Page 109 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

She’s a troublemaker.

My lips curve. She really is my daughter.

After dinner, Mira opens the gifts I brought her. If I had known she was so intelligent, I would have gotten her more than just dolls and a huge doll house, but she seems pretty happy with them.

I didn’t expect Mira to accept me so easily. I catch her mother watching us every so often.

Alice is the one to put our daughter to bed after she passes out on the couch, clutching the blue-haired mermaid doll I got her.

Alice closes the girl’s bedroom door quietly before looking at me. “No slumber party, sorry.”

“You don’t sound sorry.”

“Well, I feel it, somewhere deep down, I’m sure,” is her insincere reply. “You should go back to the hotel now.”

“I thought I could stay.”

“Darian.” Alice’s voice is quiet and firm, and when she looks at me, I see the resolved look in her eyes. “This isn’t easy for me. Let’s try to keep things civil. I don’t want Mira getting used to the idea of you sleeping over because she’s going to start building her hopes up, and that’s going to lead to her heart getting broken. I don’t want that. So, go home. We’ll arrange another meet-up in a few days. I don’t want to bombard her with you all of a sudden.”

A wave of anger builds up inside me. My first instinct is to think that Alice is trying to keep me from my child. But I see the tired look on her face, and I swallow my feelings.

“I understand.”

I grab my coat and head toward the door before pausing in the open doorway. “If she asks why I left, just say I had something to do. You don’t have to tell her that you didn’t want me to stay.”

Alice hesitates and then nods. “Thank you.”

As I walk away, it feels like I’m leaving a part of myself behind.

*****

I may not be able to see Mira very frequently, but now that Katherine’s corporation and mine are doing business together, I do run into Alice quite a bit.

Our next meeting is at a public relations event where we are to announce the companies’ decision to work together. I didn’t expect Alice to be there, but when I enter the room, I see her standing in a corner, talking to some people. Her eyes meet mine, and she gives me a brief smile. It’s a professional one, and it makes my chest ache.

We have so many things tying us together, the biggest one being our child, yet it feels like she’s too far away from me. As the evening progresses, I see more and more men approach her. It bothers me. She smiles at them, laughs with them, and seems so comfortable. I remember the girl she used to be, insecure and lost. It makes me happy to see her like this, to witness what she has accomplished for herself. She built herself from the ground up. Unfortunately, the laughter in her eyes is never directed at me.

In a room full of people, I feel all alone. The woman I love doesn’t love me. My child will never be by my side. I may have money, multiple companies, and a whole kingdom, but my life is empty.

The press release is done now, and people are networking before the buffet opens. I head out into the courtyard, reaching for the pack of cigarettes I brought with me. Lighting one up, I take a puff and release the smoke. Closing my eyes, I lean my head against the wall and try to empty my thoughts.

“When did you start smoking?”

Alice’s voice startles me. I open my eyes, and she’s standing in front of me, a frown on her face.

“Oh, this?” I take another puff. After Alice disappeared, I turned to smoking to ease the stress. “It helps me relax.”

“You shouldn’t smoke. It’s not good for your lungs.”

I give her an amused look. “I’m a wolf shifter. My lungs are fine.”

Before I can take another puff, she snatches the cigarette out of my mouth, throws it to the ground, and stomps on it with her heel. “Stop it.”

I roll my eyes and take out another one from the pack. “Go inside, Alice.”

She snatches this cigarette as well, glaring at me. “Do you want to tell me why you’re in such a bad mood?”

I shrug. “What? I’m not allowed to be in a bad mood?”

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