Alex.

My plan was perfect, at least, that was what I believed. Everything had unfolded exactly the way I wanted it to.

There was no way Ella wouldn’t see it.

No way she wouldn’t finally understand how much I loved her. More importantly, she would realize that I was never letting her go.

I had already restored her position as Luna, and this time, it wasn’t done privately, not secretly but publicly.

The entire pack knew about it by now.

Everyone had seen the announcement, and everyone was talking about it and that was exactly what I wanted.

Ella would finally come back to me.

She had always hated being the center of attention.

I knew her better than anyone.

She disliked public discussions about her life and couldn’t stand becoming the subject of gossip.

Whenever people whispered about her or openly discussed her affairs, she would become uncomfortable almost immediately.

That was why I was certain she wouldn’t ignore this. Sooner or later, she would be forced to respond.

And when she did, she would return.

A satisfied smile spread across my face.

Everything was falling into place.

I sat behind my desk and began arranging the files scattered across the table. My fingers moved absentmindedly as I stacked them neatly into piles.

At the same time, I found myself humming softly under my breath. The excitement bubbling inside me was impossible to suppress.

For the first time in a long while, things seemed to be going my way.

The more I thought about it, the wider my smile became, and before I even realized what I was doing, I had risen from my chair.

A chuckle escaped me, and then I started moving around the office. It wasn’t until several moments later that I realized I was practically dancing.

I shook my head and laughed at myself.

I didn’t even care how ridiculous I looked.

I was happy.

Soon, everything would be fixed...soon, Eva would be out of the picture and Ella would love me even more.

The thought alone filled me with satisfaction.

She would have me, and she would have our baby. And the three of us would spend the rest of our lives together.

A real family.

The future I had always wanted finally felt within reach.

I became so lost in those thoughts that I barely noticed how much time had passed.

My mind was completely occupied by visions of Ella returning to me.

That was why the sudden sound of a door slamming open startled me.

My head snapped up immediately.

The door to my study had flown open with enough force to hit the wall.

A furious-looking Eva stormed inside.

The moment I saw her expression, I rolled my eyes.

Trouble.

That was the first thing that came to mind whenever Eva appeared looking like that, drama was never far behind.

And judging by the fire burning in her eyes, she had undoubtedly come to create a scene.

She marched straight into the office without hesitation, her phone was clutched tightly in one hand.

The screen faced me and a video continued playing on it.

"What’s the meaning of this, Alex?" she yelled the moment she reached my desk.

Her voice echoed through the room.

She pointed angrily at the phone while glaring at me. The video of me speaking continued playing repeatedly.

I glanced at it briefly before looking back at her.

Honestly, I wasn’t surprised, nor was I interested.

"What does it look like, Eva?" I asked.

I didn’t even attempt to hide the irritation in my voice, because at this point, I was tired, tired of the arguments and tired of the complaints.

And most of all, tired of the constant annoyance I felt whenever she came around.

"Are you seriously asking me the questions back?" Eva asked.

Her eyebrows shot up in disbelief as she stared at me. For a moment, she looked genuinely shocked, as if she couldn’t believe the words she had just heard.

Then her expression slowly shifted into something else, hurt, confusion and disappointment.

"Don’t you love me anymore, Alex?" she asked quietly.

The question hung heavily between us.

I resisted the urge to sigh.

Why did everything always have to come back to this?

Why did she insist on turning every conversation into a discussion about feelings?

"This has nothing to do with love, Eva," I replied firmly.

I leaned back slightly in my chair and folded my arms across my chest, trying my best to maintain a composed appearance despite the growing frustration simmering beneath the surface.

"The pack is currently unstable, and many things need to be managed."

My voice remained calm and controlled.

At least, that was how it sounded.

Inside, however, I was already growing impatient.

I didn’t understand why she insisted on turning every discussion into something emotional—because this clearly wasn’t about feelings.

This wasn’t about choosing one person over another—Although, I had clearly chosen Ella.

At least, that was the explanation I intended to give.

The situation required someone capable of handling the responsibilities of the pack, and right now there were countless issues demanding immediate attention.

I released a slow breath before continuing.

"And Ella knows how to manage things better."

The moment those words left my mouth, I knew they had hit their target.

Eva’s entire body stiffened and the change was immediate, as her shoulders tensed, and her jaw tightened. Even her eyes widened slightly before narrowing again.

For a brief second, she simply stared at me. The disbelief on her face was impossible to miss.

"Alex... are you saying..." Eva began.

I already knew where she was heading and I had no interest in allowing her to finish that sentence. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"I am not saying anything, Eva," I interrupted immediately.

I rubbed my forehead in frustration, as a dull headache was beginning to form behind my eyes.

Every conversation with her lately seemed to end the same way.

Questions.

Accusations.

Arguments.

It was exhausting.

"You just need to rest and take care of the baby. Let Ella handle the tough matters."

I deliberately softened my tone, as I wanted my words to sound reasonable and practical as though I was making a decision based purely on logic rather than personal feelings.

There was no point escalating the situation further.

"I’m doing this for your own sake."

I held her gaze, hoping she would finally understand or at least stop arguing.

The silence that followed stretched between us.For one brief moment, I thought she might actually accept what I had said.

But then, a bitter laugh escaped her lips. The sound was soft at first, but it carried enough mockery to instantly set my teeth on edge.

My expression darkened.

There was something about that laugh that irritated me more than outright yelling ever could.

It was more like a silent declaration that she didn’t believe a single word I had just said.

The sound echoed through the office, scraping against my already frayed patience.

I clenched my jaw tightly.

"No, Alex. A co-Luna is a total humiliation to my reputation."

Her voice was firm and steady.She didn’t blink as she stared directly into my eyes, almost as though she was challenging me.

The accusation immediately made my temper flare.

"Really?" My eyebrows rose and I let out a short, humorless laugh. "Last I checked, Ella was in that position before you." I leaned forward slightly. "So how exactly is this a slap to your reputation?" My voice grew sharper with every word. "I’m only returning it to the rightful owner."

The room fell silent again and I could practically feel the tension thickening between us.

Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to calm down.

Losing my temper wouldn’t solve anything.

"Look, Eva," I said more patiently this time. "Your job right now is to ensure my baby is okay."

The moment the words left my mouth, her expression changed.

A strange look crossed her face.

One that instantly put me on alert.

"My job?" she repeated slowly.

I frowned.

Then she took a step closer.

"And Alex, why have you been using the terms ’the’ and ’my’ whenever you talk about the baby?"

My heart skipped a beat.

Shit.

I froze for a fraction of a second.

Eva narrowed her eyes immediately.

As though she had noticed something.

As though she had caught a crack in my carefully maintained composure.

Inside, I cursed.

This was exactly the problem with Eva, she asked too many questions as nothing ever escaped her attention.

Most people would have ignored a small detail like that but Eva analyzed everything.

And the last thing I needed right now was for her to start connecting dots.

My plans were progressing perfectly.

Everything was finally moving in the direction I wanted. I couldn’t allow anything to interfere with that.

Especially not Eva’s curiosity.

Forcing myself to remain calm, I kept my face expressionless, as I refused to let her see even a hint of my unease.

Because if Eva realized what I was planning...If she even began to suspect the truth...then everything could become infinitely more complicated.

Because I was so sure Eva would run away with my baby.

And that was a risk I wasn’t willing to take.