Page 50 of Her Cruel Alpha

It wasn’t that Katie didn’t understand that. She needed to clear her head, and I knew she would talk to Sam. Sam would probably call me and chew my ass out. I knew I should have sided with her, but I didn’t even know what we were arguing about.

“Marriage is hard sometimes,” she said, tapping her fingers on the counter. “If you ever need anyone to talk to, I'mall ears. I know we are exes, but I still think we ended this nicely where we could be friends.”

“Thanks, but we’re okay. We’ve been working a lot of hours, and both of us are just tired. We will be fine tomorrow.” The bartender dropped off my burger and fries. I popped one into my mouth.

She gave me another smile. “That’s good. She seems like she could be a lot of work.”

I frowned, raising an eyebrow at her. “Well, isn’t anyone a lot of work? Everyone has their flaws. No one is perfect.”

She nodded, taking another sip of her beer. She waved a hand. “I mean, of course, everyone is work, but some are more than others and sometimes not worth it. Sometimes, you have to decide if you just need to cut ties and go your separate ways.”

Was she saying that Katie wasn’t worth the trouble? Had I heard her right? I stared at her, watching as she tapped her fingers, staring at me with soft eyes. Ashley always looked perfect, down to her fingernails. She always dressed up, even if I told her she didn’t need to. Our relationship had been decent, but there was never a huge spark. Nothing like how I felt with Katie.

I looked away. “Katie is work, but she’s worth it. She is a kind and loving person. She understands that my position is a stressful one and she’s got the right to get frustrated at times. She has a stressful job herself.”

Ashley reached over, snagging a fry off my plate. She gave me a smile. “As long as you're up for the challenge.” She swirled her beer around. “I couldn’t do it. When we were together, I always put you first.”

Ashley had. Ashley had been an amazing girlfriend but she wasn’t right for me. I always felt that she tried, but I was never truly happy.

But Katie….my body and soul wanted her. Katie pushed me to be better, and she had her own career. It made me want to work hard, to be better for her.

I couldn’t help the smile that formed as I thought about her. “I love my wife, Ashley. And I don’t care if she’s a challenge.”

Ashley looked a little hurt, but she quickly fixed her face. She waved a hand. “Of course you do.” She placed her hands on the table. “But does she love you in the same manner? Would she protect you the way you protect her? Because from what I saw, it’s not the same.”

I ground my teeth together. Ashley knew nothing about our relationship. No one knew what happened behind closed doors but us.

And I didn’t like how Ashley was talking.

“I don’t know what happened before, but don’t take my warning lightly. I will always side with her. I may not have demanded anything out of you, but don’t think I’m blind to what happened. I know Nina, and I doubt she did anything to hurt you. Katie wouldn’t have lost her calm if it had been something simple.”

Ashley looked stunned and stumbled for words.

“If I catch you speaking the way you just spoke about my wife, I can assure you will see a side of me you didn’t know existed.”

“I did…” Ashley tried speaking, but I waved a hand.

“Don’t even try to take it back.” I pulled myself up, and Ashley’s lips formed a straight line. I could see the hurt in hereyes and maybe she never got over me. Maybe that was why she said what she said. Or maybe Katie was right and I didn’t know who she was at all.

I threw some money onto the table. “You can have my burger since I don’t want it.”

I turned and headed out. I didn’t know how I was going to fix things with Katie, but I knew that I would.

Chapter 17 - Katie

“Here’s your tea,” Sam said, handing me the mug and sat down next to me on the couch. I cupped it and scowled. I didn’t know what I was fully feeling, but emotions were blurring together, and I felt like I wanted to cry more. But I had cried the entire drive over and was angry that Henrik had accepted that half ass apology.

I just kept seeing Ashley’s eyes relax when she saw him. She knew he was there and used the moment to her advantage. I hated people like that, and I hated that it worked. Henrik had sided with me, but had he really? Had he understood even?

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

I looked at Sam, seeing the soft gaze she was giving me. I knew I could trust her with so much.

“I found Nina in a bit of an altercation.”

She froze for a second, her lips pulling together. I could see she was instantly on alert, her defenses up. “Okay….and.”

I clutched the tea tighter and took a sip of it. It was peppermint, and I felt it fill my sinuses and relax me.

---