Chapter 29

Iris

I’m frozen as the car barrels toward me. Frozen in space, time, body. The driver is slamming on the brakes, the air filling with the sound of tires screeching, but there isn’t enough time for the car to stop before it hits me.

All I can do is wait, bracing myself for impact. And all I can think about is Miles, who will never understand why his mother left him.

But then, suddenly, something slams into me—and it’s not the car. It’s Arthur’s warm, sturdy body.

We slam to the pavement on the other side of the street, cold, damp asphalt biting into my back through the thin fabric of my dress. The world blurs, ebbing and flowing briefly at the edges as my head hits the ground, but I’m alive.

Alive.

Breathless, I stare up at Arthur, who’s sandwiching me against the ground. Our chests heave against one another, and although I can faintly hear the sound of shouts, brakes squealing, and car doors slamming in the distance, I can’t tear my gaze away from his.

In this moment, something hot and fiery flickers to life inside of me. It’s the same thing that ignited that night we kissed in the alley, when his hands roamed across every familiar contour of my body like we’d never been apart.

But it’s different now, more tender and yet somehow more intense at the same time.

Nothing in the world matters more than my mate in this moment. My entire universe could fill with the green color of his panicked eyes, the feeling of his arms wrapped tightly around me, the warmth of his body cocooning me.

I want him more than anything. Without even meaning to, my eyes flick to his lips, yearning to close the sliver of distance between us and kiss him. It’s a primal, almost irresistible urge driven by the intense mate bond that we share, and I know he feels it, too.

But then reality returns as the driver comes skidding to a halt beside us. “Holy shit, are you okay? Why did you jump out in the street like that?”

I blink, shaking off the spell that briefly overtook me. “I…” Arthur pulls back and helps me sit up, and I press my fingers into my temple. When I pull them away, there’s a bit of blood on my fingertips from scraping against the pavement, but otherwise I feel fine. “I’m sorry. I just forgot…”

Before I can finish, Arthur pulls me close again and begins to check me over. He turns my head this way and that, inspecting me for injury.

His touch is tender, but I have to remind myself that he’s likely only worried that if I got hurt, it would weaken him as well due to our mate bond. If a werewolf’s mate gets injured, especially if their mate is a human, then they’ll sustain similar injuries.

And the Alpha President of Ordan can’t show any weakness, after all.

“I’m fine,” I mutter, waving off the driver’s offer to call an ambulance. “Really, I’m fine.”

Both Arthur and the driver don’t look entirely convinced, but don’t press. I stand, and my legs are a little wobbly, but I think it’s mostly from fear and adrenaline rather than injury. Arthur’s hands linger on my arms. I harden myself to his touch and try to pull away, refusing to let our bond manipulate me again.

However, Arthur doesn’t let go. His face is grim as he carefully scoops me up into his arms, ignoring my protests while he carries me over to a nearby bench. He sets me down like I’m made of glass, and by now, my cheeks are bright red.

“I’m fine,” I reiterate under my breath. “Really. Thank you for saving me.”

Arthur takes a seat next to me, and for a moment we just sit there in stunned silence, still catching our breath. His disguise is still in place—or maybe he just picked up his hat and quickly tugged it back on before anyone could see who he was, despite our near-death experience. I’m not really sure if I want to know.

After a few moments, Arthur turns to me. “Will you talk to me now? It’s the least you can do after I saved your life.”

I purse my lips, but realize he’s sort of right. “Fine,” I mutter.

Arthur takes a deep breath. “You keep calling yourself my mistress, claiming that I chose Selina over you,” he says. “But that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

I narrow my eyes but let him continue.

“Selina… Our ‘marriage’ is nothing but a political arrangement,” he goes on, keeping his voice low so as not to be overheard. “I’m not in love with her, Iris. I never was. We literally just signed a contract to get married and appear as such in public because her family is extremely powerful. And besides, Ordan isn’t… ready for a human Luna.”

“Likely story,” I snort, trying to stand. But Arthur grabs my wrist and pulls me back down.

“I’m serious, Iris. I only ever loved you. I was going to tell you everything, but you ran off and I couldn’t find you, no matter how hard I looked. I thought you took money and went and had an abortion.”

For a moment, I’m just stunned to find out the truth. I want to assume that Arthur is lying, just trying to manipulate me, but when I look into his eyes… I see nothing but sincerity. Still, his assumptions about me hurt. I never took any money. And I never even dreamed of having an abortion. I wanted Miles from the moment I found out I was pregnant.

I swallow hard and murmur, “Why didn’t you tell me from the beginning that you were planning on making this arrangement with her?”

Arthur stares at me. “I was going to.”

“But not soon enough,” I reply quickly. “You should have consulted me before agreeing to it. I might have considered it back then if only I had been kept in the loop.”

He keeps staring at me, and I go on, “I only left because I was hurt. Because you broke my heart. And for what it’s worth, I left penniless. If it weren’t for Brian and Liam’s help, I would have been homeless. It’s only thanks to them that I survived, got my degree, and earned enough money to support myself and Miles.”

As I say this, though, my heart turns bitter again. I press my lips into a thin line and continue, “After five years of working my ass off just to be able to stand on my own two feet, I thought that my art career was finally taking off in a big way. But you are the ‘anonymous patron’.”

I can’t decide if I wish he’d remained anonymous or not.

“Iris, I only wanted to be your patron to apologize,” Arthur cuts in. “It was Selina’s family who tried to shut down the gallery, and I wanted to make it up to you because I know how hard you worked. It was never meant to bribe you.”

I grit my teeth and look away. No matter how logical his excuse seems, it still doesn’t feel like enough. He still thought his apology was best given in the form of cash, just like how he tried to offer me money to get back together with him.

But then Arthur adds softly, “It’s only you and Miles who hold my heart. Never Selina. Come back to me, Iris.”

For a moment, just a moment, the thought of us being together again thrills me. All I ever wanted was for us to be a happy, loving family. To be with my mate and give my son two parents who loved each other.

But I can’t. I won’t.

Shaking my head, I stand, and this time I don’t let him pull me back down even though my legs are still wobbling.

“No, Arthur,” I assert firmly. “Maybe five years ago, I would have agreed to something like this. But I’ve changed. I’ve grown up. And I won’t be the human woman who will only ever be viewed as a homewrecker. Furthermore, I won’t be content with being loved in private while you and Selina display your affection in public, no matter how fake it is.”

Arthur looks up at me, his brow furrowing with what I can only describe as pain. But I hold my ground, knowing that I’ve made the right decision. No matter how much it hurts to say goodbye to my mate for a second time, I simply can’t accept being Arthur’s secret family.

I can’t do that to Miles.

“Goodbye, Arthur,” I say, and this time, I hope I won’t have to say it ever again.

Arthur doesn’t stop me as I turn and hail a cab, although he follows me and opens the door for me. I hardly look at him as I slide into the seat, not because I don’t want to, but because I can’t.

As the cab drives away, I can’t quite tell if Arthur’s form fading behind us is from the tears in my eyes or the distance.

He still loves me, even after all these years. He never stopped loving me. Or so he says.

In a strange way, I’m glad to know the truth now. But even so, I can’t help but wonder if returning to Ordan was a mistake after all. I’m not sure if it was better to go the rest of my life believing he didn’t love me, or to know that he does still love me but still chose the worst outcome for our relationship.

Would I have been happier not knowing at all, and going the rest of my life hating him?