Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

68 Chapter 68

68 Chapter 68

Damien’s POV 1

The silence in the car stretched between us like a taut wire, heavy with implications | wasn’t ready to fully

acknowledge. My hands clenched and unclenched on my knees as | struggled to process what Caleb had just

told me. Anna hadn't been my mystery woman- she’d been a desperate hotel cleaning lady trying to sell stolen

goods.

“Tellmore about what she looked like that morning,” | said, my voice hoarse with barely controlled emotion.

“Her hair color, her build

-anything you can remember.”

Caleb's brow furrowed in concentration as he stared out at the passing streetlights. “Her hair... it was definitely

blonde, just like it is now.

That awful brassy blonde that screams ‘cheap dye job. As for her build...” He shrugged apologetically. “I'm sorry,

but I honestly can’t say

for certain. That cleaning uniform was so baggy and shapeless, and she was hunched over, clutching that

pendant like her life depended

on it.”

My heart sank even as a terrible hope began to bloom in my chest. Blonde hair. Anna had always been blonde,

even five years ago. But

the woman from that night...

Caleb was staring atwith undisguised confusion, his brow furrowed as he tried to piece together what he'd

witnessed tonight.

“Damien, | have to ask,” he said carefully, “why would you hire someone like Anna as your assistant? | mean,

from what | saw tonight, she

doesn’t exactly seem... qualified for a position in a major corporation.”

I ran a hand through my hair, suddenly feeling the weight of my mistakes pressing down on me. “You're right.

Under normal

circumstances, | wouldn't let Anna within a hundred feet of my company, let alone give her access to sensitive

corporate information.”

Then why did you?”

The question hung in the air between us, and | found myself staring out at the passing city lights as | struggled

to find the words to

explain five years of desperate searching and mounting frustration.

“Because she had something that belonged to me,” | said finally. “That pendant.”

Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt

I leaned back against the seat, the familiar ache of longing settling into my chest. “A few weeks ago, Anna

showed up at my office lobby,

screaming about being my lover and waving my pendant around like skind of trophy. She claimed she was

the woman from that

night, that she’d been looking forall this time.”

“And you believed her?”

The skepticism in Caleb’s voice madewince. “I wanted to believe her. God help me, | was so desperate to

find that woman.”

“What made you doubt her?”

“Everything” | said with bitter honesty. “Her story kept changing. The details she gave about that night didn’t

match my memories. And her scent...” | shuddered slightly. “Anna smells like cheap perfand desperation.

The woman from that night smelled like spring flowers and something uniquely her own that I've never been

able to forget.”

113

68 Chapter 68

“The woman | was with had dark hair,” | said quietly, more to myself than to Caleb. “Beautiful chestnut brown

hair that felt like silk

between my fingers.”

“Then Anna definitely wasn’t your mystery woman,” Caleb said with certainty. “Trust me, there's no way

someone could mistake that

chemical blonde for natural brunette.”

“Then Anna definitely wasn’t your mystery woman,” Caleb said with certainty. “Trust me, there's no way

someone could mistake that

chemical blonde for natural brunette.”

The weight of realization crashed overlike a tidal wave. I'd been wrong. Completely, utterly wrong. For

weeks, I'd believed Anna was the woman from that magical night, my potential mate. I'd given her a job, based

ona lie. 1

My phone was in my hand before I'd even consciously decided to call Lucas. The beta answered on the second

ring, his voice heavy with

sleep.

“Damien? Do you have any idea what tit is?”

“Lucas, | need you to do something for me,” | said without preamble, my voice carrying the alpha authority that

brooked no argument. “I

need you to get someone to recover the security footage from the Moonlight Grand Hotel from five years ago.

The night of August

fifteenth, specifically.”

“August fifteenth...” Lucas’s voice sharpened as he cfully awake. “Damien, that’s from five years ago. You

have checked that many

times. Most hotels don’t keep footage that long, and even if they do, the quality might be—"

“I don’t care about the difficulties,” | interrupted, my grip tightening on the phone. “Use whatever resources you

need to use, pay

whatever you need to pay, call in whatever favors we have. | need that footage, Lucas. All of it—lobby, hallways,

elevators, everything.”

“This is about the pendant again, isn't it?” Lucas asked quietly.

“Yes. The word cout raw, stripped of any pretense. “I think I've been chasing the wrong person this entire

time.”

“Ill make scalls tonight,” Lucas promised. “But Damien... even if we find something, after five years, the

chances of the footage being

intact and useful are-"

“Just do it,” I said firmly. “Whatever it takes.”

| ended the call and slumped back against the leather seat. Beside me, Caleb was watchingwith a mixture of

curiosity and concern.

“So this woman you've been looking for,” Caleb said carefully, “what was she actually like? What did she look

like?”

| closed my eyes, letting myself drift back to that night for what felt like the thousandth time. But now, instead of

the bitter disappointment that usually accompanied these memories, | felt something different.

“She was beautiful,” | said softly, my voice barely above a whisper. “The most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.

She had these incredible emerald green eyes-not just green, but this deep, vibrant shade that remindedof

forests and precious stones. Her hair was long and

dark, almost black in the dim light, and it smelled like lavender.”

| opened my eyes to find Caleb watchingintently, his expression unreadable.

“She was petite,” | continued, warming to the subject despite the ache in my chest. “Delicate, but with this

underlying strength that |

30

2/3

<

68 Chapter 68

could sense even through the alcohol and the excitement of the moment. Her skin was so soft, like silk, and

when she laughed...” | trailed off, lost in the memory of that melodic sound that had haunted my dreams for

years.

“What was she wearing?” Caleb asked, his voice strangely quiet.

“A dress,” | said immediately. “Emerald green, the scolor as her eyes. It was elegant but not overly formal,

and it fit her perfectly. She

looked like skind of fairy tale princess who had wandered into a modern hotel.” | laughed bitterly. “God, |

sound like a lovesick

teenager, don't I?”

Caleb was quiet for so long that | began to wonder if he'd dozed off. When he finally spoke, his voice was

measured, careful.

“Damien,” he said slowly, “you just described a woman with dark hair, green eyes, petite build, around the right

age to have a five-year-

old child.”

“I know there are probably thousands of women who fit that description,” | said wearily. “That's why | was so

desperate to find the

pendant. It was my only real clue.”

“No, you're not understanding me,” Caleb said more urgently, turning in his seat to facefully. “You described

someone who sounds

exactly like Sera. Everything you just said-the hair, the eyes, the build, even the way she moves with that

underlying strength you

mentioned. And Adrian is exactly the right age.”

My breath caught in my throat. “Sera?”

Comment 3

Post your first comment!

Vote

16

Show support to the author by leaving comments when sending gift.

10.38

Swipe Left To Continue >

Send Gifts

View All >

3/3

<