Chapter 150: I Won’t Be Manipulated By You Anymore
Chapter 150: I Won’t Be Manipulated By You Anymore
(Olivia’s POV)
My slender waist was scooped up by a long arm, and I fell into Matthew Kane’s embrace. The warmth of his body pressed against mine, solid and reassuring.
“Let go,” Matthew’s gaze towards Killian was boundlessly indifferent, inspiring awe and fear. His voice carried the absolute authority of an Alpha King.
While Killian had once deeply respected Matthew, he now refused to yield a single step. “You let go first.”
I gently tried to pull my hand away, hoping Killian would back down. “Professor, it’s too late, I’ll be leaving with Matthew.”
But Killian’s grip on my wrist tightened, his knuckles white with tension.
“Olivia, the Kane family’s mating ceremony has invited every prominent figure in the European Territory. This is a ceremony under the gaze of the masses.” His voice cracked with emotion. “He truly intends to mark you as his mate.”
“Professor, it’s just a ceremony,” I said, growing anxious for him. The tension in the room was suffocating.
Killian’s voice filled with urgency. “You don’t understand, an Alpha’s intuition is never wrong. If you two really go through with the marking ceremony, everything will be irreversible.”
His words tumbled out in a rush. “Even if you fall in love with someone else later, he won’t let you go. Choose me, I won’t trap you. I can take good care of Aurora.”
Matthew cut him off, “Enough. Aurora is my daughter.”
The finality in his tone made the air itself seem to freeze. I could feel the dangerous energy radiating from him.
Fearing he’d hurt Killian, I loosened my grip on the professor’s hand. “Professor, I’ll come see you and Elara in a couple of days. You must have had too much to drink tonight.”
I took Matthew’s arm to leave, feeling the coiled tension in his muscles. As we walked toward the door, Elara emerged from the villa, tears streaming down her small face.
“Mom, help me fix it.” She held up a broken toy wolf figurine, her voice breaking with sobs.
I paused, taking the toy from her trembling hands. The little wolf’s head had separated from its body.
“The eye fell off,” Elara sniffled, pointing to a small black piece on the ground.
I picked up the small black piece, examining it closely. My blood ran cold. “This isn’t an eye.”
It was a surveillance device. A terrible realization dawned on me like ice water flooding my veins.
Just then, the villa gates were pushed open with a violent crash. Theodore stood there, his eyes blazing with fury as he stared at us.
His chest heaved with ragged breaths. His usually perfect appearance was disheveled, his shirt wrinkled and his hair wild. He lunged forward, grabbing my shoulders with bruising force. “You’re fake mated! You don’t have him in your heart!” His fingers dug into my skin. “How could your pup be his? That pup is mine, right? Olivia, I regret it, I won’t be your brother, you must come back to me!”
The next moment, pack enforcers pulled Theodore away. Their hands locked around his arms, dragging him back.
I trembled, painful memories flooding my mind, all filled with Theodore’s voice ordering me to “get rid of this pup.” The phantom pain of that night shot through my abdomen.
Matthew’s arm wrapped around my shoulders, his voice a low, soothing murmur in my ear. “It’s alright, I’ll handle it.”
But I remembered my healer’s advice to “face the traumatic memory, correct the traumatic memory.” I refused to hide any
longer.
I looked up at Matthew, feeling the brilliant, confident light from thirteen years ago shining in my eyes. “I can do it myself.”
I walked to Theodore, my former mate who had become a demon trapping me. Each step felt like breaking free from
invisible chains.
“If my mother knew what you’ve done to me, she would never forgive you.” My voice was steady, clear as crystal. “She’d regret writing a will that prevents me from ever escaping you.”
Theodore’s face crumpled. “Olivia, please-”
“Theodore, you’re not worthy of being my pup’s father, and you’re certainly not worthy of being my mate.”
I hurled the toy wolf at his feet. “You actually dream of monitoring my every move like before, of keeping me caged and
manipulated like your canary!”
“Liar,” I said with cold clarity. “You lied about my sincere feelings for ten years, and you still want to keep lying? I won’t fall for it again, Theodore.”
I dug into my own heart to stab his. “My daughter is not your pup. Our pup was killed by you that night. She never should have suffered like that. It was all your fault.”
“Olivia, don’t say it,” Theodore pleaded, his voice breaking into a whisper.
Just then, Leo’s voice cried out, “Mom!” The small boy wrapped his arms around my legs, his face streaked with tears.
“You and that Alpha are fake mated, just to trick Dad and me, right? Mom, Dad and I know we were wrong.” His small
hands clutched at my dress. “Come home with us, okay? We are a family.”
The memory of my nightmare–induced vision flashed through my mind. Leo harming Aurora. The image made my
stomach lurch.
I couldn’t tolerate it. I pushed Leo into Theodore’s arms, my movements sharp and decisive.
“I am not a family with you.” The words came out harder than I intended.
I turned, placing my hands on Matthew’s chest, feeling his steady heartbeat beneath my palms. My voice rang out firm and decisive for all to hear.
“Matthew Kane is my daughter’s father. We are a family.” I looked directly into his golden eyes. “We’ve already registered our mate bond, and the marking ceremony will proceed as planned.”
Theodore watched us, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His face had gone ashen white.
“We’re leaving,” I said softly to Matthew, who guided me toward the black car as the pack enforcers restrained Theodore.
The car’s engine started, its headlights cutting through the night like twin beams of hope. The purr of the motor filled the
silence.
Suddenly, a small figure rushed in front of the car, screaming his heart out. “Mom, don’t leave Leo…”
The screech of brakes and the sound of an impact instantly assaulted my eardrums. I opened my eyes wide in terror.
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