Alpha's One Night Bride
Alpha’s One Night Bride – Chapter 81

“I hated her…” Nikini finished explaining the story of how my mother broke her heart.

She said she didn’t find out until years later what Boris had done. When my mother showed up on their doorstep with me, she wanted to explain herself to Nikini. She begged to speak to Nikini, but she refused to see my mother. She asked for Boris’ help in protecting both herself and me because of the abuse was starting to see in Rock.

I had no idea the physical abuse happened before he became Alpha. But my mother was so unhappy and needed to get out. He allowed my mother to stay in the guest bedroom for a few days so she can gather her thoughts and figure out her next move. He told her that with her permission, he will take care of Rock. So, she permitted him and tried to keep a low profile while residing at the manor.

Boris, however, did nothing.

He was supposed to. But he was a selfish prick and chose not to.

My mother didn’t know that though; while she stayed at the manor, she did a lot of paintings. One of which was of Boris, which was still hanging in the ballroom.

My mother decided while staying there, that she wanted to give me a better life regardless of what happened with Rock. She didn’t expect the Conway’s to care for me, but she figured they could find me a nice place to live. So, she wrote out a letter for me and was planning on leaving me there.

“I caught her writing the letter,” Nikini explained. “I told her she couldn’t leave you here and that if she did, I wouldn’t hesitate to end your life.”

I breathed out in shock. She was going to kill me?

“It was an empty threat. I don’t think I’d have the heart to actually kill a child. Especially an infant,” Nikini further explained, reading my shocked face.

“But I was angry with her. Seeing her again after all these years brought back those painful memories and I couldn’t bear it. I wanted her to leave. I needed her to leave and take you with her,” Nikini said, staring down at her fingers as she played with them.

“And she did…” I said softly, feeling sad for my mom all over again.

Nikini nodded.

“Boris told her that he took care of Rock and that he was in custody. She felt confident enough to return home,” Nikini explained.

My mouth dropped open.

“He lied to her?” I asked, puzzled.

Nikini nodded again.

“He’s always been a liar,” she muttered. “She returned home, expecting it to be an empty house with just her father. I can only imagine the surprise she felt when she saw Rock was still there and untouched.”

I could hear my heart breaking all over again as I thought of my mother being deceived by Boris and Nikini; my b***d was boiling thinking about it.

“How did Rock get that letter she wrote?” Jonathan asked from beside me.

I had almost forgotten that there were others in the room with us.

Nikini was silent for a moment as she thought about how to answer that. It wasn’t a hard question, so her hesitation made it obvious that I wasn’t going to like the answer.

“I sent it to him out of spite. I wanted him to know what she was planning,” Nikini finally answered.

“What?” I breathed. “You sold my mother out?”

I could feel the shakiness of my tone as my emotions began getting the best of me. Jonathan touched my arm to bring my focus back to him and attempt to calm me down, but I ignored him.

“It was out of petty,” Nikini admitted. “If I had known how bad things were with Rock, I would have never done that. I didn’t know what Boris had done until it was too late.”

“How did you find out?” Jonathan asked.

I was too shocked to speak.

“A few days after I sent the letter, I heard some of the maids talking about it. They were saying how shocked they were that Emlin actually returned here. I thought it was because of how I yelled at her to leave when I caught her and Boris together. But it turns out it was because they could hear her struggling to get free from Boris and begging him to stop. They heard her crying for him to get off her, but he refused. Eventually, she stopped trying to fight him and allowed him to have his way with her. That’s when I walked in and kicked her out. They were amazed she thought to come back but, in her mind, she needed a detective’s help. Despite what he did to her, she knew him to be the best detective in the country and knew that only he could help her. Plus, she wanted to see me, but I didn’t make that easy for her.”

“She trusted you…” I whispered. My eyes were growing misty. “She loved you.”

“I trusted and loved her too. You need to understand that what I saw was a betrayal of that love and trust. I was willing to give up everything for her. I thought it was all just a lie the moment I caught them together. I told her I never wanted to see her again and then she shows up with a baby. I thought she was just trying to hurt me even more and I couldn’t stand for that,” Nikini explained.

“My mother is dead because of Rock. Boris and you had the chance to put him away and help her and chose to look the other direction because you were heartbroken and because Boris was an a*****e”

“I know…” she whispered. “I will never forgive myself for that. Years later, when we got word of Emlin’s death, I lived with nothing but regret. Boris became a lot softer and more compassionate because he too felt awful for not doing anything sooner.”

