Chapter 101

Nan’s POV

It was a melody in my head.

“You are the woman I love…The one I intend of spending the rest of my life with…”

The words were live wires between us. Connecting his words to my entirety. Every second pulsing with electric tension.

His emotions rang true with each syllable. The sincerity burning flames against his dark eyes. More than words.

It was a gospel. Undisputable. Unchangable.

I am vaguely aware that I should be concerned with Katya. That this was far from over. I hold no doubt that Katya would hold something truly nasty up her sleeve for us.

But I am tired of her.

I have been stressed and worried for too long now over the manipulative she-wolf. I would put my worry about her away for now. She had come between Lionel and I enough for the time being.

Right now is about Lionel and me.

I moved closer to Lionel.

Watching. Observing. Wanting to see if he felt the same palpable desire that I did.

His mocha eyes smoldered into molten chocolate.

He moved first. His hands grasps my face tightly. Dominant…possessive.

Then his mouth was on mine.

I return his kiss with equal fervor. My own hands seeking the warmth of his hot skin. His hands slowly slide to just above my ass.

I am the one to take charge for once.

I wrap my arms around his neck and lightly tug him. I am no match for his alpha strength. But he moves anyway.

I am only stopped when my knees bump against the edge of his mattress. It is his hands that reach for more when I pull away. His desperate need for me that has him seeking out my touch for more of that connection.

A dark part of me is entranced by the sight.

‘It’s aweing,’ I muse. ‘Too not be the clingy one for once. To be the one to have the control in this situation.’

No words are uttered between us. There is no point. Not when our bodies are so vocal.

Time is a haze of lust and intimacy.

At one point I am laying on my side. My clothes only pulled to the side. Neither of us particularly caring about the worthless piece of cloth.

I can feel the hot, smooth glide of him between my thighs. Made all the more delightful by how drenched I am at his hot, ravenous mouth and deft fingers. Each movement of his hips brushing maddeningly against my sensitive lips.

It takes only one slight movement from me to send him over the edge. His tip lightly presses just inside. I clench down as tightly as I can.

His release comes in thick, hot spurts. The sensation is messy and delectable. My own peak leaves me trembling and clenching around emptiness…craving more.

We are left panting and sweaty in the wake of our love.

I turn to face him. Feeling loose and relaxed. “So much for taking it slow.”

He chuckles. “That was just a teaser.” He says with a wicked gleam.

A slight shiver runs across my heated skin. Every encounter between us has been intense in its own right. I am incredibly eager to consummate our relationship once again without any anger or misunderstandings between us.

Our little bubble of contentment does not last long.

Katya made her move.

Suddenly Lionel received a court summons from her lawyers. It was a custody case. Katya was suing for custody of the girls.

“Over my dead body,” Lionel had sworn. “My daughters will never have to be around that woman again.”

But I knew it would not be so easy. Not with someone like Katya. The kind of person who would do every dirty trick they could think of to get their way.

I was right.

Lionel’s promise was soon put to the test. It began with news outlets reporting her ‘return from the dead.’ The public’s attention was drawn too this shocking reveal.

My dread worsened.

Katya’s media team did not stop there. No…they waited until all eyes were on them to begin their true purpose. Katya ‘accidently’ leaked information about something much more interesting…mine and Lionel’s relationship.

The true smear campaign began then.

Everything about me was put into question.

My humble background was splattered for all eyes to see. Questions about my qualifications as a wedding designer were aired. My relationship with Lionel was under a fine microscope.

All of that I could handle. There were no lies there. Nothing I had not thought or considered myself was in those initial reports.

Then the lies came in. Lies about my relationship with the girls. The idea that I was using them for money.

Allegations of abuse. Exaggerations in my role as a potential kidnapper despite the courts clearing my name. Word-of-mouth accounts from people who claimed to have known me that I was selfish and manipulative.

That was harder to bear.

Case in point…

“…Alpha Lionel.”

The other gossip columnist nodded. “I think it’s safe to say that what the public really wants to know is just how this woman appeared. Alpha Lionel runs in vastly different…circles than this Nan.”

I could hear the leer through the muted speakers of the TV. Perhaps it was morbid of me to watch programs such as these during Katya’s smear campaign. But I wanted to know what others thought of me.

It felt imperative to understand how the world saw our relationship.

“Some resources say she raised Alpha Lionel’s lost daughter. That they found each other after five years.” The previous gossip columnist comments.

The other gives off an incredulous scoff. “I say it sounds too good to be true, Eddie. Like a fairytale.”

‘Eddie’ laughs. “I agree, Jimmy. I think it’s interesting that Lupa ‘suddenly’ moved up in the world after presenting his daughter.”

“Do we even know if the child is really Alpha Lionel’s?” ‘Jimmy’ accuses. “If she is…how did the daughter of the alpha of Wolfsbane industries show up in some poor woman’s house?”

My heart sinks a little. There is no outright accusation. No one would dare outright contradict Lionel’s defense of me.

It did not stop whispers and speculation. Everywhere I went I could feel dubious stares following me. Vulturous attention paid to my every movement.

It was worse when I tried to take the girls out.

People from the street would approach us. Some would ask invasive and outright rude questions to my daughters. Trying to trip them up…to admit I am a bad mother.

“You poor girls…you must miss your mother so much.” One bold, older woman had said to them.

“No, my mom is right here.” Vera had replied politely.

“I meant your true mother.” The woman had said condescendingly. Shooting me a dirty look.

It had upset Patti terribly.

“This is my mom! I love her!” My youngest daughter had growled. Slight tears in her eyes. \

That picture then appeared in a newspaper. The main issue focused on my daughters miserably, teary face…and my presence. The headline in large, bold letters reading: ‘Heiress in tears…could the allegations of abuse be true?’

Completely ignoring the facts of the situation. Lionel had retaliated. But the damage was done.

I could no longer take my daughters out in public. Not without the risk of them being harassed. And I would never risk them.

It is becoming too much.

I feel isolated. Like the entire world’s vitriol is pouring down on me in a flood. My own doubts are nearly getting the best of me.

Lionel’s hand took the remote from my hand. He switched off the TV. “I think that’s enough of that trash.”

His finger playfully taps the tip of my nose. “Why don’t we have a game night? I know the girls are dying to try the new fairy wings.”

Some of the tightness in my chest dissipates. “That sounds wonderful.” I breathe out.

But it’s moments like these that makes it okay.

The shadows in my mind are chased away that night. The laughter and joy of my family a beacon of hope in the darkness of my heart. It reminds me of what I am fighting for.

My saving grace is Lionel and my daughters.

I did not know how soon it would come crashing down. It would all come to a head at our daughters’ seventh birthday party. A day of celebration turned into ash.

Katya’s new battle ground.