Page 22 of The Alpha's Uncovered Mate

It sickens me that I gave that man the only part of myself that was mine.

It hurts me.

Unknowingly, the Moore family took it all from me.

Did he recognize me? Had it been a joke to him to lead me on?

My head is a tangled mess of emotions, and I wrap my arms tighter around my knees. Sometimes the loneliness is so isolating that I want to close my eyes and sink into this dark abyss and never wake up. I do know one thing, though. If Norman becomes Alpha, then I won't stick around to see what he has in store for me. That's it for me.

Hearing someone enter the washroom, my head jerks up.

It's two women. They're going about their business, chatting happily, and I listen in, tiredly. They're just discussing their boyfriends and the like, and I feel a pang of envy. I would give anything to have someone to talk to about trivial things. It's not like I've not been invited to lunch every now and then. The problem is I'm simply not allowed to associate with anyone without Jonathon's permission. If it's for networking I'm given leeway, but he vets each and every person and I have to keep him on call so he can monitor the conversation. This type of controlling behavior has become my life now.

I wait for them to leave before dragging myself out of the stall.

My eyes are red-rimmed, my face splotchy as I stare at myself in the mirror.

I splash some water on my face, but I still look like hell. I’ve been staring at myself in the mirror for a while when someone walksin. I immediately look toward the door and see it's one of the female security guards. I've seen her around, and she's a recent hire.

"Hey." She approaches me, and I instantly take a step back, feeling far too raw.

She blinks and where someone else would have just backed off at my body language, she frowns. "You okay? Looks like you just had a good hard cry."

She instantly dives into her bag and takes out some wipes. "Here."

I stare at the wipes before slowly accepting them. "T-Thank you."

She has a small bag with her, and she digs into it. "You're going to need some concealer, babe. And maybe some foundation to cover up the redness. Let me see. I always have it."

I don't know what's happening right now, but she hands me a small bottle. "Our skin tone seems to be the same. This might help."

I know what I'm holding but…

"I…" I look at her, feeling embarrassed. "I don't know how to use this."

She blinks. "You don't know how to use a concealer?"

I wish the floor would open up and swallow me whole right now. I expect her to scoff and look amused. To my surprise, she just grins. "Late bloomer, huh? I was the same. My sister had to drag me into makeup so I would look presentable. Not that I thinkthere was anything wrong with me before. Here, let me. I mean, I looked pretty okay. Nobody wants a dolled-up security guard, you know."

She's applying the concealer under my eyes and then pressing something else against it. It's the same sponge the human woman in the salon used.

"You've got such nice skin, though. I've seen you around the office. You're always running. I kept wondering how you kept your skin so fresh and glowing when you wore barely any makeup. Do you do any makeup?"

She's like a force of nature, just plowing me down, and I don't know how to react, "I-I have a lipstick."

She makes a tutting sound. "Lipstick is too basic. Every girl needs more than that in her arsenal."

I'm just standing there, frozen, as she fixes up my face.

"You're going to need something cold for those eyes. Try pressing a cold spoon against them. They'll get rid of the swelling for you. There, see? Now you look better."

She sounds so pleased that I find myself looking in the mirror only to realize the red splotches have been toned down.

"Thanks," I say slowly.

"Maya Green." She sticks out her hand. "I'm new to Seattle. Just moved here a couple of months ago."

I shake her hand, finding her abrupt nature a little refreshing. "Cynthia Rose. I'm the alpha's PA."

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