Alpha's Regret Too Late to Love Me novel Chapter 262

Sarah’s POV

I kept stroking Thea’s hair, waiting for her answer.

The silence stretched just long enough to make me second-guess whether I should have asked at all.

Maybe it was unfair, burdening a child with questions I-barely had the courage to face myself. Still, my chest tightened with anticipation, every second feeling heavier than the last.

She finally blinked up at me, her expression innocent but thoughtful. ” There are lots of pretty she-wolves who come to see Uncle Alex, you know,” she said matter-of-factly.

I froze, my fingers still tangled in her soft curls.

She wasn’t done. With the brutal honesty only a child could possess, she added, “Uncle Alex even sleeps in the same room with them!”

“What?” I choked on my own saliva, barely able to process what I was hearing. “Your uncle brings women home? And sleeps with them?”

My heart was hammering in my chest. Five years ago, Alexander would never have looked at another woman.

His devotion to me had been absolute, unquestionable. Had he changed that much?

“Isn’t that normal?” Thea blinked those big eyes at me, her expression perfectly guileless. “Uncle brings pretty ladies home all the time. It’s not like it’s just once or twice.”

The revelation hit me like a thunderbolt. My stomach twisted with jealousy so intense it left me breathless.”I don’t like them though,” Thea continued, seemingly oblivious to my distress. “They always have these weird smells on them.”

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Kind of like the smell on Uncle tonight. They call it perfume, but I have asthma, and it makes it hard for me to breathe.”

Each word was like a knife to my heart. So that’s what the lingerie in his closet was for. Not just Isabelle-apparently a parade of women had worn similar things for him. The thought made me physically ill.

“I like Auntie’s smell much better,” Thea declared with childish certainty. “It’s soft and doesn’t make my nose hurt at all! Thea loves Auntie’s smell the most!”

I could barely focus on her compliment. My mind was racing, piecing together all the evidence. The lingerie in his closet. The strong perfume I’d detected earlier. Alexander’s reputation as one of America’s most eligible bachelors.

Five years was a long time. Perhaps Alexander wasn’t the man I remembered. Maybe his rejection on the cruise hadn’t been about confusion or buried memories-maybe I simply wasn’t his type anymore.

But then why had he taken me to the hotel? Why had he claimed me so thoroughly just hours ago? Was I just another conquest, indistinguishable from the parade of women Thea described?

I dug my nails into my palm, desperately trying to keep my composure in front of the child. “Thea…” I managed, my voice strained. “Your uncle.. does he like these women?”

I clutched at the hem of my borrowed clothing, feeling utterly drained, all color fading from my face.

I should never have come. At least then I wouldn’t have heard these heartbreaking revelations.

But regrets were useless now. I’d made my choices, and now I had to live with the consequences. “Thea…” I began softly.

“Yes?”

“Let me tell you a story and help you fall asleep..”Suddenly, Thea burst into a fit of giggles, her small body shaking with laughter.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, bewildered by her abrupt change in mood.

“I lied!” she announced proudly between giggles. “I made it all up!

Uncle doesn’t bring ladies home. Only Auntie comes to Thea’s room!”

I stared at her in shock, unable to process this new revelation. “You… you were joking?”My emotions had been on such a roller coaster that | hardly knew whether to feel relieved or angry. “Why would you trick me like that?”