Share

Chapter 3

last update Last Updated: 2024-12-02 14:44:52

Iris POV

“What?” I asked, though I wasn’t any more shocked than I had been before opening the door.

Life had lost its context. This was just something on top of what had already occurred.

“May I come in?” she asked even as she strode past me with a whip of blond hair and whiff of expensive perfume. I watched from behind as she walked to the sofa, her long legs impeccably cased in black velvet pants and her top covered in wispy layers of purple silk. She set herself down.

“Do you have any coffee?” she asked.

“You’re going to marry Arthur?” I asked as I pushed the front door closed.

“Yes, and soon.” She looked smug. “At first, of course, when I heard he had some human lover he adored, I said no way, but then the situation was explained to me, and well, being Luna isn’t something one just turns down, is it?”

She frowned and looked at the armchair that so perfectly matched the sofa. “Aren’t you going to sit down?”

I walked over to the chair and sat. My feet felt a little numb, and so did my fingers.

“So,” she said the second I was in the chair, “he’s told me you’re pregnant, so obviously we need to talk about that. Also, do you have some sort of career you’re pursuing?”

“I think I need to talk to Arthur before you and I talk further,” I said.

“Call him,” she said with a shrug.

It was difficult to retrieve my phone from my pocket and dial Arthur with my numb fingers, but I managed it. It went to voicemail.

“I need to wait for him to see my number and call back.”

Selina snorted, looked at me with pity, and then pulled out her phone, which I saw she put on speaker after dialing a number. It rang twice.

“Yes, Selina?” Arthur’s voice asked, and my stomach sank. It was clear which of us Arthur took seriously.

“Honey,” she said, smiling at me in triumph. “What time are we going to see the engagement dress and rings tomorrow?”

Arthur sounded a bit impatient but replied, “Ten-thirty.”

“I’ve already booked the seaside mansion for the engagement party.”

“Do whatever you want,” he said, and I could see the expression easily on his face. “I’m hanging up.”

She made a little-girl face and spoke in a slightly higher voice. “Haven’t you told your little lover about this yet?”

“Her name is Iris.”

Selina raised her eyebrows at me as if to say I should be happy he admitted it. I didn’t care.

“And I told you, she doesn’t need to know.”

“Aren’t you afraid she’ll leave you once she finds out?”

“She needs my money.” Arthur’s response was quick and certain. “With student loans and a child on the way, how could she leave?”

Ah, I thought, and I found myself nodding as some things started to make sense, not the least was his offer of a million dollars to meet my “need.” That was evidently how he really saw me: not a future artist he was helping to meet her goals but just some gold-digging parasite. Did he think our child was a parasite too?

Selina was still talking into the phone “About the child, I’ve thought it over. I don’t want Iris to give birth before our wedding. It would be a scandal.”

“Forcing a woman to have an abortion is illegal, even a human one.” I noticed his tone was angry. He was probably worried people would find out and it would hurt his campaign. “Be careful you don’t end up in jail.”

So. Numb throughout my body now, I tried to make myself accept that Arthur didn’t want the child, and his only concern was avoiding legal trouble. I opened my mouth to tell him I was there and had heard every word, but Selina just made a kiss-kiss noise into the phone and ended the call.

“Well, I can’t force you, it’s true,” she said to me, “but you really need to scrape that thing out of you before it causes Arthur trouble. Besides, that my husband will have a human mistress is bad enough; I don’t need a child in the mix.”

She flung her hair behind her left shoulder, a well-practiced move. “Well, Arthur obviously doesn’t want to be the villain here, so as his fiancé, I will, but not heartlessly.” She laughed with a little trill.

“You’ll be living with us, I suppose, so the best story will be for you to be my assistant. I have one already, but another would be helpful.” She shrugged. “So, while I get a contract drawn up complete with NDA, get the fetus aborted and name your price.”

OK, even as a human facing an alpha, I had my limits about being humiliated.

“I’ll take a billion dollars at the end of the week to start, and then we can discuss my salary.”

