”

“It’s barely nine.”

“Traffic.” Another lie to add to the growing pile. “And | want to hit the gym when | get back.”

Margaret studiedfor a long moment, her eyes seeing straight throughlike they always did. Then she

sighed, and | knew I'd disappointed her. Again.

“Alright. But drive carefully.”

| hugged her goodbye, inhaling her familiar lavender perfume, trying to memorize the feeling of being held.

“Thank you. For everything.”

15.05

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185 Chapter 185

The GPS cheerfully informedthat my usual route was closed due to an accident. Estimated delay three hours

“Rerouting Take Highway 7 through downtown”

My hands tightened on the steering wheel until my knuckles cracked. Through downtown. Through his part of the

city

No. No way.

| pulled over, heart racing, and tried to find another route. Any other route. But the little blue arrow on the screen

kept insisting

insisting, insisting on Highway 7.

“Fuck” | hit the steering wheel. | have already wasted 3 hours on this broken road. Then hit it again. “Fuck!”

What were the chances, really? The city had over a million people. I'd be in my car the whole time. Just passing

through. in and out. He'd

never even know | was there.

My hands shook as | merged onto Highway 7.

| cranked up the radio, smindless pop song about love and heartbreak, because of course that’s what the

universe would play right

now, | turned it up louder, letting the bass drown out my thoughts.

Traffic slowed to a crawl. Of course. Saturday afternoon in downtown, everyone out for shopping, living their

perfect little lives. |

drummed my fingers on the wheel, then my palm, then my whole hand, trying to burn off the nervous energy

crawling under my skin.

Red light.

| stopped behind a silver sedan, trapped. Waiting. My eyes wandered out of habit, scanning the street.

And across the street, tucked between two buildings—

A restaurant with grass and outdoor seating.

My eyes swept over it automatically. White tables with cheerful yellow umbrellas. People laughing, talking,

enjoying their overpriced

lattes and their simple Saturday mornings.

And then | saw him.

Tstopped.

Everything stopped-my breath, my heart, the whole fucking world ground to a halt.

Damien sat at a corner table, his

profile to me. That jawline I'd traced

with my fingers a hundred times.

_- ©)

That hair I'd runny dds $hrough.

TRatpodtire | knew better than my

own. He was laughing at something,

head thrown back, and the sound

probably carried across the street but

| couldn't hear it over the sudden

roaring in my cars. The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

My heart launched into my throat, choking me,

Then she leaned into frame.

A woman. Brown hair catching the sunlight like spun gold. Her hand rested on his arm-casual, intimate, familiar.

She said something,

15:05

314

185 Chapter 185

and he smiled.

The world tilted sideways and | forgot how to breathe.

My chest cracked wide open and

pain poured in—hot and sharp apd

suffocating, {lipg| (Uhgs: Ry

throgt, BN whole body until 1 thought

I might actually die from it right here

in my car at this red light. The

content is on novelenglish.net! Read

the latest chapter there!

*HOOOONK

The car behind me. The light. Green. It had turned green.

*HONK HONK!*

My hands moved on autopilot-gas pedal, steering wheel, eyes on the road-but | wasn’t in control anymore. | was

splitting apart,

fragmenting into a thousand pieces.

| couldn't see. Everything blurred

together in a wipes the

pines het he people on

sidewalks, all of it bleeding and The

content is on novelenglish.net! Read

the latest chapter there!

running like wet paint. My eyes burned. My vision swam.

Tears. | was crying. When had | started crying?

The tears streamed down my face, hot and fast and endless, and | couldn't stop them, couldn't even try. One

hand on the wheel, the

other pressed against my mouth to hold in the sobs that were clawing their way up my throat.

| made it two blocks. Maybe three. | don’t know. Couldn't think. Couldn't process. The world was dissolving

around me.

| yanked the wheel hard, pulling into a side street, and barely got the car into park before my hands started

shaking so badly | couldn't

hold the steering wheel anymore.

| pressed my palms against my eyes, trying to physically stop the tears, but it just kept coming.

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