Broken Ring, Broken Bond Chapter 07

Broken Ring, Broken Bond Chapter 07

The next morning, Julian cornered me at the hotel entrance.

He’d pulled an all-nighter, red lines rimmed his eyes, and he was still holding that same ring box.

When he saw me, he stepped forward.

“Aurora.”

I stopped.

“Mr. Blackwood, what can I do for you?”

The color drained from his face when he heard the address.

When he stepped closer, a familiar Alpha scent rolled through the air, heavy and oppressive.

My wolf used to go weak in the knees for it instinctively, but now she just flicked a cold eyelid, not a single shred of response left.

“Don’t call me that.”

“What should I call you, then?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed.

“Like you used to.”

I smiled.

“The past is gone.”

Julian held out the ring box.

—

“I cleaned it.”

There was a scuff on the corner of the box, probably from scraping against the metal rim of the trash can I’d thrown it in.

I didn’t take it.

He spoke again.

“You were gonna give this to me, right?”

“That was before.”

“It still counts now.”

I looked up at him.

“Julian, what makes you think that something you threw away can just be picked back up and still belong to you?”

His hand froze mid-air.

“I know I misunderstood you at the press conference. I was wrong.”

“Just the press conference?”

He went silent.

I counted them off for him.

“On our three-year anniversary, you made me go help Tessa.

“At the Paris conference, you made me apologize to her.

“At the press conference, you made me take the fall for her.

“Every single time, you picked her side.”

—

Julian’s voice was rough and gravelly.

“I thought you were stronger.”

I looked at him, and suddenly the whole thing felt absurd.

“So what? Strong people just deserve to get screwed over?”

His eyes glistened with unshed tears.

“No…”

“Then what is it?”

He couldn’t answer.

Tessa’s voice carried from a short distance away.

“Alpha!”

She wore a mask, her eyes were puffy and red, and a handful of reporters trailed behind her.

Julian’s face dropped.

“What are you doing here?”

Tessa looked at me, and tears started rolling down her face immediately.

“Aurora, I came to apologize.”

Reporters pointed their cameras right at us.

She bowed deeply to me.

“I’m sorry. I just wanted so badly to prove myself, so I used your

—

design. I told my assistant to leak the Pack Hospital payment records too. I was just so scared everyone would think I didn’t deserve to stand by Alpha’s side.”

Julian frowned.

“Tessa, that’s enough.”

She looked up, eyes glistening with tears.

“No, it’s not. Alpha, I can’t let Aurora keep misunderstanding you anymore.”

She turned to the cameras.

“That baby was my wound, and it was Alpha’s too. He stayed with me through the surgery back then because we loved each other. We lost each other later, and that’s when he met Aurora.”

Reporters immediately started shouting questions.

“So does that mean Ms. Brooks was the other woman?”

Tessa bit her lip.

“That’s not what I said.”

But every word she’d spoken screamed exactly that.

Julian’s face went completely dark.

“Turn those cameras off.”

The reporters only got more excited.

“Alpha, after you broke up with Ms. Voss, did you two keep a

—

relationship going this whole time?”

Tessa suddenly swayed on her feet.

“I feel dizzy…”

Julian caught her on instinct.

Cameras snapped the shot instantly.

I stood two steps away, watching his hand steady on her shoulder.

Body didn’t lie, not like words did.

Julian felt my gaze on him and pulled his hand away like he’d been burned.

“Aurora, it’s not what you think.”

I said, “I didn’t think anything.”

He panicked.

“Don’t go.”

I walked past him.

Tessa suddenly grabbed my wrist.

“Aurora, don’t blame Alpha. He’s just too soft-hearted. You’re the one he really loves, deep down.”

I looked down at her hand on my arm.

“Let go.”

She lowered her voice, so only I could hear.

—

“See? He still catches me every time.”

Before I could say anything, she fell backward.

Julian caught her instinctively.

Reporters gasped in unison.

Tessa leaned against his chest, pale as a sheet.

“Aurora, I already apologized. Why did you have to push me?”

Julian looked up at me.

That gaze was colder than any cold shoulder he’d ever given me.

The last flicker of warmth in my chest died right then and there.

His lips moved.

“Aurora, you…”

I cut him off.

“The hotel has security cameras.”

He froze.

I looked at the reporters.

“If you want the truth, go pull the footage.”

Then I turned and walked away.

Behind me, Julian didn’t follow.

He was still holding Tessa in his arms.

—

This time, even feeling sad felt like a waste of energy.