Fated to the Alpha Who Killed Me (by Sherry) novel Chapter 187

Chapter 187

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Performing. Yes, that was exactly the right word. And I’d given her a standing ovation for five years without

evet realizing I was part of the show.

A bitter laugh escaped me. I have to hand it to her. If I had half of Celeste’s strategic thinking, I wouldn’t have

spent ten years unable to win Daemon’s heart.

“I should go,” I said, already reaching for my bag.

Evan stood as well. “I didn’t drive here. Could you drop me at my apartment?”

I hesitated for a fraction of a second before nodding. What else could I say? We walked to my car in silence,

and I was hyperaware of him in my peripheral vision as I drove, the way he kept glancing over as if trying to

read my thoughts from my profile.

Ember stirred uneasily in my mind. “He smells nervous. And hopeful.”

Not now, I told her firmly, keeping my eyes fixed on the road. We have enough complications.

The drive back to our apartment building felt simultaneously too long and too short. When I finally pulled

into a visitor spot near the entrance, Evan unbuckled his seatbelt but didn’t immediately move to exit. I

could feel the weight of whatever he was about to say settling in the air between us.

“If you discover the truth,” he said quietly, still not looking at me, “and if that truth changes how you see

what happened–if most of it turns out to be misunderstanding rather than betrayal–would you consider

trying again with Daemon?”

My hands tightened on the steering wheel. “No. Because the scars are already there, Evan. It doesn’t matter

if the knife turned out to be fake–the wound still bled, and it still hurts.”

He finally turned to face me fully, and there was something achingly gentle in his expression that made my

chest constrict. “If you did decide to try again… I would support you.”

I stared at him, genuinely shocked. “You’d support me?”

“I know what I said.” A small, self–deprecating smile crossed his face. “And I meant it. But that doesn’t

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change the fact that I want you to be happy, even if that happiness doesn’t include me. Before you make any

final decisions about your future, though, I’m still going to try. I’m going to do my damnedest to show you

what it could be like with someone who actually sees you and values you. But if you ultimately choose

him…” He shrugged. “Then I’ll step back.”

He got out of the car before I could formulate a response, offering a small wave through the window before

heading toward the building entrance. I sat there for several minutes after he’d disappeared inside, trying to

reconcile this version of Evan–mature, self–aware, genuinely generous–with the man from my previous life

who had fought Daemon with single–minded intensity over Celeste.

When I finally dragged myself upstairs and into my apartment, I was too mentally drained to do anything

productive. I barely managed to change into sleep clothes before collapsing into bed, but sleep itself proved

elusive. My mind kept circling back to the same questions, the same images.

Morning came whether I was ready for it or not. I woke near noon with gritty eyes and a headache that

pulsed in time with my heartbeat, immediately reaching for my phone to text Kael.

Me: Need a mental health day. Taking today off.

His response came within seconds: Take two if you need them. Want me to bring food?

I smiled despite myself at his mother–hen tendencies, but declined the offer. After a long shower that did

nothing to unknot the tension in my shoulders, I made myself a late breakfast–instant noodles dressed up

with a fried egg, cherry tomatoes, and baby spinach, plus a glass of milk. The baby needed proper nutrition

even if I felt like subsisting on air and spite.

After eating, I crawled back into bed and pulled the covers over my head like a child hiding from monsters,

except the monsters were all memories and revelations and the growing certainty that I’d been operating

with incomplete information for longer than I wanted to admit.

The sound of my phone vibrating pulled me back to reluctant consciousness. I groped for it blindly, eyes

still closed, thumb finding the answer button through muscle memory alone.

“Hello?” My voice came out rough with sleep and residual emotion.

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Fated to the Alpha Who Killed Me

Chapter 188