Unmatched Wife: Not His To Claim Anymore novel Chapter 46

Chapter 46

BIANCA

When we pulled into the driveway coming back from grocery shopping,, Rivera was waiting on the porch, waiting for us with a smile on his face which immediately shifted to that of concern when he saw my face.

“What happened?” he asked, moving down the steps to help with the groceries taking them from my hands as he continued speaking. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I’m fine,” I said automatically, then caught myself. I know I should tell Rivera about the grocery incident but telling him now when I had no information to give him wasn’t worth it.

“Actually, no. I’m not fine. The shopping took a lot out of me than I expected. I just need to go and rest for a bit.” I said lying through my teeth looking at Louis instead.

Rivera’s jaw tightened like he wanted to say something, but he nodded his head as he continued speaking.

“Louis, why don’t you go set up your LEGO city in the playroom? I’ll bring you a snack in a few minutes.”

“Okay! Mummy, you’ll come see it when it’s done, right?”

The word “Mummy” made Rivera’s head snap toward me, his eyes widening slightly. I could see the questions forming, but he remained quiet. I knew he was going to question me but I wasn’t going to let Louis feel sad for calling me that.

“Of course, sweetheart,” I told Louis. “I can’t wait to see what you build.”

He ran inside, skipping for joy, his hand holding his favourite fruit that I had gotten for him leaving the adults behind.

Rivera and I carried the groceries inside in silence. Once everything was put away and Louis’s snack delivered, Rivera gestured toward his study.

“I’ll be in my office, you can rest in the meantime. I’ll check up on you later, okay?” He said as I nodded my head and went

towards the staircase.

That evening, after Louis was in bed and I should have been resting, I found myself in the library with my mother’s journals spread across the reading table trying to make sense of what I was reading and what they meant.

I’d been avoiding them since arriving at Rivera’s house, telling myself I needed to recover my strength first. But the truth was, reading it was going to be a painful reminder of everything that I had lost.

But Vera’s appearance had changed something. For the first time in years, I had a connection to my mother’s past, to the life she’d lived before she became a rogue raising a daughter alone.

I opened the third journal, the one about curse breaking and started reading it again with a opened mind.

“The mark of the curse–breaker is both gift and burden,‘ my mother had written down in her note

‘It makes us valuable and vulnerable in equal measure. The Council of Elders fears what we can do, fears the power to unmake what others have wrought. But this fear is born of ignorance.‘

‘Curse–breaking is not dark magic. It is the highest form of healing Those who practice it must be prepared for persecution, for the same people who beg for our help will turn on us the moment they are scared of us.

I write this for my daughter, should she inherit this gift. Know that you are not alone. Know that there are others who bear this mark, who walk this path. Seek them out if you need help, but trust carefully….

Chopter 49

I traced my fingers over the words, feeling closer to my mother than I had in years. She’d known I might inherit her abilities. Had she known Vera? The journal didn’t mention her by name, but there were references to “V” scattered throughout that I had been noticing. It has been someone my mother had consulted on difficult cases, someone she’d trusted.

I flipped through more pages, looking for anything that might help with Louis’s curse. My mother had documented dozens of cases, but none quite matched the same kind of blood curse that I had encountered saving Louis.

Whoever had cursed Louis knew advanced techniques, and was taught extensively. This wasn’t amateur work. This was professional–level curse work.

Which raised the question: who had both the skill and the motive to curse an innocent five–year–old?

My door opened quietly, and I looked up to find Rivera standing in the doorway.

“You should be resting,” he said, but there was no heat in the words.

“Couldn’t sleep. Too many questions.” I gestured to the journals. “My mother knew things I’m only beginning to understand. Every time I read these, I realize how much she was protecting me by keeping certain knowledge hidden.”

Rivera moved closer, glancing at the book on the table. “She sounds like she was a remarkable woman.”

“She was. She was also lonely and scared and always looking over her shoulder. I don’t want that life, Rivera. I don’t want to spend the rest of my days hiding what I can do.”

“Then don’t.” He pulled out the chair beside me and sat down.

“BloodMoon City is different from other territories. The Alpha King has always been more tolerant of… unconventional abilities. As long as you’re not using your gifts to harm innocents, you’d be protected here.”

“Is that why you brought me here? Because the Alpha King would protect me?”

“Partially. Also because I-” He stopped, seeming to reconsider his words before speaking them. “Because Louis needs you. The curse isn’t fully broken, and you’re the only one who’s come close to defeating it.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” I turned to face him fully. “There’s something about Louis’s curse, about whoever cast it, that you’re not sharing.”

Rivera was quiet for so long I thought he might not answer. When he finally spoke, his voice was low, controlled.

“I have suspicions about who cursed my son. But no proof. Nothing concrete enough to act on.” His hands curled into fists on the table. “If I’m right, the person responsible is someone powerful, someone with connections that make them almost untouchable.”

“Tell me.”

“Not yet. Not until I have proof. Because if I’m

wron if I accuse the wrong person, it could start a war.” He met my eyes. “But I promise you, Bianca, once I have evidence, once I can move against them without destroying innocent lives in the process, I will end whoever did this to my son.”

“I’ll help you,” i said without thinking, feeling touched and also feeling like I owed him after he saved me from Matthew. Breaking the curse might give us clues about who cast it. If we work together-‘

“1

“Bianca.” He cut me off gently. “You don’t owe me this. You’ve already done more than anyone had the right to ask.”

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