The Alpha Who Threw Me Away for a Ghost Chapter 07

The Alpha Who Threw Me Away for a Ghost Chapter 07

“Alright,” I blurted out, the word escaping my lips before I could even process it.

Behind me, Alaric finally snapped. His eyes turned feral and bloodshot as he roared, “Joanna! Are you seriously throwing away our seven years together for a kid like him?”

Staring back at Alaric, I felt an overwhelming sense of alienation.

Once upon a time, that desperate tone would have broken my heart.

But now, it just felt pathetic.

Mimicking his exact tone from the day before, I fired back with cold indifference, “What choice do I have? Let him die? It’s just a mating certificate, Alaric. Why are you being so cold-hearted?”

Up on the ledge, Kael raised his chin in triumphant arrogance. “You only have seven years with her. I’ve loved her for eight. Plus, I’ve been protecting her since I was in diapers. That’s way longer than you.”

Alaric’s face drained of color instantly. Defeated and utterly hollow, he turned and stumbled away.

Once I was certain he was entirely out of earshot, I gestured toward Kael. “Alright, get down from there. Stop acting, it’s dangerous.”

Kael vaulted over the railing with effortless agility, landing squarely on the concrete with a soft thud. He scratched the back of his neck, his entire face flushing a deep crimson. “How did you know I was faking?”

“Your delivery was about as stiff as a script reading,” I laughed, shaking my head. “But seriously, thank you, Kael.”

If he hadn’t staged this ridiculous intervention, I might have dragged out that toxic dynamic even longer.

“It wasn’t all an act,” Kael said softly, stepping closer to block the biting wind from hitting me.

He towered over me by a full head. Looking down, his gaze was so intensely serious it made my breath hitch. “The eight years part is completely real. I love you infinitely more than Alaric ever did, Joanna. I don’t have a fated mate; my entire life belongs to you. I’ll become the strongest warrior in this pack to protect you, and I will never let you suffer a single second of disrespect.”

My heart skipped a violent beat.

“And I don’t have a messy string of exes,” Kael added, his confession turning adorably clumsy. “I know I work at the research facility right now and don’t make as much money as an Alpha, but I’m young, and I promise I’ll surpass him soon. And…”

He leaned down slightly, his voice dropping to a low, vulnerable murmur. “If you don’t want me, I genuinely don’t know what I’ll do.”

In that exact moment, I surrendered.

Perhaps it was because I had just escaped an incredibly draining relationship, or perhaps it was because the pure devotion in Kael’s eyes looked so much like the version of Alaric I had fallen for years ago.

I was someone who knew exactly when to cut my losses.

If a relationship was dead, I walked away.

But if it was Kael… maybe it was a risk worth taking.

“Let’s go,” I said, reaching out to wrap my fingers around his hand. “To the town hall.”

The sun was shining brilliantly when we walked out of the town hall, our legal mating certificate held firmly in hand.

Kael was smiling like an absolute idiot, carefully sliding the document into his breast pocket as if a single wrinkle might ruin his life.

But the moment we reached the entrance of my building, that unavoidable shadow appeared once again.

Alaric stood by the steps, clutching a massive bouquet of wild roses.

The second his eyes landed on our intertwined fingers, the fragile smile on his face shattered completely.

Instinctively, I made a move to pull my hand back.

But Kael tightened his grip, refusing to let go.

“Stop using other people just to make me angry, Joanna,” Alaric said, his voice sounding hollow and profoundly exhausted. “I know I messed up.”

“I’m not doing this to spite you,” I said, looking at him with absolute calm. “Alaric, you can’t give the exact same bouquet to two different women. You only regret your choices now because your little balancing act between two women blew up in your face. This is just a calculated decision after weighing your remaining options.”

“Do you genuinely love me?” I took a step forward, letting go of Kael’s hand. “Or are you just mourning the sunk costs because throwing away seven years feels like a bad investment? Or maybe, I was just your safe backup plan because you couldn’t fully have Elara?”

Alaric finally recognized the absolute lack of affection in my eyes. He forced a strained, desperate smile. “I just made a wrong choice once…”

Refusing to listen to another word, I looked down to dial building security.

Suddenly, Kael let go of my bag, and a gold-embossed mating license clattered loudly against the pavement.

“Oops, who dropped their official mating certificate?” Kael cried out with exaggerated shock. He scooped it up, inspecting it closely in the sunlight, before delicately patting off an invisible speck of dust and placing it reverently back into his pocket.

The last trace of Alaric’s smile vanished entirely. He stared at Kael’s pocket, his eyes completely vacant, looking as though he had just watched his entire world crumble to ash.

He didn’t try to block us again, nor did he utter another word.

Kael and I walked straight past him and stepped into the elevator.