CHAPTER 43: SEALED FATE

Naomi felt unbearable pain in her heart. The emptiness she felt inside was causing her endless sorrow and misery.

Today, her father will seal her fate! A fate she doesn’t like.

The knock on the door grew louder. Naomi hid her phone in the desk drawer, then walked calmly to the door and opened it.

"What took you so long to open the door?" her father asked angrily.

"I’m sorry Dad, I was in the bathroom," Naomi responded, her eyes glued to the floor.

"Follow us to my study room. We need to discuss how you will behave tomorrow when your boyfriend comes to visit you," her father said and turned around, heading to the study room along with his wife.

"Copy, Dad," Naomi replied, sighing heavily. She closed the door and with a heavy heart she walked straight into her father’s study room.

In the study room, they are settled on the sofa. Naomi can be seen facing her father and her stepmother. Her father looked at her with anger blazing in his eyes, while her stepmother looked at her with kindness.

"Daughter, I’m asking you one last time. Do you know this guy – the father of your baby? You better tell me now!" Alpha Thomas said indignantly.

Naomi swallowed the lump forming in her throat. Maybe saying the truth would set her free?

"Dad, the truth is, the guy’s name is Alpha Maxwell. He was the son of Alpha Nelson of the Nightstalker pack." Finally, Naomi confessed the truth.

Alpha Thomas’ eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "No way! This shouldn’t happen!" he blurted in horror, gritting his teeth in anger.

"That’s the truth, Dad," Naomi said gloomily, waiting for his anger to erupt.

Luna Alicia was busy rubbing her husband’s back to subdue his growing anger.

The tense silence engulfing the room was unbearable.

Naomi was dying inside while waiting for her father’s wrath to explode in her face.

After a few minutes of tense silence...

Alpha Thomas finally opened his mouth and calmly said, "Edison will arrive tomorrow after lunch. I want you to apologize and tell him a lie. Say you were kidnapped by a human trafficking group and sold to a family who made you a caregiver for their ailing grandmother. When the old woman dies, the couple gives you freedom as a reward because you treated the old woman well. This is a much more believable lie compared to the one you told us earlier."

Contradicting her father’s wishes will only make him angrier so Naomi took a deep breath and replied, "Copy Dad. I will follow everything you say..."

"Good. If you follow my instructions, nothing could go wrong. Edison’s family business is not doing great nowadays, while our business is growing by leaps and bounds. Since you are already a ruined woman, I would gladly see you married to Edison so your tarnished image won’t leak into the press. If the media discovers that the daughter of the Blue Moon Pack and the son of the NightStalker Pack had an affair, our family will become a laughing stock. The entire business industry will laugh at us and they won’t take us seriously anymore. The company’s image will be affected, and I don’t want it to happen. Marrying Edison is your salvation. Do you understand me?"

Naomi nodded her head. "Yes, Dad."

Alpha Thomas finally smiled. "Good, that’s all. You may go back to your room now. Remember do not initiate contact with the son of the enemy. Do you understand?"

"Copy Dad," Naomi replied, bowing her head. Teary-eyed she walked slowly towards the door and exited, feeling heartbroken. Her father had just awarded her a death sentence!

She reached her room, went to bed and cried her heart out. After crying for half an hour, her eyes became swollen. She opened the drawer and grabbed her phone. She will inform Alpha Maxwell that her father will force her to marry Edison to protect their reputation.

When she entered their private chat, he was offline.

She just left a message and put her phone back in the desk drawer.

She lay on her bed, no longer crying, staring at the ceiling of her room. Before she met Alpha Maxwell she was satisfied to be Edison’s girlfriend and willing to become his wife. That’s where she was going until the kidnapping incident changed everything.

She met Alpha Maxwell and she finally discovered intense consuming true love that ignited the dormant fire inside her heart. She wanted to be Alpha Maxwell’s wife not Edison’s wife!

But if her father and Edison agree on a flash marriage tomorrow or the next day, she might not be able to escape her fate.

Worse, Alpha Maxwell was also grounded and faced his own problems at his parents’ home. He won’t be able to help her escape her fate.

