The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate (Jason and Laila) by Caroline Above Story novel Chapter 166

Chapter 166

“You have to stay away from him,” William said.

“I know,” I said.

“Cancel the contracts.”

“No,” I replied quickly. “I can’t just cancel things, they make too much profit. And that success brings in a lot of other clientele.” Softer, I admitted, “I need the money.”

“I can give you the money you need.”

“No.”

“When we are married

“William.”

“I’m serious,” he said. “This is the perfect opportunity to get married. I can support you, and if Jason is truly out of the picture for you, then you have no reason not to continue to refuse me.”

In a way, he might have been right, but it didn’t sit well with me. I had squash my feelings for Jason, but that didn’t mean I was just going to jump into the next relationship – or Gods, marriage – that came alone.

“You are pushing too quickly,” I said. “I need time –”

“I can take care of you and Ava. If you would just trust me –

“”

“It’s not about trust.”

“Then what is it?”

“I’m just not ready,” I said.

He sighed. “You are never ready.”

“You come here, delivering this news, worried about me, knowing I would be shocked to hear it,” I said. “Now you are surprised that I need time to process things?”

He paused, then looked away. “I’m sorry. I just… I want to marry you. I’m trying to understand your hesitation, but it’s not easy. It doesn’t make sense to me.” 2

“You don’t have to understand it to respect it,” I said.

“You are right. I know that.”

The coffee was finally ready, so I poured myself a cup. My hand was trembling slightly, but I kept things tense, trying to hide it. If William noticed, he didn’t say anything. But he was still fuming at my side.

“You should go to work,” I told him. I had too much else to think about now. Having him here, with his endless marriage proposals, wasn’t helping,

“I’ll come back after,” he said. “I hope, after you think about things, you will see things my way.”

I was tired of arguing, so I let him leave. Neither of us even said goodbye.

I sipped my coffee. It wasn’t good coffee by any means, but it hit the spot this morning. I needed that relief.

Brittany was pregnant. It felt like a bad dream. I had known it would happen eventually, but so soon? As much as I had thought myself ready for this inevitability, I wasn’t. As much as I had wanted my feelings for Jason to be contained, they weren’t yet.

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Everything hurt. Except the coffee.

After taking just a moment to stand there in the hallway, breathing deeply, I turned and walked back to Ava’s room. The healer was there, giving her the daily examination. As he stepped out of the room, he stopped me from going through.

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