“So, why would you initially help Rock at trying to get my daughter?” I asked; my tone was hardening.

“When he came to me, I knew he was up to something terrible but there was no proof of it. In her journals, apparently, Emlin wrote a lot about her suspicions of Jess and Jonathan being part of the Davis bloodline. She also mentioned that I smell similar to Jess and had a suspicion I too might be a part of that bloodline. Which prompted Rock to come to meet me, confirming my scent matched Jess’s. I didn’t tell him directly about my bloodline, but he told me of your pregnancy with Jonathan and from that, I knew there was going to be a new baby born from the Davis bloodline. He told me that babies from that bloodline are valuable and there are offers in other countries to buy the baby for a healthy price. He asked if I wanted to be a part of it for a cut.”

“And you agreed?” I asked.

“Not at first. I told Boris about it, saying how Rock basically confessed to me about his plans to kidnap and sell a child. It was Boris who convinced me to go along with the plan because we needed more evidence before convicting him. We needed to either gain evidence or actually catch him in the act.”

“So, you were just pretending to go along with it?” I asked.

I felt a bit better knowing that she wasn’t actually on Rock’s side; neither of them was. But her betrayal of my mother still hit fresh for me. She was somebody my mother loved and trusted. However, my mother was also somebody that Nikini loved and trusted, and she thought my mother betrayed her as well. I couldn’t be completely mad at her for acting on her feelings.

But at what cost?

My mother is dead, and I couldn’t help but blame Boris and Nikini for their part in it. Though, I know my mother wouldn’t want me to blame them for anything. She was now the moon goddess and she seemed so happy.

Her warning kept ringing in my ear when she told me to stay clear of Silverside. She didn’t want me to talk to Nikini or Boris. Which lead me to believe that there was more to the story than Nikini was telling me.

I wanted to trust Nikini, but based on what I knew, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

I couldn’t exactly tell her of my mother’s warning though; I didn’t want her to know that I spoke to my mother through a coma dream and for her to know that she was a moon goddess. That wasn’t for her to know and I’m taking my mother’s warning seriously.

“It was the only thing I could think of to get Rock behind bars,” Nikini explained. “Now, he’s rotting where he belongs.”

At least that part was true; Jonathan could see him in the Grey Howler Prison of Silverside, and he looked utterly miserable. He could see Melissa in the woman’s wing of the prison as well and she hasn’t stopped crying since arriving.

Their misery pleased me.

“There’s a lot I wish I could have said to your mother and a lot I wish I did differently. But I never stopped loving her. Even after she broke my heart,” Nikini said softly.

We stayed silent for a long while, processing everything that we had learned.

Nikini sat not far from us, and I still had my mother’s box opened and scattered belongings around me. Nikini reached out and touched some of the loose papers, I noticed a small golden pendant dangling from her wrist, it had a dark blue gemstone with some black outlining it and keeping it in place. It reminded me of a pendant my mother used to have; it was probably in the box somewhere with the rest of her jewelry. She never did tell me where she received the pendant; I know Rock would never give her something so elegant.

“That’s a beautiful pendant,” I told her, motioning for her bracelet.

She looked at it and then back at me.

“Thank you. One of my maids actually gave it to me recently,” she told me “She’s been in my family for years; I brought her with me when I married Boris, but she was my mother’s handmaiden when she was only a teenager. She gave me the pendant as a good luck charm. Sweet gesture.”

Before I could say anything more, I heard a voice coming through my head.

“Jonathan, Arina, you need to come home. I saw a shadow lurking around the house outside. It smelled of an outsider. They seem to be gone now and Emee is alright. But I’d feel better if you were home,” Jess’s voice roamed through our minds.

I shot to my feet, and Jonathan followed in pursuit.

“We have to go,” Jonathan and I said in unison.

Nikini looked confused at our sudden urge to leave, but she didn’t question it.

“I should go too,” she said back. “Before Boris wonders where I went off to. He doesn’t know I’m here,” she chuckled nervously and shamefully.

“Thank you for speaking with us,” I told her as we headed towards the door.

She nodded her response before leaving the house. Now it was our time to go.

Who the hell was lurking around our house?