Chapter 11

Ella's POV

"A friend, Dad. I'll be home later; I need to help him with something," I lied, hoping my voice sounded casual. Before Alpha Carson could protest, I grabbed his arm and pulled him toward his car. "Don't mess with my parents or the pack. You really don't want to deal with the anger of the Hansen pack," I warned, my tone sharp. It was the truth. If my family found out what I'd been through, they would stop at nothing to get revenge, even if it meant taking down the Wayvere pack.

"We need to talk about this somewhere else," I added, not giving him a chance to respond.

We ended up at the nearby pub since it was the only place still open. We sat in silence for a while, the tension hanging in the air, until Alpha Carson finally broke it.

"You cut your hair," he said, his voice quieter than usual.

I didn't respond, keeping my face blank. But his words caught me off guard. For the first time, Alpha Carson, the man who had always been so composed and aloof, sounded almost... nice.

"It looks good on you," he added softly, his tone almost complimentary. "It suits you."

I felt a flicker of something, but I shut it down. For years, I had kept my hair long just to match his preferences, even though I hated how heavy it felt. I had wanted him to see me, to pay attention, to care. But all that time, he never once followed through on the casual promise he'd made to braid it for me like I had asked.

The waiter came over with the menu, but before I could even look at it, Carson had already ordered dinner for both of us, as if we were still a couple. "You've lost weight," he remarked, glancing at me with a critical eye. "Eat something first. Tomorrow, when we go home, I'll take you to a proper restaurant. You'll feel better."

I let out a quiet, sarcastic laugh. "Go home? Carson, have you forgotten we were just dating? We were never married. Never sealed our bond."

He gave me a knowing smile, like he could see right through me. "Oh, Ella, we've been together for seven years. If you wanted to get married, you could've just said so. I would've sealed the bond. Do you think I'd say no? There's no need to make a big fuss about it."

I rubbed my temples, trying to keep my cool as I felt the coldness creeping back in. Without a word, I unlocked my phone and pulled up the contract from his rival company. I slid it across the table toward him, making sure he saw it clearly.

As I expected, Carson's expression darkened the moment he laid eyes on the document. His face went stone cold, the composed mask he always wore cracking as he fought to keep his anger in check. Betrayal, it was his biggest trigger, whether in business or personal matters. Once trust was broken, there was no coming back.

I crossed my arms, my voice low but edged with steel. "I know your ego's massive. Even if you don't care about me anymore, I bet it stings to hear me say the word 'rejection' first."

Leaning back, I forced a smile. "So here's your chance, Alpha Carson. Accept my rejection. Don't worry, you won't lose face. No one even knows about us."

The silence between us stretched on, his gaze hard as he seemed to wrestle with something inside. But I was done waiting. Done wasting my time. Just as I turned to leave, I caught something in his eyes, a shift from frustration to something I didn't expect: panic.

"Ella, wait!" His voice cracked, and for the first time, I saw desperation in his eyes. It would've shaken me to my core years ago. "I know I've been wrapped up in work... I know I've neglected you. I get why you did this. It's just... a little punishment, right? Just come back with me tomorrow, and we can pretend none of this ever happened. I miss your cooking, you know?"

Cooking. Of course, that's what he'd bring up. The flood of memories hit me hard, memories I'd worked so hard to bury.