What is she going to do now?

After racking her brain for a quick solution to her problem, a brilliant idea suddenly popped up in her mind.

Edison! He might be able to help her. If she confessed to him the truth, he would be angry and disappointed with her after learning that she had an affair with a guy and had a child with him during her captivity. Edison will break up with her for sure!

Yes, that’s right!

Edison will set her free. Her father could no longer force him to marry her. Edison will stop seeing her after he learns the truth.

The bright idea put a smile on her face.

She can’t wait to see Edison tomorrow!

Ready with a plan, Naomi feels better. She stopped crying and worrying about her situation.

Time passed like a blur.

That night, Alpha Maxwell was offline when she entered their chat, so she bid him goodnight, informing him she would sleep early.

She slept peacefully that night.

....

The following day, she woke up feeling refreshed and energised.

She sent Alpha Maxwell a good morning text message and he responded quickly, wishing her a good day. She didn’t mention Edison. Her good mood continued in the dining room while having breakfast with her family.

Since no one wanted to start a conversation, they ate their delicious breakfast in silence.

After breakfast, Naomi returned to her room and watched TV all morning, thinking about what to say to Edison later when he arrived.

At 10:00 in the morning, she turned off the TV, and sat in the chair facing the window, thinking about her situation.

At noon, the family ate lunch at 12:30 in the dining room.

After lunch, they settled into the living room to discuss Edison’s arrival.

Alpha Thomas eyed his daughter, wearing a grim expression on his face. "Edison will arrive in two hours. You stay in your room. I will talk to him first. I will send your mother to fetch you if we already need your presence so you can talk to him in private. Now stick to the story we agreed upon. If you do it everything will be alright. Your future is secure. But if you go against my wishes, you will be forever grounded in this house all your life. Choose wisely," he said sternly, his words cutting like a knife.

"I understand, Dad." Naomi cried inwardly. Tears shimmered in her eyes.

"Good girl. Now go back to your room and behave," Alpha Thomas ordered.

Before Naomi climbed the staircase, she looked at her stepmother pleadingly, signalling her to follow her to her room so she could ask her for help.

But when she was already at the top of the staircase, her stepmother remained by her father’s side.

With tears already flooding her face, Naomi continued walking towards her room.

When she arrived in her room, she got into the bed and buried her face into the pillow, muffling her sobbing.

She prefers to talk to Edison first so she can tell him the truth because her father will be spouting nonsense so he can have his way. She doesn’t want to lie to Edison and be trapped in a loveless marriage to him. He must know the truth!

She cried hysterically, depressed and alone in her room.

Time flew fast.

Naomi was done crying, staring at the ceiling in complete silence.

There was a knock on the door. Naomi’s stepmother entered the room.

"Edison has already arrived. He seeks your presence, dear," Luna Alicia said calmly.

"OK." Naomi rose from the bed and entered the bathroom to wash her tear-stained face.

When she emerged from the bathroom door, her stepmother was still in the room.

"Dear, do you want me to help you make yourself presentable?" Luna Alicia offered.

Naomi shook her head. "No need, Mom. I’m fine. I’ll follow you downstairs in a moment," she replied anxiously.

Luna Alicia patted her arms affectionately. "I’m sorry, daughter. I can’t do anything to help you," she apologized sincerely.

"Please don’t apologize, Mom. It’s not your fault that my life ended this way," Naomi replied.

Luna Alicia gave her a brief hug. "We will wait for you in the living room."

"OK." Naomi nodded her head.

When her stepmother was already gone from the room, Naomi put on a casual dress and fixed her appearance in front of the mirror.

A few minutes later, she left the room.

She saw Edison talking to her father and stepmother in the living room. She descended down the stairs, her heart beating rapidly in her rib cage.

Edison sensed her presence. He raised his head and met her nervous gaze. He smiled, rushing to her side.

The moment they came face to face, he couldn’t hide his feelings anymore. Edison hugged her tightly. "I’m happy to see you again darling! I miss you so much!"