The Breaking Point of Mate: Giving Up on My Alpha novel Chapter 51

ter 51

Melanie’s POV

I noticed a flicker of surprise in Elmer’s eyes. He clearly hadn’t realized that not only was Alpha Archer still at Swift Tech, but Camille had been there all this time, too.

He looked at me, raising a hand to lightly pat my shoulder–a silent reassurance.

I shook my head. I was fine.

Before coming to Swift, I had rehearsed this moment countless times in my head, telling myself I might run into Archer.

I just hadn’t expected Camille to be here as well, moving in and out freely, acting like an insider with the core team.

Frost gave a soft huff in my mind, a cold disdain running along my nerves.

“Look how in sync they are.”

I lowered my eyes, suppressing the momentary sting, and forced my attention back to the documents on the table.

The contract involved many clauses for future technical collaboration.

To prevent any misunderstandings during the partnership, every single line had to be confirmed.

I stared at the screen, answering questions mechanically, trying to latch onto something concrete so my emotions had no gap to slip through.

It was past five in the afternoon when we finally hammered out the final clauses.

Elmer signed the paper copy first, then confirmed the digital contract.

Done, he closed the folder and handed it to Halsey. “Would you please take this up to Alpha Archer for his signature?”

“Of course,” Halsey replied, his tone polite but distant. “I’ll go now.”

As he left the conference room, Elmer habitually glanced at his watch. “Alpha Archer is still in the building?”

“He is,” Dominic answered for Halsey. “He’s just extremely busy, handling another project.”

Was he truly busy?

Or did he know I was downstairs and just wanted to avoid a face–to–face encounter?

I felt a slight pause in my fingers on the table edge when I heard that.

Frost let out an almost silent, cold laugh. “He’s always ‘busy‘.”

Dominic and Elmer were already acquainted, and with the contract settled, the tension eased.

Dominic cleared his throat and lowered his voice deliberately, but his words still landed clearly in my ears. “Ms. Haines is also here. I hear she’s been at the company with Alpha Archer all day. They are really close.”

Sitting right next to Elmer, I heard everything perfectly.

My chest felt a dull thud, not painful, but suffocating.

Elmer quickly glanced at me.

I snapped the cap back onto my pen, pretending to focus on organizing files on my laptop, crushing all my feelings beneath the clatter of the keyboard.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to ignore the tiny ache.

Chapter 51

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A moment later, Halsey returned, the signed folder in his hand.

He exchanged a few polite words, confirmed all procedures were correct, and then suggested we all go out for dinner to celebrate the partnership.

Elmer had important private business tonight and declined Halsey’s invitation. “I’ll treat you all another time.”

I closed my laptop and neatly tucked my materials into my briefcase–my movements were precise, as if I had just wrapped up a regular business meeting, not fought off the lingering shadow of a mating bond that nearly ruined me.

Halsey and Dominic exchanged pleasantries and walked us to the elevator.

The elevator slowly descended from the high floors, the numbers ticking down one by one.

The cord I had severed with my own hands suddenly twitched, like an invisible force was pulling from the floors above.

Frost’s ears shot up, and she let out a very low growl. “He’s here.”

My fingers went cold, and the gland on the back of my neck lightly contracted, as if it still remembered where his canines had landed. 1

In that moment, I could almost distinguish his familiar scent in the air–and the sharp Alpha aura, though much fainter than before, like it had been diluted with water.

When the elevator doors opened, his tall figure was the first thing I saw.

He had taken off his suit jacket, which was draped over his arm, and the top button of his shirt was undone. He looked much more relaxed than he did in the conference room.

Even though he deliberately held back his Alpha aura, the presence of an Alpha still spread through the confined space, an invisible, sharp line that hit my skin first.

Camille stood next to him, holding a folder. Her smile was bright, and her pheromones were light and sweet, wrapping around

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