Ran Away Pregnant Came Back Alpha Heiress (Amelia and Damien) novel Chapter 206

Chapter 206

Jake’s POV

As we arrived at the church, I was surprised Damien was already there. I had thought he would show up, but not early. In his black suit with black shirt, his face sallow, he was the picture of monochromatic grief.

My enforcers flanked him on either side, keeping him from entering the church. I stepped out onto the curb and approached him.

Under his arm, he carried a manila envelope, which he now passed over to me. I flipped it open at once and saw it was filled with printouts of text messages, as well as a few pages of phone call logs.

“Claire, my sister Victoria, and my Beta Ethan conspired to have my mate killed,” Damien said. His voice sounded odd, even to me who didn’t know him all that well. He sounded gruff and tired, like a man much older than he was. “Claire was the master manipulator. There might have been a fourth accomplice, but I couldn’t track down who that was.”

“We’ll find them,” I said.

Behind me, Sienna shifted uncomfortably. Her high heels must have been bothering her feet.

“Is this adequate?” Damien asked. His eyes were dim and dark, like the life was being actively leeched right out of

him.

I never cared for the man, but his grief was palpable and struck guilt straight into me like a longsword.

Dad stepped forward, so I passed him the envelope. I hadn’t responded to Damien’s question yet, as I still wasn’t sure. He could have forged these documents. Was he really that trustworthy?

But… there was something about this broken, defeated man in front of me.

He wasn’t a good enough actor for this appearance, this behavior, to not be genuine.

“It’s enough,” I said and gestured toward the door.

Watching him as he entered, I knew my resolve was being tested. If Damien wasn’t responsible for the attack on Amelia, was it right to keep him in the dark about her being alive?

Or about the existence of his child?

Mom gave me a look that silently shouted her judgement.

She was too soft to make the tough decisions that had to be made now.

Keeping Damien in the dark was a cruelty for him, but to give my sister the brightest chance at a future, I would be cruel. If he wanted to be a part of her life, he should have been kinder to her when he had the chance.

Amelia fled him into my pack to a reason, and I wasn’t about to give her back to him now when she was most vulnerable. She was a blank slate, and needed people who actually cared about her to help guide her.

That wasn’t Damien, and it never would be.

Damien’s POV

I didn’t know what I expected. Her body, maybe. Instead there was just a box on a pedestal.

Her ashes. And likely, included, the ashes of our unborn child.

1/2

Beside the box was a large portrait on an easel.

My beloved. My mate. My heart.

Seeing her face again, even in a picture like this, burned away all the numbness inside of me until I could only feel pain.

Stricken, I dropped to my knees, overcome by the weight of this loss.

My grief struck blow after blow to my chest, and I heaved over, grabbing at the carpet to keep myself steady.

A loud sob cracked through my throat.

Amelia.

And our baby, who never even got a name.

Behind me, Jake and his family must have seen, as did everyone already in the church. I didn’t care anymore.

Let them see.

Let them know I loved my wife and child.

Closing my eyes, I tried to imagine they weren’t dead. But when I opened them again, I was still here, still faced with Amelia’s memorial and their ashes.

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