The Secret Heirs of the Lycan King (Bella and scott) novel Chapter 111

Bella

For the next two nights, I barely slept

I moved through the penthouse like a shadow, doing things like a zombie. I would lie down in the huge bed of my room, and tell myself that my mind would eventually get tired and shut off. It never did. The moment I closed my eyes, that video would play again behind my eyelids on a repeat mode.

I did not go to work because every time I tried to get dressed, my hands would start shaking and my throat would tighten. My brain refused to focus on anything except that video and the fact that Scott and I were barely speaking.

I knew the video was fake. I knew I had not done what it showed. I knew that with every logical part of my brain. But fear never cared about logic. Fear cared about what people would believe.

During the day, I couldn’t work. I tried opening my laptop, tried responding to emails, tried sketching designs, and every time my hands hovered over the keyboard, my thoughts would slip sideways and I would end up staring into nothing.

Only my pups were the distraction I could face.

I hated the effect it had on me. But Scott’s silence made it worse. Scott was there, but he wasn’t there. He spoke when he had to, and he moved around the penthouse like a ghost.

On the second night he came home, checked on the kids, had measly dinner and then went off to sleep without talking to me. On the third night, during dinner I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Scott… can we talk?”

He paused, then nodded once. “Later.”

“Later when?” I pressed

He finally met my eyes properly. “What do you want, Bella?”

“I want you to look at me and tell me what’s going on,” I blurted out, and my voice cracked. “I want you to stop acting like you’re… waiting for me to confess to something.”

“I’m not waiting for anything,” he replied, his jaw ticking.

“Then why are you avoiding me?” I demanded. “Why are you leaving early and coming back late? Why are you answering like you don’t care?”

He held my gaze. “Because if I speak while I’m angry, I will say something I can’t take back.”

I stared at him. “You’re angry at me.”

His jaw flexed. “I’m angry at the situation.”

“Stop trying to sound noble. You’re angry at me too. I can feel it.”

“Goddess! Bella, I don’t have time for this,” he grunted, getting up from the dining table. He collected his coat and turned around to leave. “I have to go.”

“Go where?” My hands tightened into fists. “You just got home.”

But he left anyway. That night as I lay in the bed, I stared at the ceiling until the morning, my mind too numb to process anything. I woke up with a headache. I was angry at him for leaving me alone in this mess. I was angry at the whole world.

That evening, Scott came home earlier than usual. For a second, hope lit inside my chest so fast that it

hurt. He kissed the kids, sat at the dining table, and ate dinner with us as usual. He laughed once at something Ryan said. He complimented Cindy’s cooking. Then he wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up.

“Where are you going?” I asked immediately.

He didn’t sit back down. “I have something urgent to attend.”

“Scott,” I tried again, forcing calm. “Please. Just five minutes. Tell me what is happening.”

He looked at me, and for a second his eyes softened, like he wanted to give me more. Then the wall returned. “Not now,” he replied.

My hands pressed against the edge of the table. “Not now, not now, not now. That’s all I’m hearing.”

He glanced at the kids, as if making sure they weren’t listening too closely. “Bella, don’t do this in front of them.”

“I’m not doing anything,” I snapped. “You’re the one disappearing like I don’t exist.”

Cindy took the kids out of the room, leaving us alone.

His jaw flexed. “I have work to do.”

“Work to do? You know that we have to tackle that horrible situation! What if Craig-”

“I’m doing what needs to be done!” he retorted.

“And what about me?” My voice cracked. “What about our marriage?” He didn’t reply and walked toward the exit. “Where are you going?” I asked, standing as well.

He let out a rough exhale. “I have time for this Bella. I have something urgent.”

I stepped closer to him. “Scott, please. This is killing me.”

He looked at me the way a person looks when they’ve decided something is finished. “I will be back soon,” he replied. “Go to bed.”

“That’s all you ever say,” I whispered, and I could feel tears on my cheeks. “Back when? In an hour? In the morning? In a week?”

His expression changed. “Bella, please don’t—” He pursed his lips, cutting off.

I stared at him for a second longer, then I turned away. I heard the door close behind him, and my whole body went cold. He didn’t come after me. What was going on? He had no right to make me feel like this–so unwanted and like he was suffering, not me.

That night, I woke up in the middle of the night to my phone buzzing on the bedside table. I looked toward Scott’s side of the bed. It was empty. My chest tightened. I looked at the phone. The number on the screen was unknown. My first thought was Scott. My second thought was that something terrible had happened. I grabbed it and answered without thinking. “Hello?”

“Hello Bella.”

My eyes widened. “Craig?”

Craig drawled on, “You sound tired. Not sleeping well?”

My entire body went cold with fear. “Where are you?”

“What, you miss me?” he mocked.

Anger surged through me. “You’re disgusting. What do you want?”

“You know what I want,” he replied, voice smug. “I want what I’m owed.”

“Owed?” I repeated. Rage pushed through my fear. “You’re owed nothing. You tried to trap me with that fake video.”

There was a pause, and then he let out a darker laugh, like he was pleased by how miserable I sounded. “No, sweetheart. The video is real. And your new husband hasn’t contacted me yet, which is making me impatient.”

My stomach rolled. “If you release it, you will destroy yourself too.”

“That’s the difference between you and me,” he replied smoothly. “I will destroy you and Scott. As for me, I’ll just disappear like a ghost.”

I swallowed hard. “Scott will end you if you try this.”

“Let him try. If I don’t get my money, I will release it and I will make sure it goes everywhere. Your perfect wedding, your perfect life, your perfect story. I will ruin it in one click.” He chuckled. “That reminds me, your would–be husband hasn’t contacted me.” Then his voice turned sharp. “Maya will come to you again, and you better give a positive response. Tell your CEO to pay. Or watch everything burn.” The phone went dead.