Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 156

And I would make sure he would never, ever suspect the truth.

…

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Natalia

Three weeks had passed since the amusement park, and Andrei had visited every single day since. He always brought something–books, toys, candy, art supplies. Yesterday it had been a remote–control car for Max and a set of watercolors for Jane.

I watched from the kitchen window as he pushed Jane on the swing set Damon had installed in the backyard. Her laughter carried through the glass, and my chest tightened painfully.

They looked so natural together. So right.

Max sat on the porch steps, swinging his legs. He’d maintained his distance throughout all of Andrei’s visits, but he never refused when I asked if it was okay for Andrei to come over.

It almost seemed as if he were warming up to his father.

“He’s good with them,” Damon said, appearing beside me with two cups of coffee.

I accepted one gratefully. “Better than I expected.”

“Max is softening. I saw him almost smile yesterday when Andrei taught Jane how to make paper airplanes.”

“Almost doesn’t count with Max.”

“No, but it’s progress.” Damon glanced at me. “What about you? Are you softening?”

I shot him a pointed look. We’d talked about this–my decision to wait for more information before trusting Andrei completely. But watching Andrei with the twins… it was torture. I wanted to tell him the truth, of course. But I couldn’t. Not yet.

Still, I couldn’t help but wonder… What if Mila was wrong? What if that letter wasn’t what it seemed? What if Andrei really hadn’t tried to have me killed?

The possibility consumed my thoughts more each day. I found myself imagining scenarios where we could be a real family. Where Andrei and I could raise the twins together, where we could start over and build something beautiful.

But then I’d remember what Mila had told me about Lilith trying to get pregnant, and the fantasy would crumble. Even if Andrei was innocent of trying to kill me, he was still planning a future with someone else. He’d always loved Lilith more, even when we were married.

It was just a silly daydream. Nothing more.

One morning, Andrei arrived with Lilith in tow. It took me by surprise when I saw her climb out of the car behind him, linking her arm through his. She wore a flowy white summer dress and had something small clutched in her hand.

I opened the door before they knocked. “Andrei. Lilith. This is… unexpected.

>>

“Hello, Natalia,” Lilith said sweetly. “I hope you don’t mind me tagging along. I have something for you.

She held out what she was holding: a cream–colored envelope. I opened it to reveal an invitation to the summer

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Chapter 156

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solstice ball–at the Moonshadow estate, of course.

“Since Moonshadow is hosting this year, I wanted to personally ensure you received your invitation,” she said.

I glanced up at her, expecting some kind of snarky comment or a malicious gleam in her eyes. But she was smiling serenely, which was surprising; I hadn’t seen her since the full moon festival, and the way that night went was certainly less than ideal.

But perhaps my blackmail had worked. Maybe she was actually trying to be a halfway decent person for once, or was at least restraining herself so I wouldn’t share the recording with Andrei.

“Thank you,” I said.

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