Chapter 74

Iris

I’ve just begun packing a bag of art supplies when Arthur suddenly bursts into the room. His hair is disheveled, his suit jacket missing, tie askew. For a split second, my heart betrays me with a familiar flutter before I crush the feeling down.

“Iris, stop. Please.” He steps toward me, hands outstretched. “Whatever Selina told you—”

“Is it true?” I ask coldly. I continue tucking my paints into my bag. “Is Miles an Alpha wolf?”

Arthur freezes. The silence between us turns thick and heavy, confirming what I already know.

“Yes,” he finally says. “But I can explain—”

“How long have you known?” I zip the bag and turn to face him.

“A few weeks. I was going to tell you, I swear. I was just waiting for the right time.”

I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “The right time? Like when, Arthur? After you’d secured your custody rights to your Alpha Heir?” The words taste bitter on my tongue.

“That’s not—” He runs his hands through his hair, a gesture so familiar it aches. “I was going to tell you tonight. After the exhibition. I had it all planned out.”

“The exhibition? You mean the one where your fiancee was hanging on your arm? Where you were discussing your pregnancy clause with her? That exhibition?”

“I didn’t know that the event had anything to do with you.”

“Bullshit.”

“It’s true,” he says. “Selina… She threatened to leak yours and Miles’ identities to the press if I didn’t attend one last event with her.”

My heart stutters. “You could have told me,” I bite out.

“I wanted to,” Arthur replies. “But…” He looks away, his jaw ticking. “I was angry. Jealous. I thought you and Hunter…” He hesitates, then shakes his head, as if deciding it’s not worth it. Which it isn’t. “After you left, I went back inside and told everyone the engagement was terminated. I humiliated her.” His eyes search mine. “I did it for us, Iris. For you.”

For a moment, hope flickers in my chest, but then Selina’s words echo in my mind. Why wouldn’t he tell me about Miles? About his true nature?

“No.” I shake my head, moving to brush past him. “You did it for yourself. For your Alpha Heir.”

Arthur’s expression crumples, but he steps in the way so I can’t leave the studio. “That’s not true. I love you, Iris. I’ve always loved you.”

“Then why hide Miles’ test results from me? Why keep me in the dark about my own son?” My voice breaks on the last word.

“I was afraid.” He takes another step toward me. “I was afraid you’d think exactly what you’re thinking now—that I only wanted Miles because he’s an Alpha. That I’d try to take him from you.”

“And wouldn’t you?” I challenge, turning to face him fully. “Isn’t that exactly what you planned, from the beginning? Why else would you force me to stay in Ordan?”

The regret on his face looks genuine, but I can’t trust that anymore. “Because I was scared. Iris, I thought—”

“Save it.” I push past him and move into the hallway. “I’m taking Miles to a hotel tonight. We’re not living with you anymore.”

“No,” Arthur’s voice hardens. “You can’t take my son.”

My legs still. There it is—the truth, finally. “Your son,” I repeat quietly. “Not our son. Yours.”

Arthur pales. “That’s not what I meant. Iris, please. Let me explain. I never tried to keep you here because of Miles being an Alpha. I just wanted you safe. Both of you.” He runs a hand through his hair again. “And yes, I wanted us to be a family.”

“A family?” I scoff. “If you wanted it so badly, then why didn’t you ever go public with our relationship? Oh, I know the answer: because I’m still just an embarrassment to you. A human nobody who isn’t good enough to stand alongside the Alpha President.”

“That’s not true! Ordan isn’t ready for a human Luna. It has nothing to do with my opinions or how much I love you. You know that.”

“Bullshit,” I huff, whirling to face him again in the hallway. “You’re the President, Arthur. You should be brave enough to have a human Luna. You should set the standard. But you’re just a coward.”

His eyes flash. I can tell I’ve struck a chord, and I almost regret my words. But I hold my ground.

“As if it wasn’t bad enough that you thought I was a gold digger,” I say, shaking my head. “Did you think that from the beginning? When we were first dating, did you think I was just with you for your money?”

Arthur’s silence is damning.

“Answer me!” I demand, my voice rising.

“I… thought you were happy to have a man who could provide for you,” he admits quietly. “Someone who could take you away from waiting tables at that diner.”

My stomach twists painfully. It’s even worse than I thought. “So from the very beginning, you thought I was just thrilled to have a rich Alpha boyfriend? Someone who could pay for everything so I’d never have to work again?”

“I didn’t mind paying for everything,” Arthur says, as if that makes it better. “I wanted to take care of you.”

“I never asked you to take care of me! I just wanted to be with you because I loved you. Not because of what you could give me.”

“I know that now,” he insists, stepping closer. “I’ve changed, Iris. I understand now that—”

“That what? That I’m not just using you for your money? Wow, thank you so much for finally realizing that I’m not a manipulative gold digger after all! Now, I’m just your broodmare who happened to have your Alpha Heir.”

“That’s not true.”

“Then what is true? Because I don’t even know anymore, Arthur. I don’t know what the truth is, because you’ve done nothing but fucking lie to me over and over again!” My hands are shaking with fury as I speak, spittle flying from my mouth. In a sudden burst of rage and hurt, I grab the nearest thing—a small ceramic figurine from the hallway table—and hurl it across the hallway.

It shatters against the wall with a satisfying crash, fragments scattering across the hardwood floor. Arthur stiffens. But he’s not looking at me.

A small cry comes from the doorway, and I whirl around to see Miles standing there in his pajamas.

“Miles,” I start, immediately regretting my outburst. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

But Miles doesn’t come to me. Instead, he runs past me and straight to Arthur, wrapping his arms around his legs. “Daddy!” he cries, burying his face against Arthur’s thigh. “Are you fighting?”

My heart shatters, just like the figurine. It shatters tenfold when Arthur kneels down, gathering Miles into his arms. “Everything’s okay, buddy. We’re just having a grown-up talk.”

“It’s too loud,” Miles sniffles, clinging to Arthur’s shirt. “Don’t be mad.”

I watch them together, father and son, and something inside of me breaks anew. Miles is looking at Arthur with complete trust, with love. And Arthur’s face, as he soothes our child, is full of such genuine tenderness that it makes me question everything.

This is what I wanted, isn’t it? For Miles to have his father? For Arthur to love our son?

But at what cost?

Arthur glances up at me again and mouths the words: “Don’t go.”

I swallow hard. “We’re not going to a hotel tonight,” I say quietly, the fight draining out of me. “It would only upset Miles more.”

“Thank you, Iris.”

I turn away from them both, unable to bear the sight. “I’m staying for Miles, not for you.”

With that, I turn, crouching to pick up the pieces of the figurine. Arthur goes to tuck Miles back in, and I nearly need to plug my ears to drown out the sound of him speaking so tenderly to our son. The tears I’ve been fighting come now, tracking down my cheeks and dripping onto the shattered porcelain.

Everything I thought I knew about Arthur, about us, seems like a lie. He never respected me, never saw me as an equal. He thought I was with him for his money. And now, he’s keeping secrets about my own son from me.

I can’t do this anymore. I can’t live in this limbo, never knowing what’s true and what’s a lie.

I reach for my phone and open my email. The lawyer’s contact information is in the letter. I’ll email him tonight, set up a meeting as soon as possible.

I need to protect myself. I need to protect Miles.

I need to find a way out.