Darius’s POV
“Dad…” I said quietly when I saw him sitting by the window, deep in thought.
He had called for me yesterday, but I was not ready to face him. Not when I was already. too devastated by the news that my wife was missing.
“I am sorry for ditching you last night,” I began, but stopped when the vase beside him flew toward where I was standing.
I shut my eyes and took a deep breath, calming myself. I could not afford to clash with him. right needed him and his connections to find my wife.
now. I
“Tell me, why did your marriage end up like this, son?” he asked, his voice calm but with a storm hidden underneath.
I swallowed hard. Was he asking why I ruined our marriage?
Because I wanted to give him a grandchild. Because that was written in my obligation to this pack. I had to ensure that if I died, someone would take over the responsibility. If not, another family would find a way to steal this position. He did not want that. He wanted power to stay with us, the De Laro family.
That was why he forced me to become Alpha. That was why he pushed me to do everything I have done.
“My wife had difficulty bearing our child,” I began with the simplest explanation, hoping he would understand. “I needed an heir. I could not wait for her to get pregnant again.”
“Again?” He turned the swivel chair to face me.
His eyes were cold and sharp, filled with disappointment. The very thing I had never wanted to see from him.
“She will not get pregnant again, Darius. Your wife is infertile, is she not?”
My throat tightened. Who the hell told him that? I had asked the doctor to hide that and make sure no one found out, and yet he knew.
“What is your plan now?”
I could not read him. I expected him to yell at me, to force me into doing what he wanted. But instead, he was asking me what my plan was.
“Why did you keep your wife if you impregnated another woman?”
“Dad, she is my wife. Rosella will remain as Luna.”
“And the child?” He smirked. “Do you think having a child with another woman is enough to secure that child’s position and inherit the wealth you hold?”
I stood frozen, unable to answer.
“You know that a child born out of wedlock is nothing more than decoration.”
I knew that. That was why my plan was to present the child as mine and Rosella’s, to make the child legitimate. It would not be called illegitimate if it was under our name as a
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married couple, not under Sasha. That was why I kept it hidden. It was better that no one knew.
But now that everything has fallen apart…
My father sighed.
“Your wife is gone. You must know what to do, son.”
My eyes widened and I quickly shook my head. “I love Rosella. I will keep her as my wife. She will stay beside me. I will name my child under her.”
“Idiot,” he snapped and threw a stack of papers at me. “You are pathetic. Do you really. think your mistress will let that happen?”
“Then what do you want me to do? Marry Sasha? She is no one. She cannot take Rosella’s place.”
>w,” he nodded. “Someone else will. I would never want you to marry that leech. I will have you marry someone else and let that woman take the credit for the child.“
“What?” I let out a disbelieving breath.
He was going to make this worse. Sasha and Rosella were already impossible to manage, and now he wanted me to marry another woman?
“This is all your fault. If only you had kept your mistress hidden, maybe your wife would have stayed by your side. The child would be born and you would have gotten what you wanted.”
Damn it. I know that now. My mistake was letting Sasha manipulate me with the pregnancy. I could have taken control instead of letting her act like she owned me.
“I will bring Rosella back, Dad. I already spoke with the people from your circle and told them to keep quiet about what they heard. I will continue with my plan to make Rosella the mother of my child and disregard Sasha once she gives birth.”
My father scoffed, clearly doubting that I could pull it off.
“I will give you three months, young man,” he said firmly. “If you cannot bring your wife back and control your mistress, then you will marry the daughter of the former Gamma.”
“I frowned. “Serena Wilson? But she is a widow.”
How could he ask me to marry a woman who belonged to another man? I am the Alpha. Dad smirked. “That is exactly your power over her. You can control her decisions and implement your own, because the position will appear as if you only took pity on her. She will not be a headache to you. Not like the two women who have brought shame to our family.”
I closed my eyes tightly and clenched my jaw, I could not marry someone else. I loved Rosella. She was just too stubborn to see it, too blinded by my mistakes.
But I would bring her back. Whatever it takes. By hook or by crook.
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Darius’s POV
Chapter 16
