Chosen By The Cursed Alpha King (Emilia) novel Chapter 156

DAMIEN’S POV

She’d been quiet all morning.

Not the peaceful kind of quiet | liked-when she curled up somewhere nearby, reading or humming softly to herself.-while I worked. This was different. Heavy. Unsettled.

I felt it the moment I walked into my office and saw her on the couch.

Rose sat there with her legs tucked beneath her, fingers twisting together in her lap. She wasn’t reading. Wasn’t on her phone. She was just… staring. Not at anything in particular. Just lost somewhere far away.

I sat behind my desk and opened a file, forcing myself to focus. I had meetings lined up, contracts to review, people waiting on decisions only I could make. Normally, work grounded me.

Today, I couldn’t read a single word.

Every few minutes, I felt her eyes on me.

I’d look up-and she’d look away instantly.

Her mouth would open slightly, like she was about to speak… then close again. She rubbed her fingers together, over and over, like she was trying to scrub something invisible off her skin.My wolf stirred uneasily.

Something was wrong.

I lasted maybe twenty minutes before I couldn’t take it anymore.

I leaned back in my chair and sighed, slow and deliberate ” What is it, baby?”

She stiffened immediately.

Her head snapped up. “What?”

I softened my voice. “You’ve been looking at me like you’re çarrying a secret that’s about to break you in half.”

She shook her head too fast. “It’s nothing.”

I watched her closely. The way her shoulders curled inward. The way she pressed her lips together like she was afraid they might betray her.

“Rose,” I said gently, “you know you can tell me anything.”

She shook her head again, harder this time. “It’s really nothing. I promise.”

She didn’t sound convincing. Not even a little.

I closed the file in front of me and stood up.

The movement alone made her tense. Her hands clenched tighter in her lap.I walked around the desk slowly, deliberately, like I didn* want to scare her off. When I stopped in front of her, l crouched down so we were eye level.

I reached out and lifted her chin gently, my thumb brushing her skin.

“Did you forget something?” I asked quietly.

Her breath hitched.

“You’re my mate,” I continued. “I know when something is wrong with you. Even when you try to hide it.”

She swallowed.

Her eyes dropped to her hands again.

“Rose,” I said, firmer now. “Look at me.”

For a moment, I thought she wouldn’t. Then, slowly, she Lifted her gaze.

There it was.

Fear. Doubt. Something fragile and aching sitting right behind her eyes.

I gave her a small smile, trying to ease whatever storm was brewing inside her. “What is it?”

Her lips parted

Closed again.She took a breath. Then another.

“Please don’t be mad,” she whispered.

My jaw tightened instantly.

“Mad?” I echoed. “Why would I be mad?”

“I just..” Her voice wavered. “I just-

She bit her bottom lip hard, like the words were too heavy, Like saying them out loud might make them real.

I reached for her hands, pulling them away from where she was rubbing them raw. I held them firmly, grounding her.

“You know I’ll support whatever you want,” I said.”

Whatever it is.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

That hit me harder than any enemy ever could.

She shook her head. “I just want to be worthy of you.”

My wolf snarled

I took a step toward her. “You are my mate,” I said, voice low and intense. “You are the woman fate chose for me.

Do you have any idea what that means?”

She looked away.

“I don’t want fate to be the only reason,” she whispered.

That cut deeper than I expected.

The room felt smaller. Tighter. Like the walls were closing in.

I stared at her, really stared-and I saw it then. This wasn’t insecurity born overnight. This had been growing inside her for a long time. Quietly. Patiently. Like a crack spreading beneath the surface.

“What do you want, Rose?” I asked finally. “Tell me.”

She hesitated.

My heart started to pound.”I want…” Her fingers twisted together again. “I want to do something for myself.”

I nodded stawly. “Okay.”

She took a shaky breath.

“T want to go back to school.”

The words hung in the air.

I turned sharply. “What?”

Her eyes snapped back to mine, wide and nervous-but determined.

“I want to go back to school,” she repeated, louder this time.

My chest tightened.

School?

A thousand thoughts crashed into me all at once. Danger.

Exposure. The risks. The world that would see her. Touch her. Judge her.

Fuck.