Betrayed by My Ex, Marked by His Alpha Emperor Brother novel Chapter 246

Chapter 246: Chapter 246

Gareth’s POV

The whiskey tasted like horse piss.

I took another swig anyway. Three mouthfuls of liquid fire that burned a trail down my throat and settled into my gut like molten lead. Cheap. Foul. Exactly what a man of my station deserved—temporarily.

The room stank of mildew and something worse. Water stains bloomed across the ceiling like diseased flowers, and the single window was so grimy that even noon light came through gray and dying. A sagging mattress sat in one corner. A three-legged table in another, propped against the wall to keep from collapsing.

Home sweet home.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and stared at the letter on the table. Seraphine’s handwriting—elegant even in panic. The enchanted parchment still shimmered faintly at the edges, residual magic from the messenger construct that had delivered it.

Gareth. Cassian is looking for us.

I read it twice. Then I folded it into a neat square and held it over the candle flame.

The paper caught. Curled. Blackened into nothing.

"Poor thing," I murmured to the empty room. A smile pulled at my lips. Not a kind one.

Seraphine was afraid. Good. Fear made people careful. Fear kept them following instructions. And right now, the only instruction that mattered was the one I’d already given her: play the pregnant mistress and let the court devour Kaelen alive.

I leaned back in my chair—a rickety thing that groaned under my weight—and stretched my legs across the filthy floor. Through the thin walls, I could hear the sounds of the slum. A baby wailing. Two men arguing about a debt. Someone retching in the alley below.

No one looked twice at a man in a hooded cloak down here. No one asked questions. No one reported anything to anyone, because down here, authority meant nothing and survival meant everything.

The perfect hiding place for a prince who didn’t look like one.

Another letter materialized on the table. The air shimmered, and there it was—parchment folded into thirds, Seraphine’s seal pressed hastily into wax that hadn’t fully set.

Where are you? I need to know you’re safe.

I picked it up. Read it. Set it beside the whiskey bottle without bothering to destroy it yet.

A third letter arrived before I’d finished my next drink.

Gareth please respond. I’m frightened.

I stared at that one for a long time.

Then I pulled a scrap of parchment from my pocket. Dipped a finger in the residual magic of her last message—just enough to send a reply through the same channel.

Five words.

I’m safe. Don’t worry. Stick to the plan.

I pressed the message into the enchanted parchment and watched it dissolve, carrying my words back through whatever magical thread connected us.

Then I burned her remaining letters. One by one. Watched them become ash.

Seraphine would survive. She always did. Women like her—beautiful, clever, ruthless—they had a talent for landing on their feet. She’d been handling men since she was old enough to understand what a well-placed smile could buy. Cassian was her own blood cousin. She could easily handle an anxious man like him. He wouldn’t hurt her. Wouldn’t hurt the baby.

And if Kaelen questioned her directly?

She’d cry. She’d tremble. She’d clutch her belly and whisper his name with just enough reverence to make him doubt himself. She’d done it before. She could do it again.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify