Rejected then Claimed by the Alpha King (Liam and Hope) novel Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I froze for a moment.

The explanation I had been about to offer stuck in my throat.

Why should I explain anything to him? He wasn’t even worth a stranger.

Six years ago, I had already cut him out of my life completely..

“I’m not lying,” I said calmly. “I’m done eating. Enjoy your meal.”

I stood up to leave, but he caught my arm before I could leave.

“Hope. Explain yourself before you go. I already had my beta and several allied Alpha packs investigate, there’s no way you could have sealed a mate bond with someone else.”

I almost laughed. I turned back to face him.

“And what gives you that kind of certainty?”

“|—”

Liam’s face darkened.

He couldn’t answer, but his eyes and expression betrayed him completely.

There had always been an ingrained sense of superiority about him.

He had seen me back then, willing to die just to avoid severing our mate bond, making a complete spectacle

of myself.

So he was convinced that even if I accepted his rejection, even if the bond was broken, I would regret it.

That I would wait for him, desperately hoping he would turn back.

These past years, after I became Thomas’s Luna, he had blocked all information about me.

Even the private investigators he paid heavily couldn’t dig up a single detail.

That was why rumors spread everywhere.

Some said I had left the country. Others said I had ended up working in a strip club.

All of it was nonsense.

No one knew how happy I was with my Alpha mate, our child, our family.

Chapter 5

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Liam still refused to believe it.

His face was pale as he latched onto the issue, unwilling to let go.

“So, did you really get a new mate, or are you just seeing that man? Hope, if you’re going to seal another mate bond, you should at least be careful.”

“What have you gained from being with him?” he pressed. “Look at what you’re wearing. Don’t cheapen

yourself like this. You deserve better.”

He looked genuinely agitated now, while I felt nothing but bafflement.

“Who I marry has absolutely nothing to do with you.”

Besides, no matter how bad someone else might be, they could never be worse than him.

It was because of this borrowed cleaner’s jacket that he assumed my life had fallen apart.

“I’ve already said it. I’m doing very well now,” I replied coolly. “There’s no need for your concern.”

I struggled again, harder this time, but he didn’t let go.

Liam’s grip tightened around my wrist, his knuckles whitening from the force.

Maggie watched for a moment before suddenly forcing a smile.

“Darling, look at you,” she said softly. “You’re scaring Hope. She says she’s married. Then it must be true.”

Her words sounded conciliatory, but her gaze flicked to the bonding ring on my ring finger, sharp and

probing, as if checking whether it was real.

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