Chapter 56
Judy’s POV
“Return the favor?” My heart plummeted. “What are you talking about?”
Ethan cleared his throat and straightened his posture. The soft expression he’d worn earlier vanished, replaced by something cold and unreadable. A chill ran down my spine.
I instinctively took a step back, creating distance between us.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about, Judy.” His brows furrowed as he pinned me with his gaze. “I want you to be my mistress. Do what I ask, and I’ll make sure your mother is taken care of. I’ll make sure your father comes home—tonight.”
My breath caught in my throat.
My heart ached as I stared at the man I had once loved more than anything.
At one point, I would have done anything for him. But as I looked at him now, I saw a stranger—his eyes cold, his lips pressed into a thin line, his presence suffocating.
No matter how many times he said it, I still couldn’t believe what he was asking.
He wanted me—his fated mate—to be his mistress while he married another woman.
A woman who didn’t deserve to be treated this way.
Irene was a sweet girl. It was clear she loved Ethan with her whole heart. And as much as it hurt to know another woman felt this way about my mate, I also understood that love was uncontrollable.
Her heart wanted Ethan.
Just like mine once did.
“How could you ask this of me?” My voice was barely a whisper. “Did our two years together truly mean nothing to you?”
For the briefest moment, his expression softened.
“Of course, it meant something to me.” He took a slow step forward. “That’s why I can’t let you go, Judy. You are my mate… you belong to me, and I will have you in any way I can. Wouldn’t you rather be with me in secret than not be with me at all?”
His voice dropped lower.
“Think about your wolf. Do you want to end up like your mother?”
My wolf had been silent this entire time. I could feel her watching, her pain as deep as mine.
She didn’t want to be a mistress either.
But she also didn’t want to let him go.
I swallowed hard. “And your wolf is okay with making his mate a mistress?”
Ethan shrugged, unconcerned. “He knows what needs to be done. That’s the qualification of being an Alpha.”
“You’re not an Alpha yet,” I muttered.
His lips curled. “I have the Alpha blood. The Alpha traits. Soon—thanks to Irene—I’ll have the title too.”
I rolled my eyes.
“You make me sick.”
His smirk deepened, and he took another step closer.
I wanted to move away. To keep running until he was nothing but a memory.
But I was exhausted.
He had beaten me down with his words, his manipulation, his presence.
All I could do was stand there, blinking back the tears burning my eyes.
“We’ve always been good together, Judy,” he murmured. “Don’t throw that away just because you’re too selfish to see what needs to be done.”
He lifted his hand, his fingers trailing gently down my cheek.
The moment his skin touched mine, it was as if my flesh burned.
I flinched, stepping back with fire in my eyes.
“Don’t touch me!” I hissed through clenched teeth. “You have no right to touch me ever again!”
His jaw tensed. “You are mine, Judy!”
He reached for me, but I jerked away.
“Correction. I was yours,” I spat. “You lost every right the moment you chose her.”
I let out a sharp breath, my hands trembling at my sides.
“The moment you got down on one knee and proposed to another woman—right in front of me—you destroyed everything. You didn’t even have the decency to tell me about her. You let me find out the hard way.”
I shook my head, my voice breaking.
“And I will never forgive you for what you’ve done. Not to me. Not to my family.”
My fingers curled into fists.
“I can’t prove it yet… but I know you had something to do with my father’s business going bankrupt.”
Ethan smirked, crossing his arms.
“Exactly.” His tone dripped with arrogance. “You can’t prove anything.”
I clenched my jaw.
“It’s your word against mine,” he continued smoothly. “And guess who everyone is going to believe?”
At that moment, his phone buzzed in his pocket.
It wasn’t the first time it had rung tonight.
Whoever it was, they had been trying to reach him for a while.
Ethan sighed, pulling the phone from his pocket.
He frowned at the screen.
I thought he would finally answer.
But instead, his grip tightened around the device—and he let it ring.
