My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 123

Chapter 13

My Cheating Mate

Jeremy pov

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The kitchen was quiet except for the sound of water running, and dishes clanking against each other. Erima stood at the sink, her back to us, mechanically washing plates and cups from the meal no one had really eaten.

Her shoulders were shaking.

She was trying to hide it. Trying to maintain the composed, strong front she’d built over the past year. The woman who’d confronted Dr. Chen with steel in her voice and determination in her eyes.

But now, alone in a kitchen-or what she thought was alone-the walls were coming down.

I stood in the kitchen doorway, Grace cradled against my chest, watching my mate fall apart in small, quiet ways. The way she gripped a plate too tightly, her knuckles white. The way she paused every few seconds, her head dropping forward. The way tears dripped silently onto the dish she was trying to rinse.

Lord Castellan stood beside me, his arms crossed, his expression-for once-completely unreadable. Not his usual analytical observation or cold calculation. Something else. Something almost human.

“She’s breaking,” he said quietly. Too quietly for Emma to hear over the running water.

“She’s been breaking for hours. Since the confrontation.” I adjusted Grace, who was sleeping peacefully through her parents’ emotional turmoil. “She won’t let me help. Won’t talk about it. Just keeps doing dishes.”

“Keeping busy. Maintaining control over something manageable when everything else feels out of control.” He watched Emma with an intensity that would have concerned me under different circumstances. “It’s a very human response to betrayal.”

“She’s not human.”

“No. But wolves process emotions similarly enough.” He paused. “The dishes aren’t about dishes, Jeremy. They’re about needing to feel useful. Productive. Like she has some power in a situation where she feels powerless.”

“I know that. I can’t fix it.”

“No. You can’t.” Lord Castellan was quiet for a moment. “May I?”

The question surprised me. “You want to-talk to Emma?”

“I want to try something.” His expression was still unreadable. “She won’t accept comfort from you right now. Too complicated. Too layered with the history between you. But I’m-” He paused, choosing words carefully. “I’m outside that history. She might accept something from me that she can’t from you.”

“And why would you care enough to try?”

He looked down at Grace sleeping in my arms. Something flickered in those ancient eyes-something I couldn’t quite identify.” Because she’s the mother of your heir. Because she’s crucial to the alliance we’ve built. Because-” He stopped. “Because watching someone cry when you could help them is wasteful. And I’m pragmatic.”

I studied his face, looking for ulterior motives. Vampires always had ulterior motives.

But all I saw was something that looked uncomfortably like genuine concern.

“Go ahead,” I said. “But Lord Castellan-if you manipulate her-

“I won’t. You have my word.” He moved into the kitchen with that supernatural silence, stopping a few feet from Emma.

She didn’t notice him at first, too focused on scrubbing a casserole dish with unnecessary force. When she finally turned and

saw him stattling there, she startled water splashing across her sfitr

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“Lord Castellan ” She quickly wified her face with the back of her hand, trying to erase the evidence of tears. “I didn’t hear you come in. Did you need something?

“I came to check on you.” His voice was different than I’d ever heard it softer, stripped of its usual aristocratic polish. “You’ve been crying.”

“I’m fine.” The automatic response. The wall going bark up.

“You’re not. And that’s acceptable.” He moved closer, stopping at the kitchen counter. Not too close-giving her space. “You don’t have to be fine right now, Emma.”

Something cracked in her expression. The mask she’d been holding slipped, and underneath was raw, breeding hurt.

“She used me,” Emma whispered. “She sat across from me every week and listened to me pour my heart out. Listened to me cry about Jeremy’s betrayal, about feeling worthless, about being terrified.” A sob broke free. “And the whole time she was-

3-she

was taking notes. Not to help me heal. To help people kill me.”

Lord Castellan nodded slowly. “Yes. She was.”

“How am I supposed to trust anyone now?” Emma’s voice rose, cracking with pain. “How am I supposed to trust that anyone in iny life actually cares about me? First Jeremy with Vanessa. Then Dr. Chen with the hunters. Who’s next? Who else is pretending?”

“No one.” His voice was firm but gentle. “Emma, the people who matter-your father, Jeremy, your pack-they’re not pretending. They’ve proven their loyalty through action, not just words.”

“Dr. Chen proved her loyalty through action too. She helped us heal. Or seemed to.” Emma gripped the edge of the sink. “How do I know the difference between real and fake anymore?”

“You look at the results.” He leaned against the counter, positioning himself at her eye level. “Jeremy nearly died protecting you yesterday. Your father shielded Grace with his life. Your pack fought and bled for your safety. Those aren’t the actions of people pretending.”

“Dr. Chen’s actions seemed real too. Until they weren’t.”

“There will always be people who betray trust. In any species, in any era. That’s-” He paused. “That’s simply the nature of relationships. Trust is a risk. It always has been.”

“Easy for you to say. You’ve lived for centuries. You’ve probably been betrayed dozens of times.”

“Hundreds.” No hesitation. “Vampires are particularly good at betrayal. We have centuries to plan and execute it perfectly.”

Emma let out a sound that was half laugh, half sob. “That’s not comforting.”

“It’s not meant to be comforting. It’s meant to be honest.” He was quiet for a moment. “But here’s what I’ve learned in all those centuries, Emma: the betrayals hurt because the trust was real. You can’t be betrayed by someone you never trusted. Dr. Chen hurt you so badly because you genuinely opened yourself to her. That vulnerability-that willingness to trust–isn’t weakness. It’s the bravest thing a person can do.”

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