The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate (Jason and Laila) by Caroline Above Story novel Chapter 64

Jason’s POV

The evidence was here, plain and clear. Science didn’t lie. It didn’t have the same emotions as people to get in the way. In science, answers were yes and no. In this case, there could be no question.

Ava wasn’t my daughter.

Again and again, the realization echoed in my mind, ringing like the sound of a gong,

Shock kept me frozen, but as I thawed, my disappointment swelled.

This wasn’t just about Ava.

I already knew that Ava shared the same birthday as my daughter. For Ava to even exist, meant that there was no way Vanessa could be Laila. If she was having Ava, she couldn’t very well be giving birth to my own daughter at the same time.

Unless Laila had been having an affair with William early, right under my nose…

No. That didn’t seem possible.

“You seem disappointed,” Brittany said.

Hers was the last voice I wanted to hear in the entire world at this moment. Worse, I didn’t want her to see me like this, to be able to know just how deeply this disappointment rooted.

Yet, before I could think.

likely dead.

to turn yo

away, to hide my reactions, I realized that if Vanessa wasn’t Laila, then Laila was in fact most

Thinking this, I felt as if I had been struck by lightning.

All this time, I had held onto the belief that Laila was alive, that Vanessa could be her, that Ava could be our daughter.

Maybe, in doing this, I had hope to assuage the guilt that had overwhelmed me for what happened to her.

But now, deep down in my soul, I knew it hadn’t just been hope to relieve my regrets that had kept my hope alive.

I had wanted Laila to be alive because I loved her.

My hope for her to be alive had become like an obsession for me, all because I had wanted to be with her again.

My love was why I had never been able to let her go.

And now, with her really gone, I had no other choice. Continuing to hold on at this point would have been fruitless. Laila was gone. She was dead, as was our daughter.

There was no reason to hold on any longer.

“You can talk to me,” Brittany said, cutting into my thoughts.

I could never talk to Brittany about anything, but especially about this. In fact, I was furious at her for going behind my back to complete this DNA test, even though it had inadvertently helped me learn the truth.

It wasn’t her place. How had she even managed to get a strand of Ava’s hair?

But I couldn’t confront her about this right now. I needed some time alone to process.

I didn’t say anything to Brittany, I just walked out, still carrying the letter. I walked straight back to my office where I called in

Marcus.

“Alpha,” he said, “Perfect timing. We’ve been able to uncover a strand of Laila’s hair. We can run the tests now, and

+25 Bonus

“There’s no need,” I said, cutting him off.

“Sir?”

“Laila is dead,” I said. I couldn’t say any more. To explain, I passed over the letter and allowed Marcus the time to read through

1. it.

Marcus’s face added pity.

I turned away, not wanting to see it.

Yet as I did so, I realized what I needed to do next. Now that I had proof that Vanessa wasn’t Laila, I needed to find her and apologize for the way I had been acting with her. I had thought she had been Laila, coyly hiding from me. Instead, she had been her own woman trying to live her own life.

I felt like an asshole.

I’d been told that Ava was back in the hospital, so I suspected that was where I would find Vanessa so that I could apologize.

I was still dealing with my disappointment and my hurt, but I was hoping my earning Vanessa’s forgiveness, I could be one step closer to forgiving myself for my failings against Laila.

I doubted it, but it was worth a try. At this point, I was willing to try anything to feel even a little bit better after what had been uncovered today.

When I arrived at the hospital, I asked at the nurses‘ station for Ava’s room number. They confirmed for me that Vanessa was around, so I headed over toward the room number I had been given.

There, I started to open the door, only for a little Ava to push it open wider from the other side. When she saw me, she smiled brightly. My heart warmed at the sight of her, and her smile eased away some of the tension I had been holding.

Until I arrived here, I had

d been a

all jagged edges and suffering. But now, as sad as I was, I softened.

“Hi, princess,” I told her. “Is your Mom around?”

er there.” Ava vaguely motioned somewhere behind her, but she didn’t really move away from

“Yeah,” Ava said. “She’s just over

the doorway.

That was okay. I didn’t mind talking to her for a minute more.

“How are you feeling?” I asked her. It had pained me to hear she had been sent back to the hospital. A girl so young have to face such hardships. She was so brave to handle all of this with a smile on her face.

Gods, she would be an amazing daughter. Truly, I wished she had been mine.

Once more, my heart ached at the loss I had suffered long ago, only to finally grieve for now.

I wondered what my real daughter would have been like. I wanted to believe she would have been a lot like Ava.

“I’m doing okay,” she said. Watching me, her smile started to waver. “Are you okay? You seem sad.”

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