Selina looked at me as though I’d peed on her shoe, which actually would be quite satisfying.

“I can’t get a billion dollars together in a week!”

I told her, “Then you can’t afford my child or afford me as your assistant.”

“This is ridiculous,” she announced, standing and flinging the strap of her Channel purse over her shoulder. “I’ll have Arthur deal with you.” In a few long strides of her legs, she left, slamming the door shut behind her.

Or rather, she would have, but I caught the door and called after her, “But don’t worry, I just want to talk to Arthur one more time. If Arthur really just wants to keep me as a mistress, I’ll leave soon.”

She didn’t bother to answer, probably thinking I was saying I’d leave to bargain for money.

I didn’t want money. I didn’t want some alpha woman smiling while she destroyed my life. I wanted an explanation, a conversation. I wanted to know my relationship with my fated mate wasn’t going to end so poorly.

But then Selina paused and turned with an even bigger smile than before. “You should attend the party this evening. There, you can talk to Arthur all you like.”

“Arthur said it was alphas-only.”

She laughed. “There will be plenty of your rank there, trust me.” Then she executed a perfect runway turn and walked toward a red sports car parked on the street.

I remembered the party would be at the Waldorf, so I didn’t have to ask anyone for the address.

Alone in the house, I bathed and shaved my legs and spent way too much time on my makeup. I had a very nice party dress in a red so deep it looked almost black, off the shoulder with a full skirt, a classic. I put it on almost defiantly, trying to find more strength inside.

I was going to a party, and I was going to enjoy it, damn it. I slid into my best shoes and called for an Uber.

The Waldorf was ablaze with lights and sparkling people. I went to the front door with my chin up and walked through the lobby refusing to make eye contact with anyone. At the door of the ballroom itself, however, I was stopped by a hotel employee dressed in red and black.

“Excuse me, miss,” he said. “Humans require an alpha escort beyond this point.”

That strength I had stoked up inside drained away. Even dressed to the nines, I was being rejected out of hand. I stared at his polite but distant eyes. He was an omega, it was easy to see. I wanted to touch him to see if he flinched from being sullied by a mere human like me.

This is Arthur’s world, I thought, something I had never thought before during all our time together. He thinks I have no place here. Maybe he’s right.

“Iris?”

A familiar voice called my name from behind me, and I turned in surprise.
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Comments (1)
goodnovel comment avatar
Lynn
I’m enjoying this book.
VIEW ALL COMMENTS

Related chapters

  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 4

    Iris POVMy friend and former senior classmate Brian Eldridge was standing there in a tuxedo, his salt-and-pepper hair, which was usually a sort of disheveled halo around his head, had been neatly combed, and his typically paint-smeared hands were clean and with shiny, recently manicured nails.“Bri

    Last Updated : 2024-12-02
  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 5

    Arthur POVI woke up in my office lounge, my neck stuck to the leather and my whole body cold. My mouth tasted like stale champagne and way too much small talk.A gentle knock on my office door got me sitting up on the couch. “Come,” I said.My assistant, a solid beta named Jose, entered my office a

    Last Updated : 2024-12-02
  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 6

    IrisFive years have gone by since that fated day. Five years, and hardly a day has passed that I haven’t thought about it, about the pain that I felt in my chest I drove away from that house and the way my tears blurred the streetlights all around me.But life goes on.It’s been two years since I l

    Last Updated : 2024-12-02
  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 7

    IrisArthur looks like he’s about to explode in the subtlest way possible. You would think that after five years apart I wouldn’t be able to see his telltale signs of frustration, but I can still locate the infinitesimal twitch of his jaw like I can locate the freckle on the back of my left hand.“Y

    Last Updated : 2024-12-02
  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 8

    IrisThe kiss is warm, familiar, and entirely consuming.And for a brief, fleeting moment, I nearly fall into the abyss of it all—the way his lips mold so perfectly to mine, the press of his hands against my waist in the spots where they once fit like puzzle pieces, the rough thrust of his tongue on

    Last Updated : 2024-12-02
  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 9

