Moana
I felt my heart sink as I saw my ex-boyfriend, Sam, staring up at me from the crowd. His eyes were wide and disbelieving; of course he knew that I wasn’t Ella’s mother. And of course he knew that I wasn’t Edrick’s real fiancee, as Sam and I had only broken up a few months prior. I could spin the story to make it seem as though Edrick and I quickly got engaged after I found out that I was pregnant, but if Sam said anything publicly about how I wasn’t really Ella’s mother, there was no way I could possibly hide that.
Although I wanted to run away and hide from embarrassment, I put on a brave face, continued smiling as Edrick asked me to, and went back to staring above the crowd just like I had been doing before. And soon, Edrick’s speech was over. We stepped down off of the gazebo as the crowd stood and made their way over to the picnic area for brunch, and now that I wasn&rsquo
MoanaAs I watched Mia walk away, there was a smile on my face. I liked her; she was so much nicer and warmer than Kelly, and I loved meeting Edrick’s old friends so that I could get a bit more of an insight on the way that the Alpha billionaire used to be as a kid. And it made me happy to hear that he used to be rambunctious and full of life, because I could see those little bits of his personality poking through his hard exterior more and more lately. Someday, I wondered if I could break down his hard shell entirely. I wanted to know the true Edrick.But when I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see my ex-boyfriend, Sam, standing behind me, my smile faded.“Hey, Moana,” he said before I could even say anything. He folded his arms across his chest and looked me up and down, his eyes lingering on my belly for a few moments. “Remember me?”Of
EdrickWe went to the picnic, where everything went well at first. Moana and Ella were the perfect picture of a happy family while I gave my speech, and I was proud of both of them for that. Some people seemed to notice that Ella was referring to Moana by her first name, though, which I knew I would have to handle later before people began asking questions. I knew that I should have talked to Ella beforehand, but I had to admit that I completely forgot. But it was nothing that we couldn’t handle, even if people did start asking questions. With a child that age, it was easy to claim that she was simply trying out something that she saw in a movie, or that she was pushing parental boundaries. Besides, with the work that my PR agency did to mitigate the clips of me punching the paparazzi, I knew that people were unlikely to bother us much — at least for now.After I briefly spoke to Mia, I decided to let Moana and
MoanaI hoped that Edrick wasn’t too upset with me or jealous. After all, I did just reveal to him that I had conceived our child with him on the very night that my ex-boyfriend and I broke up, which would certainly seem like rebounding. I felt my voice shaking a bit as I told him what happened, but at the same time, it felt better to get things out in the air.And, much to my surprise, Edrick didn’t say anything about the fact that I slept with him on the same night that Sam and I broke up. In fact, he seemed entirely focused on Sam’s transgressions. It really made me realize that Edrick was on my side above all else, and it made me feel safe with him.“I’ll take care of it,” Edrick said. His voice was low and stern, and even though I felt better after telling him everything, I instantly became worried that I was about to cause a scene after all.
Moana“Ugh! I can’t believe you!” Sam’s new girlfriend shouted, causing Edrick and I to run over to the scene while a group of other intrigued employees gathered around as well. “You’re a cheater!”“Baby, it’s not what it—”Slap.Sam’s face went red with a mixture of embarrassment and redness from the hard slap that his girlfriend gave him. A chorus of gasps and confused mutters erupted amongst the people who had gathered around, and meanwhile, Mia only stood leaning against a tree with a subtle smirk on her face. Her eyes finally met mine and Edrick’s, and she winked.I knew then that she had accomplished what Edrick had essentially hired her to do: she had made Sam betray his new girlfriend. I wondered if his new girlfriend even knew that he cheated on me to be with her, or
MoanaAfter Sam left, I felt relief wash over me. I was happy to see Sam finally get just as humiliated as I was when he cheated on me, and now he had to actually work his way up in the company instead of using his Beta girlfriend to get the job.However, when I looked over at Edrick, his face had fallen and gone dark.“Thanks, Mia,” he said, his voice sounding rather cold compared to how it sounded earlier when he was acting mischievous with his old friend. “I’ll get you that car you wanted. Just let me know which day you’d want to go to the dealership.”Mia shook her head, the look on her face indicating that she also realized the sudden change in Edrick’s demeanor. “Don’t worry about it,” she replied with a wave of her hand. “I can afford my own car if I want it. I was just joking earlier.”
EdrickI couldn’t sleep at all that night after the picnic.It was for a variety of reasons: first of all, I was still admittedly upset over what Moana had told me earlier that day. I knew that I shouldn’t have been jealous or hurt over it, as Moana was my mate and what happened between us was only fate striking at just the right time, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. I just wished that she told me sooner that she broke up with her ex not even an hour before we met, and I had to admit that the way she pitied him made my mood darken.However, that feeling was quickly overshadowed by the way that she suddenly blurted something out.It was only one word: “No.”Somehow, I knew that she was talking to her wolf, and not to me. But what were they talking about? Was there something that she wasn’t telling me?
MoanaWhen I woke up and found that Edrick was gone, I was confused. It was still early, and he usually didn’t leave for work until a little later. I figured that he just got up early and was having breakfast in the dining room, so I got up and made my way out there to see where he was.However, when I headed out to the dining room, Edrick wasn’t there. His study door was also open and he wasn’t in there, either. Furrowing my brow, I headed into the kitchen next, where Selina was already awake and preparing some coffee.“Good morning,” she said. “Coffee?”“Yes, please,” I replied as I walked up to the counter island. I then looked around, my brow still furrowed. “Have you seen Edrick?”Selina shrugged. “I haven’t seen him yet this morning. Was he not in bed?”
EdrickWhen I finally came home from the library, I had intended on going straight to work despite how tired I was. I didn’t realize it when I was in that dark basement, but it was well after sunrise by the time I came out, and I knew that Moana would be awake and wondering where I went. I didn’t want to alarm her, so I planned on telling her that I had a work emergency; especially since I would have to cut a lock of her hair later to take to the Mother Witch. Right now, I really didn’t need her getting suspicious and worried.However, when I walked in the door and saw none other than my father sitting at the dining room table, I knew that my plans would be thrown out the window. My eyes widened as I saw him, and I instantly felt a pit of dread grow in my stomach. He was sipping a cup of tea, and Selina and Moana were nowhere to be found. I instantly became worried.“Edrick,” he said, standing abruptly from the table without so much as a hello.