Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 494

Chapter 494

We stood there watching it burn until there was nothing left but ash.

“Good riddance,” Andrei muttered.

I leaned against his chest. “Yeah.”

After that, we got started on dinner. The twins were still playing outside, and Hope was awake now, cooing in her crib. I picked her up and placed her in my sling while I pulled vegetables from the refrigerator.

Andrei started chopping onions without being asked, which warmed my chest a little. He had been so distant lately that we hadn’t had moments of domesticity like this. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eyes, wondering if his first session had helped him any.

“How was therapy?” I asked casually as I washed the carrots.

His knife paused mid–chop, but then he kept going. “It was fine.”

“Just fine?”

“Yeah. The doctor asked a lot of questions. Wanted me to talk about things I didn’t want to talk about.”

“That’s kind of the point of therapy,” I laugh.

“I know.” His jaw feathered. “But it didn’t help. If anything, it just made me feel worse. I don’t think I’ll be going back.”

I set down the carrots and turned to face him. “Andrei, you can’t give up after one session. These things take time.”

“I said it didn’t help, Natalia.”

The sharpness in his voice made my brows shoot up. He never talked to me like that. Never. Clearly, this was a touchy subject.

“Okay,” I said quietly. “I’m not going to push you. But I’m here if you need to talk. About anything. You know that, right?”

He set down the knife and turned to me. Some of the hardness left his face. “I know.” He crossed the kitchen and pulled me into a hug. Hope was sandwiched between us, but she didn’t seem to mind. Andrei pressed his lips to my forehead and held them there for a long moment.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “For being difficult. For shutting you out.”

“You don’t have to apologize.”

“Yes, I do.” He pulled back enough to look at me. “You’ve been so patient with me. More patient than I deserve.”

“That’s not true.”

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. There was still a haunted look there, like he was holding back. But then he leaned down and kissed me on the lips, and it was soft and gentle and made some of my worry slip

away.

Chapter 494

+25 BONUS

We cooked in silence after that. Andrei finished the onions and moved on to slicing chicken while I started boiling water for pasta. Hope fell asleep bundled against my chest, and through the window, I could see the twins still playing in the yard.

Dinner was loud. Jane talked the entire time about the festival and what dress she wanted to wear and whether there would be dancing. Max kept trying to sneak his peas off his plate like we wouldn’t notice the growing pile of them on the floor under the table. Hope smashed her little hands into her mashed potatoes and made us all laugh when she got it everywhere.

For a little while, it was nice. Normal.

After we finished eating, I started clearing the table. Andrei helped, and then we got the kids ready for bed. I wondered if maybe he had gotten more out of therapy than he wanted to admit, because this was usually when he left to “work” and avoid all of us. He helped bathe the twins, then fed and changed Hope. We put them all to bed, and he even read the twins a story.

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But it was afterward that his I tried to pull him to our bedroom, but he froze in the doorway.

“I need to finish some paperwork,” he said abruptly. “Go ahead without me.”

“Can’t it wait until morning?” I asked.

“I’d rather get it done tonight.” He kissed my forehead and turned away. “I’ll be in my study if you need me.”

He was gone before I could protest.

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