My Alpha Didn’t Want Me… Until I Disappeared Chapter 04

My Alpha Didn’t Want Me… Until I Disappeared Chapter 04

I played the part.

We staged a kidnapping.

Julian’s desperate concern and display of deep affection when he “rescued” me were quickly picked up by the media and splashed all over the internet.

Once again, he successfully triggered Nicola.

And I successfully secured the money for my father’s medical bills.

Two weeks later.

He suddenly handed me an invitation to his birthday party.

I accepted it nervously, my mind racing over what kind of birthday gift I could possibly give him.

He didn’t seem to lack anything. I couldn’t afford anything expensive, and he wouldn’t care for anything cheap.

After thinking it over, my eyes landed back on that unfinished scarf.

When I presented the scarf at his birthday gala, the surrounding crowd fell dead silent.

Then, a wave of piercing laughter erupted.

Julian didn’t laugh.

Mortified, I tried to pull my hand back, but Julian firmly gripped my wrist.

“Thank you. It’s beautiful. I really like it.”

It wasn’t until much later that I finally understood that this, too, was just another performance Julian staged to make Nicola jealous.

The next day, it rained heavily.

Amidst the rolling thunder, my phone rang.

“Is this Juniper Carter? Jonah Carter is your brother, right? He had an accident at the construction site. He stopped breathing on the way to the hospital. We need a family member to come down and sign the paperwork…”

The contractor claimed that my brother fell because he failed to secure his safety harness properly while working at heights.

I didn’t believe it.

My brother was never that careless.

Before I could demand more details, the construction company quickly brushed the matter under the rug with a five hundred thousand dollar settlement.

Holding the money, I felt completely lost, unable to even shed a single tear.

At the same time, my father found out about my brother’s passing.

In the hospital room.

He hesitated for a long time before finally speaking in a trembling voice, “The doctor said my cancer is terminal. The medication isn’t doing anything anymore. Juniper, I want to stop treatment.”

I refused to accept it, insisting that he remain hospitalized.

But my father began packing his things, walking out of the hospital without looking back.

At the hospital entrance, I collapsed to my knees, sobbing hysterically as I blocked his path. “Dad, I beg you, please get treated! I only have you left! I’ll pay for it no matter how much it costs! I’ll drop out of college and work to pay for your treatment!”

“Jonah just died. I can’t face this world without you, don’t you understand?!”

“I’ll bow to you, I’m begging you!”

Passersby stopped to watch, ultimately shaking their heads and sighing.

In a hospital, tragedies like this happened every single day. It wasn’t anything new.

Three days after handling my brother’s funeral arrangements, I went to the university to officially drop out.

That was when I accidentally overheard Julian saying he was going to throw my ridiculous scarf into the trash.

Blair gasped in shock.

“How could things turn out like that…”

A cold gust of wind set the welcome chimes at the boutique door rattling loudly.

I fell silent, quietly wiping away a tear from the corner of my eye.

Before I could even utter the words “Welcome in,” a pair of wet men’s leather shoes appeared in my line of sight.

“Juniper… is it really you?!”