Alpha's One Night Bride
Alpha’s One Night Bride – Chapter 30

Watching Arina from across the ballroom, Boris knew he was in trouble. She found the paintings that Emlin had done and from her reaction, she knew her mother painted them. Once she noticed the watermark she was stumbling backward and looked to be almost sick.

The only reason she would react like that is if she knew something was going on.

Boris couldn’t get over how much of Emlin was inside of Arina: personality, interests, even her looks.

Arina’s eyes scanned the ballroom until they found Boris.

He thought back to the last day he saw Emlin. It was the day she painted that photo. Nikini was out of town at a conference and Emlin was staying over for a few days. Arina, at the time, was just an infant.

After Boris’s and Emlin’s first night of passion, it was something that neither of them wanted to end. Emlin felt safe with Boris and Boris had felt something he hasn’t felt in a long time.

Happiness.

As much as he loved his luna to be, Nikini, there was something about Emlin that was unforgettable. However, for sake of his city and his reputation, he knew he couldn’t just leave Nikini for another woman. Especially for somebody below him.

He was to be married in a few days.

Boris went through with the wedding; Emlin and Boris agree that their passion was only for one night.

Emlin was to be married to Rock and Boris was to be married to Nikini. They would go their separate ways never to speak of it again.

But a few months later, they were reacquainted when Emlin was back in town. Nikini was a birthday party and because Emlin did such wonderful work for their wedding, wanted to hire Emlin again for more photos.

Boris and Emlin’s affair continued from that point on.

When Nikini was out of town, Emlin would stay at the manor to be with Boris.

Over time Boris began to see Emlin less and less. She stopped answering her phone and her emails. She slowly began fading out of his life.

After 2 years of no contact, she wrote him a letter. It was a short letter with a small picture. The photo was of an infant in the arms of Emlin.

Arina.

She had a baby. Rock’s baby.

Boris had never seen Emlin that happy before; she had a motherly tenderness upon her face and a smile that lit up her pale green eyes.

A few months later, there was a knock on the manor doors. Boris was thankful that Nikini was away for a few days because Emlin’s visit was unexpected.

She stood in front of Boris with a small infant in her arms; Emlin’s curly blond hair was messily fallen around her face. Her pale features were stained with tears. She appeared to be much thinner than Boris had remembered.

She was not the same woman in the photo.

“Why are you here?” Boris barked at her, pulling her into the manor before anyone sees her.

“I needed to see you,” she said; her voice sounded broken.

The small baby, Arina, stirred uncomfortably in her arms and let out a small whine.

“You shouldn’t be here, Emlin,” Boris said to her.

“I left him,” she said, tears falling from her eyes.

Her l*p was quivering as she kept herself from sobbing.

“You what?” Boris asked; his eyes widening in shock.

“I left him. I can’t be with him anymore. I don’t love him,” she said, grabbing onto Boris’s arm. “I love you.”

“We are both married. This ended 2 years ago, Emlin.”

“I’ve thought about you every day,” she said softly.

“You need to go home,” Boris told her firmly.

“Are you telling me you don’t have feelings for me at all?” Emlin cried to him.

“Keep your voice down,” Boris hissed.

He had servants that lurked around the manor and was worried that someone would overhear her.

“Are you saying you don’t love me?” Emlin asked again, this time in a whisper.

“I’m saying that you have a baby, Emlin. With your husband,” Boris said.

“We can tell everyone that she’s yours” Emlin pleaded.

Boris snapped her a look. Her face was almost in a panic.

She was serious.

“Please?” She begged.

“What’s going on?” Boris asked, eyeing her carefully.

“I can’t go home,” she whispered. “I just can’t.”

Her body was trembling as Boris grabbed her and pulled her close to his chest. She held the baby close to hers as she placed her head on his chest and cried into him.

She was scared.

What had Rock done?

“What happened?” He asked again.

“Life in Ironclaw is no longer fit for a baby. Since my father died…” her voice trailed off as Arina made another small sound from her mouth. “Things are just different.”

“And Rock?” Boris edged.

Her eyes met his, he could see the fear in them. Boris was a detective, and his first instinct is to investigate more into this. But the problem was unless she tells him exactly what has been going on and permits him to act, he wasn’t allowed to confront an Alpha or search for anything on his own. That was part of the rules for Alpha’s; they were safe from the law unless someone comes forth with their safety concerns. If Emlin didn’t come forth and tell Boris what was going on, he was completely powerless.