    ArthurI searched for Iris for five years, and today, I finally saw her.At first, I felt a mixture of heartache and longing. Finally, I found my fated mate.But the longer I watched her today—her smile, her ease with the man and the children—the more the ache turned to anger. How can she look so at peace when she has torn my world apart?My chest tightens at the memory of her defiant face in that alley. I’ll admit that the anger took hold of me then, and I couldn’t help but mock her for leaving me for money.And then I tried to offer her more than whatever that bastard could give her. But for some reason, she refused. And she looked like she wanted to kill me.Now, as I sit in my study later that night, the confusion consumes me. And so does the anger.The thought of her having children with someone else cuts deeper than I expect. Judging by their age, she must have moved on almost immediately after leaving me and aborting our child.My jaw clenches at the image of her in someone else

    Last Updated : 2024-12-02
  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 10

    “Thank you, darling,” she said.Tony’s was a good place for spotting political figures, and Selina and I went there often, so my arrival didn’t create much of a stir. Several people did find a reason to walk by our table, and I ended up shaking a few hands.Selina was in her element, and when a frie

    Last Updated : 2024-12-02
  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 11

    IrisThe morning sun filters through the curtains, warming my face and pulling me out of a restless sleep. For a moment, I linger in bed. But it’s not a restful state that I’m in; rather, my mind keeps replaying the events that occurred last night in that alley.Arthur’s words, his accusations, and

    Last Updated : 2024-12-02

Latest chapter

  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 178

    Emi, who has been stationed in the apartment hallway on alternate shifts with another security guard every day since the debut, has already let our guests in by the time I walk into the entryway.Arthur steps in, looking handsome in a casual sweater and slacks. Behind him are Leonard and Wendy.“Wel

  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 177

    IrisI stand back, wiping my hands on my already paint-stained overalls, and tilt my head to examine the finished piece.It’s vibrant. Alive. The central image depicts a framed dent in a kitchen wall, cracks spider-webbing outward. Yellow sunshine spills across the scene, dust motes floating in the

  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 176

    He shrugs and goes to pick up the glass again. “It’s just how it is.”I shake my head and move the glass out of his way. “No more of this tonight. You’ve had enough.”Arthur pouts, actually pouts, which confirms my suspicion that he’s drunker than he’s letting on. “But how will I sleep?”The questio

  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 175

    IrisThe baseball bat connects with the wall with a sickening crack as Arthur ducks just in time, letting out a surprised yelp.“Holy shit!” I shriek, the bat slipping from my hands and clattering to the floor. “Arthur! I almost took your head off!”Arthur straightens up, his eyes wide in the dim li

  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 174

    I glance at Arthur, who shrugs. “I’d love to,” he says, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. “Just one story, though. It’s past your bedtime.”I leave them to it, Arthur’s deep voice following me down the hall as he begins to read one of Miles’ favorite books. Something warm unfurls in my chest at

  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 173

    IrisArthur turns to me as we pull up to my apartment building later. “They seemed to like you.”“Your parents?” I ask, glancing at him. “Yeah, they were nice. Especially after that awkward first meeting.”He makes a noncommittal sound, staring out the windshield for a moment before turning off the

  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 172

    I feel a flush of pleasure at his praise. “Thank you.”“And you have a son together,” Wendy states, leaving behind the subject of my career. “Miles, is it?”I nod, dragging my lower lip through my teeth. I feel like I’m being grilled, one question after another in quick succession.“He’s five,” I sa

  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 171

    Iris“You’re sure you can handle this?” Arthur asks, his hand resting on the small of my back. We’re standing just outside the ballroom entrance, about to make our reappearance.I take a deep breath, smoothing the front of my new black dress. It’s simpler than the emerald gown—a sleek, form-fitting

  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 170

    “I’ve missed you,” he breathes against my skin. “So much, Iris. You have no idea.”I thread my fingers through his hair, tugging him back up to my mouth. “Show me,” I whisper against his lips.His eyes darken further, and he captures my mouth again in a kiss that makes my eyes roll back with pleasur

Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status