Chapter 19

Elara

Finally getting a grip, I shoved Alaric away, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. “What are you doing?” I hissed. “Get out!”

Alaric hesitated for a moment, his eyes searching mine. Then, without another word, he turned on his heel and left the bathroom, closing the door abruptly behind him.

I locked the door immediately, leaning against it as my heart pounded in my chest. What was that?! My mind raced, replaying the last few moments. The way his gaze had lingered, the heat that had flared between us—it was all too much.

At that moment, Asher’s venomous words from the party echoed in my mind. “A mom with a ruined body… An Omega is ultimately just a disposable plaything…”

I wrapped my arms around my midsection, catching a glimpse of myself in the full-length mirror. Even all these years after having Ella, my body still bore the evidence—subtle stretch marks that had turned white with age, slightly loose skin around my stomach.

I never cared about any of those things; all that mattered to me was my daughter.

And it seemed that Alaric didn’t care, either, if the way he had just looked at me—the way he had just touched me—was any indication.

But Asher had been right about one thing: an Omega like me would never have a chance at truly being with an Alpha like Alaric. It was bound to end in disaster if I opened myself up to that.

So I closed my heart, even if a warm pool of arousal had begun to form in my low belly at our closeness just now.

I stayed in the bathroom for a long time, letting the hot water soothe my nerves. By the time I emerged, the house was silent. Peeking into the bedroom, I found Alaric already asleep. He wasn’t staying on the floor anymore, but he was on his side of the bed, his breathing steady and even.

Relief washed over me.

Quietly, I climbed into bed, careful not to make a sound. Despite the large room, his presence made it feel uncomfortably small. I turned on my side, facing away from him, but I could still sense him there.

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing sleep to come. Eventually, exhaustion overtook me.

The next morning, I was roused by the sensation of someone bouncing on the bed.

“Mommy! Wake up!”

I opened my eyes to find Zoe grinning down at me, her dark hair a wild halo around her face with the sun illuminating her from behind. “Good morning, sunshine,” I said with a sleepy smile, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close.

“Guess what?” she exclaimed, practically vibrating with excitement.

“What is it?” I asked, sitting up.

“We’re going out to play!” Zoe announced.

I looked over to see Ella standing patiently by the bedside. “We thought maybe we could go somewhere fun today,” she said softly, wringing her hands together shyly.

I glanced around the room. Alaric was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s your father?” I asked.

“He’s downstairs,” Ella replied. “Can we go, Mommy? Please?”

“Of course,” I said, ruffling their hair. It was Saturday morning, after all. “Where do you want to go?”

“The fair!” Zoe shouted excitedly.

I chuckled. “The fair it is, then.”

After helping them get dressed and throwing on a comfortable dress and boots myself, we headed downstairs. Alaric was sitting on the couch in the living room, sipping coffee and reading the morning paper. His expression was as composed as ever, betraying nothing of last night’s little… incident.

“Daddy!” Zoe called out, running toward him. “Do you want to join us?”

He looked up, his brow slightly furrowed. “Go where?”

“The fair!” Zoe exclaimed, throwing herself at him and wrapping her arms around his neck. “I want to ride the carousel and eat fried dough!”

Alaric caught her effortlessly, but his frown deepened. “The… fair?” he repeated. “What’s so fun about that? It’s crowded and noisy.”

Ella approached him cautiously. “We thought it would be fun,” she said.

Alaric sighed and set his coffee cup down. “Why not go to the botanical garden instead? You can learn about medicinal herbs—much more useful.”

The girls began to groan. Ella, especially, clapped both hands over her face and dragged them downward, clearly having dealt with this sort of behavior from Alaric on multiple occasions. Well, not on my watch.

I crossed my arms, stepping forward. “Learning can happen anytime, but childhood only happens once,” I pointed out. “Surely you can spare a lesson for one day in exchange for the amusement park.”

