Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 181

The sudden movement sent my already pounding head into a tailspin. The room tilted, and I felt my knees buckle as the world went fuzzy around the edges.

Strong hands caught my arms before I could hit the floor.

“Whoa, easy there,” Andrei said, steadying me against the counter. “When was the last time you ate something?”

“I’m fine,” I lied, even though my skull felt like someone was taking a sledgehammer to it.

“No, you’re not.” He guided me to a nearby chair and pressed the water bottle into my hands. “Drink this. And take two of these.”

He shook out two pills from the bottle and held them out to me. I stared at them suspiciously.

“What are they?”

“Professional strength ibuprofen. The kind they give athletes.” He crouched down so we were at eye level. “I’m not trying to drug you, Natalia, if that’s what you think. You look like you’re about to pass out.”

I wanted to refuse on principle, but my head was pounding so hard I could barely think straight. And I had promised Catherine that tonight would be perfect; the last thing I needed was to collapse on the runway in front of all those people. Finally, after a moment of internal debate, I took the pills and swallowed them with a gulp of water.

“Thank you,” I muttered.

Andrei perched on the chair across from me. “Rough night?”

“You could say that.” I laughed bitterly and took another sip of water. “I went dancing with Mila. Apparently someone took pictures.”

“I saw the headlines.”

Of course he had. Everyone in the territories had probably seen them by now. “Yeah, well. Turns out even having innocent fun with a friend makes me look like a slut when you’re supposedly married to someone else.”

The words came out more bitter than I meant them to. Andrei just stared at me, and I couldn’t read his expression.

“Tell me, did you leak the information about my fake marriage to Damon? Because the timing seems awfully convenient,” I blurted out.

Andrei’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”

“The articles. They’re not just about me dancing. They’re questioning whether Damon and I are really married at all.” I fixed him with a stare. “That information had to come from somewhere.”

“It didn’t come from me.”

+25 Bonus

“Right. Because you’re so trustworthy.”

“Natalia…” Andrei sighed.

“Save it.” I waved my hand. “I know you just want to walk the runway with us tonight. Even if you didn’t leak the information, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind seeing our ‘marriage‘ crumble so you can take Damon’s place and hold the twins‘ hands in public.”

Andrei was quiet for a long moment. Then he said, “Actually, I was going to tell you to gorget about the fashion show.”

My gaze snapped to him. “What?”

He shrugged. “You should walk with him and the twins, just like you planned. Show everyone that your marriage is real and stable. It’ll help your image after last night.”

I stared at him. That was the last thing I’d expected him to say. “Why would you do that?”

“Because you’re right. The twins need stability right now, not more chaos. And if walking with Damon helps provide that…” He shrugged. “Then that’s what should happen.‘

His response caught me completely off guard. For weeks, he’d been pushing to be included in the fashion show, to be publicly acknowledged as the twins‘ father. Now he was offering to step aside for my benefit?

It had to be manipulation. Another angle I hadn’t considered yet.

Before either of us could say another word, a sudden commotion erupted from somewhere else in the venue. I heard raised voices and people running around. Andrei and I exchanged a glance before hurrying toward the sound.

We found a small crowd gathered around one of the dressing rooms. Through the open door, I could see Damon hunched over a trash can, retching violently.

“What happened?” I asked, pushing through the crowd.

“Looks like food poisoning,” Catherine said, her nails practically bloody from chewing them. She whirled around and barked at one of her assistants to get rid of all of the food from the staff lunch buffet as I moved toward Damon.