Chapter 232 Why Does He Look Like Bernard?

“Naomi, what did you hear?” Emma asked as she moved closer to Elara.

Naomi lowered her eyes. “Princess, I’m sorry for going through Maelis’s things. I only did it because I wanted to go home. I miss my Queen… and my moonallies.”

Emma held out her hand. “Save your apology for the person you wronged. What did you find?”

“Maelis was always on her device talking to a he-wolf. I kept hearing Joel’s name, and…” Naomi reached into her pocket and carefully pulled out a photograph. “She always kept this close to her chest. I searched her bag after I couldn’t find anything else, and this was inside.”

Emma took the photo. “What else did you hear?”

Naomi shook her head. “Nothing. She always speaks German, and I don’t understand it.”

Emma frowned. “Naomi, that’s not like you. Why didn’t you record it and translate it later?”

Naomi let out a quiet sigh and rubbed the back of her neck. “I slipped in without my device. If you had called me while I was there, Maelis would’ve known I was listening in.”

Emma took the picture. She and Elara leaned in, their shoulders almost touching as they stared at the face in the photograph.

“What is she doing with Bernard’s picture?” Emma murmured.

Elara looked up at Naomi.

“You may go,” she said.

Naomi bowed her head and quietly left the chamber.

Emma turned to Brandon, who was stretched out on the bed, his eyes fixed on the vision hearth.

“Starlit, this isn’t Bernard,” she said, holding out the photograph. “But he looks just like him.”

Brandon sat up and took it from her. He studied the front, then flipped it over, his thumb brushing across the back as if expecting to find a date or a note. There was nothing except the studio’s logo.

He let out a quiet breath, shook his head, and handed the photograph back to Emma.

“This isn’t Bernard,” he said, keeping his eyes on the picture. “But they look alike.”

“Does Maelis have a pup?” Emma asked.

“Yes.” Elara leaned closer to the picture. “Maybe this is her pup.”

“If that’s her pup, then Bernard’s father must be the pup’s biological father too,” Emma said.

“So… she cheated on Lincoln,” Elara muttered.

“She’s here,” Brandon said. “Why don’t we ask her ourselves?”

Emma nodded. “I agree.”

She set the picture on the table and walked toward the door.

“Aren’t we taking this?” Elara asked, pointing at the picture.

“No.”

She kept walking.

“Just leave the intercom on,” Brandon called after them. “I want to hear everything.”

“Alright.”

They stepped into the lounge.

Maelis sat quietly, her gaze fixed on the floor.

Elara slowed. Something was wrong. Maybe Naomi had already spoken to her.

Emma picked up the intercom remote and sent a notification to Brandon in her bedchamber.

“You don’t look happy,” Elara said.

“Honey, it’s almost eight, and you still haven’t eaten.” Maelis’s brows pinched together.

“I already ate. I hope you’ve eaten too,” Elara asked.

“Yes.” She smiled. “I got lucky. I arrived just as the servants were about to eat, so they let me join them.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Elara smiled. “At least you didn’t have to go hungry.”

“Princess, there’s something I learned from the workers here. I’d love to put it into practice once we get back to Silverville.”

Elara chuckled softly and shook her head. “That’s fine. We can talk about it later, but that’s not why I’m here.”

“We need to ask you a few questions,” Emma said. “If you care about Elara, help us by telling the truth.”

Maelis straightened in her seat and folded her hands in her lap.

“Do you know Bernard well?” Emma asked.

“Yes. I work for him.”

“I mean before he hired you.”

Maelis nodded. “Yes. We were on the same soccer team.”

Emma watched her for a moment. “You joined that team because you wanted to get close to him, didn’t you?”

Maelis lowered her eyes. She didn’t answer.

Emma took her silence for a yes.

“Is Bernard’s father Joel’s biological father?”

“No.” Maelis shook her head.

“Then why does Joel look so much like Bernard?”

Maelis looked up. “Have you seen Joel’s picture somewhere?”

Emma stayed quiet.

“Answer me, Ms. Marchant.” Emma searched Maelis’s face. “Do you know some wolf who looks like Bernard? Please… tell me the truth.”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“Lincoln.”

