Alpha's Discarded Luna (Talia) novel Chapter 43

Chapter 42

Talia’s POV

I stand frozen at the top of the stairs, Robin’s innocent words still echoing in my mind.

Aeson told them that lady was just his

nanny.

The knife twists, slow and deliberate. Five years. Five years of packed lunches, of sleepless nights when he was sick, of tears and fears and prayers on cold chapel floors. Five years of being his mother, and to him, I’m just the help. Indistinguishable from the woman who changes his sheets.

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“Miss. Jackson?” Robin’s small voice pulls me back. He’s looking up at me, brow furrowed with concern. “You look really pale. Should we see a doctor?”

I force a smile, pat his soft hair. “I’m fine, sweetheart. Let’s find your teacher.”

He nods, trusting, and takes my hand. The warmth of his small fingers is the only thing keeping me anchored.

We reach the teacher’s office, and I‘ explain the situation–Robin needs to leave early. The teacher agrees, and I suggest Robin wait in the music room down the hall while I handle the paperwork. His eyes light up at that. He’s

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Chapter 42

been fascinated by the piano ever since learning I play, and he’s already announced his intention to learn.

“Don’t wander off,” I call after him as he disappears toward the music room.

The paperwork takes only a few minutes. I gather Robin’s release form and step into the hallway-

And there she is.

Imema. Standing at the end of the corridor like a ghost I can’t outrun.

Our eyes meet for a fraction of a second. I look away first–not from guilt, but from sheer, overwhelming indifference. I have 14

Chapter 42

nothing to say to her.

I turn toward the staircase that leads

down to the music room.

“Ms. Perseus.” Her voice follows me, soft and sweet as poisoned honey. “Are you looking for Aeson and Aires? They’re on the playground. I could take you to them.”

“I’m not looking for anyone.” I don’t slow down. Don’t look back.

Footsteps hurry behind me. “Please, Ms. Perseus. Could we talk? Just for a

moment?”

“There’s nothing to discuss.”

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“It’s about Aires.” She’s closer now, almost at my shoulder.

I reach the top of the stairs. “That gives us even less to discuss. Whatever exists

between you and my husband is none of

my concern.”

Her hand closes around my wrist. “Please. Five minutes. Just give me five minutes.”

I stop. Turn. Look at her hand on my skin like it’s something unclean. Very deliberately, I remove it.

“I’ve made myself clear, Ms. Volkov. We have nothing to talk about.”

I turn away, start down the first step. 16:14

Chapter 42

Behind me, I hear a gasp. A cry. The sickening sound of a body meeting stairs.

I spin around.

Imema lies at the bottom of the staircase, crumpled like a discarded doll. Blood pools beneath her head, stark and crimson against white marble. It’s spreading, too much, too fast.

I can’t move. Can’t breathe.

“Ms. Volkov!”

A small figure rockets past me, skidding to his knees beside her. Aeson. His hands hover over her, frantic, helpless.

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Chapter 42

“Ms. Volkov, are you okay? Please be okay!”

She opens her eyes, manages a trembling, saintly smile. “I’m fine, Aeson. Don’t worry. And please–don’t tell your father

about this.”

But tears are already streaming down his face. He looks up at me, standing frozen at the top of the stairs, and his expression transforms. The fear curdles into something uglier. Accusation. Fury.

“Why did you push her?”

The words hit like a slap. I shake my head, descending slowly, carefully. “I

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Chapter 42

didn’t-”

He scrambles to his feet, planting himself between me and Imema’s prone body like a tiny soldier defending his queen. His eyes are wild, hostile, looking at me like

I’m a monster.

“Stay away from her! I won’t let you hurt her again!”

I stop mid–step, staring at my son. At the child I raised, the child I nearly died for. He sees me as the enemy.

“Aires!”

The name cuts through the chaos like a

blade. I turn.

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Chapter 42

He’s there, striding toward us, dark and commanding. His eyes sweep the scene —Imema on the ground, blood pooling, Aeson weeping, me standing at the bottom of the stairs like a criminal caught

mid–act.

His expression doesn’t change, but something in it hardens to stone.

“Imema.” He crouches beside her, lifting her with impossible gentleness. “Call an

ambulance. Now.”

The hospital is a blur of white lights and hushed voices. The surgery sign glows

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Chapter 42

red, indifferent to the lives hanging in the balance.

I stand against the wall, arms crossed, face blank. Aires hasn’t looked at me. Not

once.

Then Nick arrives.

He storms down the hallway like a force of nature, his face purple with rage. He stops inches from me, jabbing a finger toward my face.

“You! This is you, isn’t it? You pushed her

down those stairs! You tried to kill her

again!” His voice rises, echoing off the

sterile walls. “You vicious, evil woman! Will you only be satisfied when she’s 16:15

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dead? How can someone as vile as you even exist? Do you have no shame?”

I wait until he’s done. Until his chest heaves and his eyes bulge with righteous fury. Then I speak, my voice calm as still

water.

“Shame?” I tilt my head, studying him like a specimen. “If shamelessness were an Olympic event, Mr. Thorne, you’d take gold without breaking a sweat. Compared to you, I wouldn’t even qualify for the trials.”

His face goes from purple to crimson.

“You-!”

“You weren’t there.” Each word lands like 5

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a hammer blow. “You didn’t see what happened. Yet you’ve already convicted me based on nothing but your own pathetic devotion to a woman who isn’t yours. Tell me, which eye of yours witnessed this crime? Both? Or just the one that refuses to see the truth?”

His hands clench into fists. “I’ll make you pay for what you’ve done to Imema!”

“Pay for what?” I smile, cold and thin. “For existing? For being married to the man you wish loved her? News flash, Nick –if you can’t win the woman you want, that’s your problem. Blaming me just makes you look weak and pathetic.”

“Talia!” His roar shakes the hallway.

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Chapter 42

“Enough.”

The word is quiet, but it cuts through Nick’s rage like a blade through fog. We

both turn.

3

Aires stands a few feet away, his

expression unreadable, but something in his posture has changed. The air around him is heavy, charged.

Nick falters, confusion flickering across his face. He’s used to being indulged, encouraged. This is new territory.

“Aires, she pushed Imema down the stairs. We can’t just let her walk away

from this!”

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Chapter 42

I laugh, short and sharp. “Mr. Thorne, you’re so eager to play knight that you’ve forgotten basic logic. You weren’t there. You have no evidence. Defamation is a

crime, and with the mood I’m in today, I’d be delighted to add your name to my lawsuit list.”

Nick sputters, caught between rage and the sudden, uncomfortable realization that I’m not wrong.

Aires says nothing. Just watches me with those dark, unreadable eyes.

I meet his gaze without flinching… I have nothing to hide.

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