03. A Proposal from Alpha Damian

ROSEANNE

“Roseanne, there’s an Alpha who wants to propose to you.”

Those words stopped me in my tracks. I had just entered Grandpa’s office after four months in a coma, and instead of a warm welcome, I was greeted with a shocking announcement.

I stood frozen in front of his desk, my heart pounding—partly from surprise, partly from a spark of excitement. “You’re allowing an Alpha to propose to me?”

Until now, Grandpa Andreas had never allowed any Alpha to approach me. But today, he didn’t seem to mind the fact that someone wanted me.

Honestly, I was a little happy. I had been waiting for this day—the day I would finally have a partner.

Grandpa Andreas didn’t answer my question. Instead, he pointed to a brown folder on the table. “Open that, Anne,” he ordered.

I picked up the folder and opened it. Inside were several documents that I assumed were information about the man he was referring to. But what caught my eye was the photo and name on the file.

“Damian Fenrison?” I murmured, trying to recall the name and face that felt so familiar.

My eyes widened instantly when I realized—it was the same man I met at the party a few days ago.

‘Our mate, Roseanne,’ my wolf, Lyn, reminded me.

My grip on the paper tightened, remembering his last words, hinting that we would meet again. Is this what he meant? Did he come to propose to me through Grandpa?

My heart pounded at the thought, but then Grandpa’s voice shattered all the thoughts swirling in my head.

“He’s the current owner of Fenrison Group now. You might be a bit familiar with his name—Damian recently returned to the business world after his father passed away, and he’s taking over his father’s position,” Grandpa said, his voice calm but full of authority.

My eyes widened in disbelief. “Grandpa, you’re joking, right?! Fenrison Group? Hasn’t his company always been your greatest rival? Daniel Fenrison, his father, has been trying to take you down for years! So why would his son want to marry me now? Isn’t this insane?!”

‘Roseanne! Damian is our mate—of course, he wants to claim us!’ Lyn shouted in my head.

‘Shut up, you don’t understand how much I hate Fenrison Group!’ I snapped back at her.

“You don’t need to think about that, Anne,” Grandpa said coldly. “I’ve already decided to accept the marriage proposal, and you just need to go through with it.”

I growled in frustration. My heart pounded harder at the thought that I would be forced to reject my mate. But this was Fenrison. I held a deep grudge against that family.

“But I can’t marry him, Grandpa!”

“Why not? You’ve already met him, and Damian said he felt the mate bond with you,” Grandpa replied, sending a shiver down my spine. I hadn’t expected Damian to say that to him.

“I know you hate the Fenrison family too, so why would you accept it when he asked to marry me?” I pressed, needing to know the real reason behind Grandpa Andreas accepting the proposal.

“Damian and Daniel are different, Roseanne. I hated Daniel because he was stubborn and always wanted to beat me. But Damian offered a solid business partnership in exchange for marrying you—I believe that’s a fair deal.”

“Partnership? Profit?” I clenched my fists, disgusted by those words. You’re handing me over to an Alpha just to gain something in return? I don’t want to marry that man. I refuse to be arranged with Damian Fenrison. " My voice trembled as I spoke, tears starting to well up in my eyes.

This time, Grandpa lifted his gaze and looked at me sharply. “You are not allowed to refuse, Roseanne,” he said, his voice firmer. “This isn’t a request. It’s an order.”

“But why does it have to be me?!” I clenched both fists and gritted my teeth to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. “You can’t control my life like this, Grandpa! I will choose for myself who I want to marry, and Damian is not the man I want!”

His sharp eyes looked at me without a shred of compassion. “Who said I can’t? I’ve raised you for more than a decade, Roseanne. After your parents died, I was the one who cared for you, protected you, and gave you a life of luxury. I loved you more than any of my other children or grandchildren. Now, it’s time for you to repay that kindness.”

I let out a bitter laugh as the tears finally fell uncontrollably. I was too speechless to respond to everything Grandpa just said. “So that’s your reason, Grandpa? I thought you truly loved me... but it turns out that was all just my illusion.”

Where was the Grandpa Andreas who used to love me deeply and always treated me warmly? Why had that man turned into someone so unrecognizable now?

“You were only kind to me all this time so you could sell me off once I was grown? So this is all just a debt to repay? Is this marriage going to benefit you so much that you’re willing to sell me to Damian?”

His expression didn’t change—it remained as cold as ice. “Good. Then there’s no need for me to explain any further.”

I stood frozen in place, my body trembling with a mix of anger and heartbreak that was suffocating me. I didn’t recognize the man in front of me anymore—he was nothing like the one I knew before I fell into a coma.

I clenched the papers in my hand, trying to vent some of the overwhelming emotions coursing through me. Despite my efforts to hold back the tears, they kept streaming down my cheeks. The room felt suffocating—familiar yet so foreign, no longer the same place it had been just months ago.

“Roseanne,” Grandpa’s voice broke the silence, “don’t be so emotional. Damian is a perfect match for you. I agreed to this engagement for your good. You’ll thank me one day.”

I laughed bitterly, unable to listen anymore. Grandpa’s words felt like knives stabbing deeper into my chest. Without saying another word, I turned around and left the room, leaving him with the stack of papers that clearly mattered more to him than my feelings ever did.

I wiped the tears from my face as I walked away. Every step felt heavy, not just because of the command I had just received but because of the profound betrayal from the one person I had believed would always be on my side, no matter what.

At a time when I should be celebrating a second chance at life, I was instead faced with the cruel reality that my life wasn’t mine to decide.

“Miss Anne, are you alright?” It was Kiren—my personal Beta guard—his voice laced with concern as he saw the state I was in after walking out of Grandpa’s office.

I ignored him and leaned against the wall, taking a long, deep breath. I tried to calm myself, trying to think of another way out of this mess.

‘I don’t understand,’ my wolf took the opportunity to speak. ‘Why are you rejecting Damian this harshly?’

‘You weren’t present at the time, so of course you wouldn’t know. But I truly hated Daniel Fenrison—I hated the kind of man he was. And I’m sure Damian is no different from his father. I can’t marry a man like that.’

My wolf went quiet after that, choosing not to argue.

I walked farther away from Grandpa Andreas’s room. I needed to get out of the Moonveil estate—at least for a little while. I couldn’t breathe properly staying in that house any longer.