Alpha's Regret Too Late to Love Me novel Chapter 263

Thea’s giggles subsided slightly as she gave me a sly look. “Because Auntie came so late! Thea was worried you weren’t coming, so Thea decided to play a little trick.”

Despite my emotional whiplash, I couldn’t bring myself to be angry with her. There was something endearing about her childish prank, even if it had momentarily shattered my heart.

“You’re quite the little actress,” I said, trying to sound stern but failing miserably. “What about Isabelle? Doesn’t she visit you?”

“Isabelle?” Thea’s face scrunched up in distaste. “She doesn’t like Thea.

She says Thea is too noisy and messy. Uncle Alex never brings her to my room.

A strange warmth spread through my chest at her words. So despite his engagement, Alexander hadn’t integrated Isabelle into Thea’s life the way a true Luna would be.

“Auntie is the only one who tells Thea stories and tucks her in,” she continued, snuggling closer to me.

My heart skipped a beat. “So I’m special, then?”

Thea nodded enthusiastically. “Uh-huh.”

She settled back against her pillows, her eyelids already beginning to droop, but then she looked up at me with one last concern. “When Thea falls asleep, will Auntie sneak away?”

‘No,”I promised, softening my voice. “When Theafalls asleep, Auntie will stay right here. I promise that when you wake up, the first thing you’ll see is me. Is that okay?”

The anxiety in her little face eased, and she nodded solemnly. “Mm-hmm. I believe Auntie.”She obediently lay back and pulled the covers up to her chin. “Auntie, tell me a story now. Thea is listening.”

I retrieved a book of Grimm’s Fairy Tales from her bookshelf and sat on the edge of her bed. “This story is called Cinderella. I’ll read it to you.”

My years in Portugal had involved a lot of charity work with children, and with Aria at home, I’d grown accustomed to caring for little ones.

When I was around children, a natural maternal warmth seemed to emanate from me.

I began reading in a soft, gentle voice: “Once upon a time, there was a rich man whose wife became very ill. When she felt her end drawing near, she called her only daughter to her bedside.”

“She said, ‘Dear child, remain pious and good, and then God will always protect you, and I will look down on you from heaven and be near you.

Then she closed her eyes and departed this life. The little girl went every day to her mother’s grave and wept, and she remained pious and good.”

At first, Thea seemed wide awake, occasionally sniffling and commenting on the story.

I sat at her bedside for a long time, lost in thought, not even sure what I was thinking about. The night was dark, and the countryside estate was completely silent.

Eventually, my body started to feel numb, and my consciousness gradually returned. Blinking, I rose from the edge of the bed, careful not to wake Thea.

I hesitated for a moment, my gaze lingering on her peaceful little face.

But my thoughts quickly drifted elsewhere Alexander. He had been drinking heavily.His body had already taken too much tonight.

What if his condition was worse than he let on?

I bit my lip, torn. Maybe I should leave it alone, let him rest. But the worry only pressed harder, until I couldn’t sit still anymore.

With a soft sigh, I pulled the blanket higher over Thea and quietly slipped out of the room.

My heart thudded in my chest as I walked down the dimly lit corridor, telling myself it was just to check on him-just to make sure he was all right.But as I neared his room, the handle clicked from the inside.

I froze, breath caught in my throat, just as the door slowly opened…