5 Years of Love Was Just a Disguise The Alpha’s Revenge Was Real Chapter 06

5 Years of Love Was Just a Disguise The Alpha’s Revenge Was Real Chapter 06

Why didn’t I tell him sooner?

The day my mom told me the truth, she’d squeezed my hand and pleaded with me.

“Lydia, Steven still cares about what happened to his mother. If you tell him now, it could clear things up between you.”

I almost did. I made his favorite lemon-garlic salmon, planning to tell him over dinner.

But that night he started talking about his childhood, smiling the whole time — how much his mom had loved him. How badly he wanted a real home someday.

Then he pulled out a ring and proposed.

The truth died on my tongue. I asked him one thing instead.

“Steven, does what my mom did really not bother you at all?”

He kissed my hand, and his eyes looked so sincere it hurt.

“Not even a little,” he said.

I believed him. I couldn’t bring myself to shatter that look on his face with the truth.

But Steven had been lying the entire time. Every word, every gesture — all performance.

The memories crashed through me all at once. I looked at Steven, blood still running down his face.

I said nothing. I turned and walked toward security.

“Lydia, answer me — why didn’t you tell me sooner?!”

Steven staggered after me and caught my wrist. His eyes were wild and red, and his grip wouldn’t loosen.

“If you’d told me sooner…”

“If I’d told you sooner, you wouldn’t have hurt me? Steven, you were already hurting me long before that.”

“Do you remember my left ear?”

I pushed my hair back to show the empty space where my ear used to be, something bitter and sharp twisting behind my eyes.

“Five years, Steven. You really stayed committed to the role. Pretending to love me must’ve been exhausting. Pretending to be my mate — was that exhausting too? Give yourself a round of applause, Young Alpha Voss.”

Every word was ground out between my teeth, and I felt the tears threaten to spill before I could blink them away.

“No… it’s not like that! Lydia, just let me explain…”

Steven grabbed for my hand, tripping over his own words.

Amelia’s voice cut in from behind us.

“Steven, are you okay? I know you’re hurting, but I’m your real mate…”

Tears pooled in Amelia’s eyes as she pulled out an ultrasound scan.

“Steven, I’m pregnant! I was going to tell you today, but Lydia ruined everything. Steven, you said you wanted a real family. We have a pup now. Can we go back and finish the ceremony?”

Amelia stood there weeping, beautiful even in tears, but Steven didn’t move. His face was stone.

She turned and walked up to me instead. She fell to her knees.

“Lydia, please. Just let Steven go. We’re already bonded. Why are you still trying to come between us?! Steven sent you to that clinic to get rid of your pup just days ago — and you still haven’t gotten the message?!”

Her voice carried across the entire airport lobby. Every pair of eyes in the terminal locked onto me.

The contempt on their faces was something I’d seen a thousand times before, and it still cut the same way.

I looked down at Amelia kneeling in front of me.

I slapped her. Twice.

“That first one was for me ever wasting my time saving you from the border. The second was for drugging me and crawling into his bed.”

Then I turned and slapped Steven across the face for good measure.

“Steven, I never want to see your face again.”