She knew this too.

Boris knew from just looking at her that something was going on in that household; she was terrified and obviously didn’t want to go home. She was willing to take Arina to Silverside to get away from her husband.

But he also knew Emlin wasn’t going to speak against Rock.

“I told him it was over and that I was in love with somebody else,” she said.

She was lying.

Boris could tell she was lying because she was chewing on the inside of her cheek and refused to meet his eyes. He remembered her doing this often when she wasn’t telling the truth.

“We can’t…” Boris told her, softly. Her face fell and a wave of disappointment flashed through her eyes. He hated that he upset her and couldn’t provide her with what she wanted, but he knew it was in both of their best interests if they didn’t pursue this any further. “I’m sorry,” he added.

She said nothing. She kept her eyes locked on Arina; the small baby was now awake and staring up at Emlin with big emerald eyes.

Just from looking at the small baby, Boris knew if they did tell people that the baby was his, no one would believe them. She looked nothing like Boris, but she looked everything like Emlin.

“Nikini is gone for a couple more days. You are more than welcome to stay here and regather your thoughts,” Boris offered.

Emlin looked at him, her eyes wide with gratitude.

“Thank you.”

She took him up on that offer and stayed for a few days before returning home to Ironclaw with Arina.

During her couple of days of staying at the manor, she completed a couple of paintings. Paintings of which Arina was currently staring point-blank at back in the present moment.

She knew these paintings belonged to her mother; the question remained on her features of why they were there, to begin with. She must know that something was going on for her to be questioning the paintings. Arina knew that her mother has been to Silverside before, but she never understood the extent of it.

Boris didn’t want to have to tell Arina about the affair, worried that word would travel back to Rock. Even though Emlin and Rock weren’t particularly close in their married years, he wasn’t sure how close Arina was to him.

Though, he did find it weird that Rock wasn’t at the art show to support Arina’s photography.

As he walked through the crowded ballroom to get to Arina, Nikini stopped him midway through. She looked beautiful as always in her black-grown and the diamond brooch he purchased for her a few years back.

She gave him a smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes. Her smiles never met her eyes anymore; they haven’t in a long time.

“We should get some photos taken,” Nikini suggested, motioning for Arina.

Arina looked startled at the gesture for a moment but then grabbed her camera as she remembered what she was there for.

As she made her way over, Jonathan trailed behind her cautiously.

“Arina, can you be a dear and take some photos of my darling husband and me?” Nikini asked as she placed her hands on Boris’s right shoulder and pressed her body close to his.

He placed a hand around her h*p and stood as Arina hesitantly captured some photos of the two of them. She was quiet for a little while as she took the pictures, but then her instincts began to kick in and she started taking control of some of the poses. It surprised Boris how in control Arina appeared and how compliant Nikini was to the different poses.

Jonathan watched her in amazement as well. Boris could see the love he felt for Arina and the admiration lingering behind his eyes.

He couldn’t blame him; at one point, he felt the same way about Emlin and understood how Jonathan was feeling.

After she was done taking photos, Nikini went to search for Makenna. Arina and Jonathan lingered behind for a few moments before her eyes met Boris’s.

“You saw your mother’s photos,” Boris said before she could say anything.

It wasn’t a question, but Arina nodded to answer him just the same.

“I’m not sure what your father had said…” Boris tried to say, but Arina cut him off.

“Rock has never been my father,” Arina nearly spat.

Jonathan tensed at her words.

“I don’t think of him as my father.” Arina tried to be a bit clearer in her wording. “My mother was a prisoner, not a wife.”

This was news to Boris. He knew that Emlin didn’t love Rock and that Rock was probably not a great guy, but a prisoner? In her own home?

“I see…” Boris said softly; trying to regain his thoughts.

“Did you have an affair with her?” Arina asked, surprising Boris with her boldness.

From one look at Jonathan, he was also surprised.

“Excuse me?” Boris asked.

“Did you have an affair with my mother? Is that why her paintings are here? Is that why she painted you?” Arina asked; her eyes were misty as she fought back the tears.

Boris looked around to make sure no one was listening, especially Nikini, before answering her.

“Yes,” he finally answered. “We had an affair.”