Alaric looked up at me, his mouth opening and closing a couple of times like a fish out of water. It seemed he wasn’t expecting me to defy him on this. Zoe tugged at his sleeve, her eyes pleading. “Please, Daddy! Let’s go to the fair!”

He glanced at her, then at Ella. “Ella, didn’t you say you’ve always wanted to go to the botanical garden?”

Ella blushed, looking down at her feet. “I do like the garden, but...” She peeked up through her lashes. “I want to go to the fair too.”

Alaric’s gaze shifted between the girls and me. Finally, he let out a resigned sigh. “Fine.”

“Yay!” the girls cheered in unison.

A small smile tugged at my lips.

Upon arriving at the local fair grounds a little while later, the children’s excitement was contagious. They practically dragged us behind them as we made our way through the entrance. We formed a line, with Alaric and me holding Zoe’s and Ella’s hands on either side and the girls holding hands in the middle.

A happy little family.

“Can we ride the carousel first?” Ella asked.

“Absolutely,” I replied.

As we approached the carousel, the vibrant colors and music enveloped us. I helped the girls onto their chosen horses, securing them safely.

“Mommy, ride with us!” Zoe called out.

I laughed. “Alright, alright.”

I climbed onto a horse beside them, and as the carousel began to move, our laughter carried through the air.

Alaric stood nearby, hands in his pockets, watching us with a neutral expression. Every so often, his gaze would soften as he observed the girls.

But at one point, as the carousel sped up, our gazes finally met. I blushed slightly, recalling last night’s incident all too well, and quickly looked away. Thankfully, the world soon turned into a blur, and I could block his face out of my mind.

After the carousel, we made our way to the rollercoaster. I’d never liked rollercoasters very much, but the girls insisted that I join them. Surprisingly, Alaric joined as well, even cracking the tiniest smile as he was strapped into a seat beside Ella.

As the rollercoaster climbed higher, I felt my heart begin to pound. The girls were squealing excitedly, but I just felt like I was going to vomit. The rollercoaster wasn’t even that high—it was made for kids, after all—but I hated getting motion sick.

I glanced over at Alaric, hoping for some kind of comfort. Unfortunately, there was none; he was staring out at the view below us, his face impassive.

When we plunged downward, I let out a scream loud enough to shatter my own eardrums.

By the time we exited the ride, however, I felt oddly liberated. Despite my earlier reservations, I was smiling from ear to ear, my hair windblown and my heart pounding with adrenaline.

After that, we found a spot near a concession stand, and I bought us some ice cream. The girls chatted animatedly about their favorite parts so far, ice cream dripping down their faces. Alaric quietly ate his ice cream off to the side, but when I glanced over at him, there was that tiny smile again. A rare warmth flickered in his eyes, and it made my cheeks heat all over again.

Finally, as the sun began to set, casting a golden hue over the park, we decided to end the day with a ride on the Ferris wheel. We climbed into a cabin and settled in, watching as the fair grounds began to shrink beneath us.

“It’s so beautiful,” Ella whispered.

“Look over there!” Zoe pointed excitedly. “You can see our house from here!”

Alaric leaned forward, his gaze following hers. “Hm. I think you’re right.” I looked over as well, and sure enough, there it was; the sprawling grounds of the Donovan estate. Somehow, it looked even bigger from here. I couldn’t believe that I lived there.

A comfortable silence settled over us as we took in the breathtaking panorama. It really was beautiful; and it made me realize that I had spent so much time working these past years that I never had the opportunity to do stuff like this for myself or for Zoe.

But not anymore. Even if I had to give up custody of both girls to Alaric at the end of these six months, I could rest easy knowing that they would both have a childhood filled with moments just like this.

Suddenly, Ella broke the quiet. “Daddy?”

“Yes?”

“I heard that if you kiss someone at the very top of the Ferris wheel, you’ll have happiness for a lifetime!”

She looked up at Alaric with wide, innocent eyes and added, “So, Daddy, that means you have to kiss Mommy!”