ELLA.

I had just stepped out of the bathroom, the cool air brushing against my damp skin as droplets of water trailed slowly down my face and neck. My hair clung lightly to my shoulders, still wet, still dripping faintly onto the floor.

For a moment, I just stood there, doing nothing but trying to breathe, trying to think and somehow, it was hard.

Everything had been happening too fast lately, too sudden, too overwhelming. I hadn’t even had the time to process one thing before another was thrown at me.

Three minutes.

That was all it took.

Three minutes after I agreed to divorce Alex, the papers had already been placed in front of me, ready for my signature. It felt... unreal. Like everything had been planned long before I ever said yes.

But that didn’t matter now, what mattered was surviving this place.

Trying my possible best to avoid them—the triplets and most importantly...avoiding Bella’s wrath.

I might not be Theresa, but to her—I was and that alone was dangerous enough.

With a quiet sigh, I walked over to the dressing table and sat down. My movements were slow, careful, as I lifted one leg slightly and began applying lotion to my skin, my fingers moving absently as my thoughts wandered again.

But before I could even settle into that thought, the door swung open.

I froze instantly.

Seriously... do they all have a habit of not knocking?

My head snapped toward the door, my breath catching slightly as I saw him.

"Lurgard, what are you—"

I didn’t get to finish as he crossed the distance between us in two quick strides. Before I could react, his fingers brushed through my hair, pushing the damp strands gently away from my face. His other hand rested against the dressing table, caging me in without even trying.

"Let me help you," he muttered, his voice low.

"What?" I said, startled, immediately pushing against him as I stood up. "No, you can’t!"

But it was like he didn’t hear me.

Or maybe he simply chose not to.

His hand moved suddenly, grabbing my waist, pulling me forward until my body collided with his chest.

I gasped softly at the contact, my hands instinctively pressing against him, but it made no difference.

He was too strong.

"Theresa," he said, his voice rougher now, "do you enjoy teasing me?"

Teasing?

"I’m not..." I tried to speak, tried to explain, but the words never came out.

Because once again, he didn’t let me finish. His lips crashed onto mine, cutting me off completely.

The kiss was firm, demanding, leaving no space between us. My breath hitched instantly as the air was stolen from my lungs, his hold tightening slightly as though to keep me from pulling away.

I struggled, even if only slightly but it barely made a difference.

My thoughts scattered, my heart racing uncontrollably as everything around me blurred into that single moment, too intense, too overwhelming, too much.

And once again...I couldn’t breathe.

He pulled away suddenly.

The abrupt distance between us left the air thick and heavy, both of us breathing unevenly, our chests rising and falling as we struggled to steady ourselves. My lips parted slightly as I tried to catch my breath, my mind still spinning from what had just happened.

I didn’t understand it.

I didn’t understand what had come over me at that moment.

But what unsettled me the most...Was that I hadn’t wanted him to stop.

The realization hit me quietly, shamefully, settling deep in my chest where I couldn’t ignore it. My fingers twitched slightly at my sides as I tried to gather myself, to push away the lingering feeling that still clung to me.

There was something about him.

Something that kept pulling me closer, drawing me in despite every warning sign screaming in my head. It wasn’t logical. It wasn’t something I could explain.

"Theresa..." Lurgard’s voice broke through the silence, softer now, almost uncertain. "I really do not want you to hate me," he said, his gaze fixed on me, searching. "But I just can’t help myself."

I blinked, completely caught off guard by his words.

Hate him?

The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind, not in the way he seemed to think. Everything about this situation was confusing enough already. Adding emotions I didn’t fully understand only made it worse.

"Alpha... Lurgard...?" I started, my voice uncertain, trailing off as I struggled to even understand what I was trying to say.

Before I could gather my thoughts, he moved.

"Sshhh." His fingers brushed lightly against my lips, silencing me instantly.

The touch was gentle, almost careful,but it carried a strange weight, something that sent a sudden, unexpected shiver through me. My heart skipped, then beat faster, uneven, as I stood there, caught off guard by how easily he had closed the distance between us.

"Don’t try to chase me away, Theresa," he murmured, his voice low and controlled, but there was something beneath it, something deeper, as he swallowed hard, his expression shifting just slightly. "I will be sleeping here tonight."

For a second, I didn’t react.

I couldn’t.

It felt like I had heard him wrong.

Like my mind had twisted his words into something they weren’t.

What?

My eyes widened slightly as the meaning finally settled in, slow but certain.

"No way!" I echoed quickly, the words coming out sharper than I intended as I instinctively took a step backward, creating distance between us, as if that alone could undo what he had just said. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

My heart was still racing, my thoughts barely steady, and the memory of what had just happened lingered too strongly for comfort.

I already couldn’t control myself around him, even something as simple as a kiss had almost gone too far—far enough to make me uneasy with myself.

If he stayed...If he remained this close, this present, this overwhelming...I didn’t trust myself and that scared me more than anything else.

"No," I added again, firmer this time, shaking my head slightly. "You can’t stay."

Because if he did...I might lose control completely and one thing was clear, all this attention, and emotions wasn’t meant for me, but her—Theresa.