Alpha's Discarded Luna (Talia) novel Chapter 137

er 134

how you treat everyone in your life? Your mother? Your business partners?” She pauses, and her voice drops to something razor–sharp. “Imema?”

The name hangs between us like a weight I can’t lift. I have no answer. She knows it. She’s always known it.

“Talia, you’re my wife. My closest person. I thought you were different. I thought you understood.”

/

A short, bitter laugh escapes her. She shakes her head slowly, like she’s watching something she once treasured turn to dust. “Don’t say things you don’t mean. Wife? Closest person?” She steps closer, and I see the years of silence in her eyes. The years of waiting, of forgiving, of being forgotten. “Your mother is your closest person. Do you break promises to her? Do you leave her waiting for hours without a word? Do you forget her completely when something else comes up?“/

I open my mouth. Close it. The truth sits heavy in my chest, suffocating. I would never treat my mother this way. Or Imema. Or anyone else I claim to care about.

Only her. Always her. And I never once asked if it was costing her something.

13:58

< Chapter 134

For once, I mean them. “I apologize. It won’t happen, again. If something comes up, I’ll tell you. I’ll call.”

She looks at me like I’m a stranger. Like she’s already let go of something I didn’t know I was holding.

“Aires, I don’t believe a word you say. Not anymore.”

Her voice is flat. Final. The voice of someone who has stopped hoping.

“I’ve filed for divorce. Don’t miss the hearing.”

She turns and walks away before I can respond. Her footsteps are steady, certain. She doesn’t look back. Not

once.

Nick appears beside me, watching her retreat with obvious contempt. “What did she want? Blaming you for not taking her on that date?”

I don’t answer. I can’t.

“She’s been threatening divorce for months. She’s not going anywhere.” He waves a dismissive hand. “You didn’t show up, so now she’s throwing a tantrum. Next:58 week it’ll be something else.”

< Chapter 134

finality. The way she looked at me like I was nothing. Like I was already forgotten. I’ve seen that look before. I’ve never seen it on her.

Nick keeps talking, his voice a drone in my ear. “Divorce takes time now. Cooling–off period, appointments–my/ friend waited a month just to register. Another month for the hearing. She’s not going through all that just for

attention.”

“She filed.” The words come out before I can stop them. “Already.”

He pauses, then laughs–a short, dismissive sound. “She’s bluffing. Court divorce takes even longer. She’s just trying to scare you. It’s what women do when they feel ignored.”

I stare at the door Talia walked through, still swinging slightly from her exit. Is she bluffing? She was so certain. So calm. Like she’d already left me behind. Like she’d already stopped caring whether I followed. Like she’d finally learned to stop waiting.

Seeing my expression, Nick’s laughter fades. He shifts uncomfortably. “Look, if she’s serious, you’ll get a court summons. If you don’t, she’s bluffing. Simple.”

13:58

< Chapter 134

Talia’s POV

Jack motions me toward the back room with a flick of his eyes while Robin and Imema are bent over the herb counter together.

I follow him into the small office, closing the door behind

1. us.

“Jack.” I keep my voice low. “What’s going on?”

He lowers himself into his chair, the wood creaking under his weight. “Nick came to me a while back. Begging, pleading, offering money, offering anything and everything under the sun. I turned him away.”

He snorts. “But I expect him to come back dragging your scumbag husband and his mistress with him.”

I wait, holding back my judgment.

“Nick’s been chasing me for months. I had no interest, but then he showed up with Aires and I thought…”

He stops, shakes his head. “I’ve been here too long. My children have been calling me home for years. This time my eldest has given me an ultimatum: come back by

13:58

< Chapter 134

I know the Carter family is wealthy, Care Hospital alone is a global empire.

But standing here, looking at this man in his worn sweater, it’s easy to forget the world he came from. Few know that his fortune was built on the exceptional skill/ in his hands during his youth. The world–renowned Care Hospital, the top private chain of hospitals, is run by his family.

It was named for his late wife, who died in an accident ten years ago. After that, he abandoned everything. He moved out here, growing more eccentric with each passing season.

He drove away the few patients who wandered in. For a whole year, he did not treat a single soul. He did not care, because this place was the only thing left that held her

memory.

But his skills were not so easily buried. His reputation as a miracle doctor clung to him, and led me to his doorstep.

I’ve never asked him about it, he’s always been the

grumpy old man who threw my cooking out the window

for a month straight, telling me even stray dogs wouldn’t

6/8

eat it.

< Chapter 134

Gradually, I learned to make food that he would eat in satisfied silence.

When the cold set in last winter, I knitted a pair of gloves for Aeson. I thought of Jack, and made him a pair too, leaving them on his desk without a word.

To me, Jack is like a grandfather: sharp–tongued and irascible, but his heart is soft and mushy.

I know he sees my care for what it is, and perhaps, he too might see a long–lost granddaughter.

He looks at me. “Before I return to the Carter family,” he says, his voice quiet, “I prepared a gift for you.”

I start to shake my head, to tell him it is not necessary, but he holds up a hand, silencing me.

“But before I could give it,” he continues with a sly glint in his eyes. “Aires delivered himself to my doorstep.”

A slow smile spreads across his face, and for a moment, I see the formidable man he once was. “Prey that delivers itself to the door should not be wasted. If I did not teach

him a lesson, I would not be a Carter.”

13:58

< Chapter 134

Imema, and I lean in closer. “Jack… does Imema really have a terminal illness?”

Coin Package: get more free bonus

B

get it

Write your comment

ir Gifts

8/8