Rejected by My Ex, Claimed by the Alpha King

a

h belly, the gentle California sun warming my

, my voice thick with contentm

family's back garden. Evan and I had picked out a name, painted the n

u look s

ed a tall glass of lemonade, ice cubes clinking. Her smile was as sweet as the sugar she undo

The condensation felt good against my warm fin

It was tart

a moment, she just watched me, that unnerving smile still in place. Then she spoke, her t

ng in her voice made my skin

you've written for yourself. You never once stopped to ask if any of it was real." She let t

rd, painful thud against my ribs. "Seraphina, what

mile didn't w

a sharp cramp through my abdomen. The glass slipped from

aced by a look of undisguised, venomous pleasure. "Do

crushing headache the next morning-and one other thing. A shadow of a memory I'd never been able to grasp. I'd always just ass

u thought you were just drunk? No, dear sister. I was th

ir to keep from falling. My stomach churned, not with morning si

mine! Evan, the Griffin name, all of it!" She stood up, circling me like a predator.

in enough air. The edges of my vi

ug, as if it were nothing. "Out of control. So

hameful memory of that night, a memory I'd convinced myself was a dream, a drunken fantasy involving Evan. But

, her voice dropping to a whisper, intimate and cruel. "And Evan kn

crumbled into ash in that single, shattering moment. My hand trembled as I pressed

with a cruel, final twist of the knife. "Do

through the afternoon quiet. Evan's black se

ed my hand, her expression twisting into one of fear and fragility. "Sister, please don't blame me," s

by her sudden tran

is handsome face etched with concern as he

and, her shoulders shaking with sobs

thought I would spend my life with. My vo

then to the ground. Guilt and conflict were written

the most brutal

eyes settled on the crying Seraphina, and the look he gave he