The color drained from Maelis’s face, and for a brief moment, she looked as though the ground had shifted beneath her feet.

Emma turned to Elara, confusion written plainly across her face. “Who is Lincoln?”

Elara hesitated before answering, sympathy softening her voice. “He was her mate. He passed away several winters ago.”

Emma looked back at Maelis. A faint smile touched her lips. “So you got close to Bernard because he looks like your late mate?”

“No.” Maelis shook her head hard. “I stayed close to protect him from those wicked people. They’re looking for him right now.” Her voice broke. “But they’ll never find him. They rejected him!”

Emma and Elara exchanged a quick glance.

Elara moved to Maelis’s side and sat beside her. Emma followed.

“Tell us what happened,” Elara said, her voice gentle.

“I met Lincoln during my first winter at college. He was one of the richest pups in the academy. He only spent time with the rich. He never gave the rest of us a second look.

One day, he came to class without doing his assignment. Our tutor wasn’t the type to let things slide. I saw him rushing to finish it before class started, so I handed him one of my answer sheets. The assignment had three questions, and we only needed to answer one, but I had completed all three on a separate sheet just in case some wolf needed help.

He copied the answers as fast as he could. A few minutes later, our tutor walked in, collected everyone’s work, and was pleased with what he saw.

Another day, I arrived late for class. Every seat was taken except the one beside him. To my surprise, he waved me over. I took a deep breath, walked over, and sat beside him.

That was how it all began. We started talking after class, and before long, we were spending time together every day.

“Two winters later, he got down on one knee and asked me to be his mate. I said yes.” A sad smile crossed her face. “His family didn’t.”

“Why?” Emma asked.

“My family was poor.” Maelis let out a bitter laugh. “That was enough for them.”

“You said you came from a poor family?” Emma asked gently.

Maelis wiped her eyes and nodded. “Yes.”

Emma looked at her. “Then how did you get into an academy that was only for rich pups?”

“I was there on a scholarship,” Maelis said. “I earned it because of my grades.”

“Go on,” Emma said softly. “What happened next?”

“We did everything we could to win his family over, but nothing changed. So we decided to mate with or without their blessing.”

She paused and looked at her hands.

“Two winters later, Joel was born. Not long after that, my brother-in-law started coming around again. At first, he kept trying to convince me to become his moonmate. I turned him down every time. Then one day, he said I should forget he’d ever brought it up. I thought he’d finally let it go.”

She lowered her head and let out a bitter laugh.

“I was wrong.”

“He kept whispering lies into Lincoln’s ears. He said I was cheating. He swore Joel wasn’t Lincoln’s pup. He even showed him fake pictures of me in a resting den to make the story look real.”

Her fingers curled tightly together.

“Four winters later, Lincoln came home carrying severance papers and a DNA test result. The report said the specimen they tested didn’t match Joel’s. According to it, Lincoln wasn’t Joel’s father.”

She swallowed hard.

“I knew Joel was his pup. I’d never been with another guy, and Lincoln knew that. But his siblings convinced him I’d been seeing some wolf after he claimed me.”

She swallowed hard and lowered her eyes.

“I begged him to listen, but he wouldn’t hear me out. He just kept shoving the severance papers into my hands, insisting that I sign them.”

Her voice softened as she looked down at her clasped hands.

“He kept pushing the severance papers toward me and saying, ’Sign them. Just sign them.’ No matter how much I tried to explain, he wouldn’t listen.”

She slowly shook her head.

“I refused to sign. A few minutes later, he walked over to the liquor cabinet, grabbed a bottle, and emptied it in one long gulp. Then he snatched the severance papers and his car keys off the table, stormed out of the house, and slammed the door so hard the walls shook.”

Silence settled over the chamber. Maelis stared at the floor for a long moment before lifting a trembling hand to wipe away a tear.

“About twenty minutes later, my device rang.”

Maelis closed her eyes as tears slipped down her cheeks.

“I answered the call…” Her voice barely rose above a whisper. “That was the last time my life was ever normal.”