Chapter 581
[ 511 words ]
Chapter 581:
She laughed bitterly under her breath. “I already knew your answer. I know you once threw yourself into danger for Lianne. I never wanted to stand between the two of you. But Rola controls everything. If I disobey her, she’ll ruin both my family and my career without hesitation.”
Moisture gathered faintly in her eyes as she looked at me. “I saved your life, Ethan. I’m not demanding affection from you. I just need help escaping this situation. That’s not unreasonable, is it?”
I stared back at her, unmoved.
As an Alpha, I was grateful to her for saving me. But gratitude did not mean sacrificing my mate or treating my feelings like bargaining chips.
“I’ll repay what I owe you some other way. But I will not marry you. This arrangement exists only because Rola imagined it into existence. Nothing about it is binding,” I said carefully.
Melisa shot to her feet, panic cracking through her voice. “She refuses to back down! Until you agree, she’ll keep cornering me.”
I observed her silently for several moments before answering calmly, “There’s an easy fix. Once Lianne and I complete the bond again, Rola will be forced to abandon this marriage scheme altogether.”
Ethan’s POV
𝗙о𝘭𝘭о𝘄 𝗎𝗌 𝗼𝘯 𝘨𝖺𝗅𝗇𝗈𝘃𝖾l𝗌.𝗰𝘰𝘮
By the time Lianne came back carrying the medication, Melisa and I had already finished talking. The space between us had fallen into complete stillness, broken only by the faint rhythm of breathing.
The small jar rested in Lianne’s palm as she walked inside, but her attention immediately drifted to the newly closed cut along my arm.
Worry was written all over her face.
I understood that look better than anyone.
The injury existed because I had stepped in front of danger for her.
“It’s nothing serious anymore. You don’t need to stress over it,” I murmured, giving her a gentle grin meant to ease her mind.
Melisa slipped effortlessly back into her cheerful demeanor. “Since the stitches have been removed, you two should begin arranging the bonding ceremony.”
Lianne paused instantly. Her fingers curled tighter around the medicine container while uncertainty crossed her expression. “There’s no need to decide now… Ethan should recover first.”
Unwilling to back down, Melisa continued, “The wound is already in its final recovery phase. The energy exchange during the ceremony might even speed up the healing process. From a medical perspective, delaying it wouldn’t be ideal.”
Lianne’s eyes moved toward me at once, hesitation clouding them.
Lianne caught it fast; she could already tell something was different after I’d been with Melisa for just a few minutes.
I returned her stare evenly, revealing nothing.
“Thanks for the suggestion, Melisa. We’ll consider it carefully,” I replied.
The sudden conversation about making our relationship official obviously overwhelmed Lianne. She escorted Melisa out courteously, though there was a trace of distance in her manner.
Once the door shut again, a strange heaviness settled over the room.
“What exactly did she tell you?” Lianne asked quietly, suspicion tightening her features.
Rather than answer, I caught hold of her wrist and tugged her down against me.
A startled sound escaped her lips as she landed above me stiffly, making sure not to brush against my injured arm.
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