Alpha's Discarded Luna (Talia) novel Chapter 59

Chapter 57

Talia’s POV

I keep my voice steady, measured. “Aires! Listen to me. It’s important to have an honest talk about Electra.”

He doesn’t acknowledge me at all, keeping up his cold, arrogant stride that says I’m in control, and you’re nothing.

“When you ask for something,” he says flatly, “you need to know how to ask.”

The implication lands like a slap.

I’m asking for something, and I’m not doing it the way he wants.

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Chapter 57

That means, he really wants me to beg, to grovel. To prove that I need him, that I’m nothing without his permission.

That’s his fantasy, not mine.

I stop walking. Let him take another step, then another. When I speak, my voice carries down the empty corridor.

“If you release Electra, I’ll give you the

medicine Diana needs.”

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He stops in his tracks and turns around.

His eyes narrow, assessing, calculating. “So you do have it.”

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*

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Chapter 57

I meet his gaze without flinching, neither refusing not validating his doubts.

“You have always been such a devoted son. Surely you wouldn’t let your mother suffer with those headaches when relief is

within reach?”

Something flickers in his expression, something like the irritation someone feels with the buzzing of an annoying fly.

Or maybe, it’s grudging respect… it’s

kinda hard to tell with him.

“Talia.” His voice is cold, but there’s an edge to it now. “You’re getting better at negotiations.”

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A small, humorless smile touches my lips. “When discussing emotions, there are rules. When discussing business, there are different rules. You’re holding my friend hostage because of who she’s friends with. I’m simply learning from your example.”

Human nature is predictable. People don’t understand pain until they feel it themselves. He watched Imema humiliate

me for months, never once considering how it felt. Now that the shoe’s on the

other foot, suddenly the game has rules?

Let him squirm, let him choose. His mother’s health or his first love’s comfort.

I want to see who wins.

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Chapter 57

He stares at me for a long moment. I stare back, unblinking and unwavering.

Finally, he looks away first. It’s a small victory for me.

“Fine.” The word is clipped, unwilling. “Bring the medicine. I’ll release Electra.”

I nod once. “Done.”

***

The next morning, I take a taxi to the outskirts of the city. The streets get narrow and narrow, the buildings turn older and older, and eventually I find myself walking down an alley so tucked

5/11

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Chapter 57

away that GPS has given up entirely.

The clinic sign is faded, barely legible by now. The building itself looks like it might collapse in a strong wind. But the smell: that sharp, herbal, unmistakable scent of traditional medicine, hits me before I even open the door.

Inside, Jack Carter sits at his counter, reading glasses perched on his nose, a small bundle of dried herbs in one gnarled hand. He sniffs, scribbles something in a worn notebook, sniffs again.

I approach quietly. “Mr. Carter.”

He doesn’t look up. “Here for medicine

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Chapter 57

again? Last time was the last time. I

meant it.

“I need to ask a favor.”

“No.” Still no eye contact. “Leave.”

Jack Carter is seventy years old, and his temper has only sharpened with age. But when it comes to his skills… there’s no

one better. When I first learned about Diana’s chronic headaches years ago, I tracked him down after months of asking around. It took me a week just to get past his front door. He threw me out six days in a row before finally, on the seventh, deigning to ask why I kept coming back.

was desperate to win Diana’s approval 24

Chapter 57

To prove myself as a good daughter–in–law, a good wife, a good someone in that family.

Jack had looked me up and down and said, “I only treat poor people. You look wealthy. Why bother with an old man like

me?”

I told him the truth, that I had heard his skills were unmatched, that no ordinary doctor could help Diana’s condition.

He snorted. “Flattery won’t work.”

“Then what will?”

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He had thought about it, then grinned mischievously, like he was enjoying

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Chapter 57

whatever cruel thought had taken root in

his mind. “You will have to work here. Do chores. If you impress me, I’ll treat your patient.”

I agreed without hesitation.

He was shocked. I think he expected me to crumble, to reveal myself as another bored rich girl playing at altruism. Instead, I showed up every day. He scolded me, criticized me, made me cry more than once. But I kept coming at his door, every day for the next six months.

Eventually, he softened when he learned I was seeking medicine for my husband’s mother, not myself. His opinion shifted. For two years, he’s been providing the 16:24

<< Chapter 57

medication that keeps Diana’s headaches at bay.

But six months ago, the news about Aires and Imema reached even his secluded

ears. And he noticed, I was the only one who ever came. Not Aires. Not Diana. Just

1. me.

Last time, he told me he would stop.

Now, he sighs, finally looking up. “You’ve worked hard for me. I respect that. So I’ll help you one last time.”

He removes his reading glasses, fixing me with a sharp gaze. “But your husband comes with you. I want to meet this man who’s too busy to visit his own mother‘$62

Chapter 57

doctor.”

I blink. “Mr. Carter-”

“That’s the condition. Take it or leave it.”

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