Chapter 123: Decisions
Edrick
“What if I fall in love with someone someday?” Moana asked, her green eyes full of fire and fury. “What then?”
I froze at her words. My eyes widened as what she said settled in fully, and already I felt a little bit of anger and jealousy beginning to bubble up inside of me.
Even though I partially understood what Moana meant, and that she didn’t know yet that she was my mate, what she said just then angered me. The thought of her being with anyone else, despite the fact that I knew I would never be able to get married, made me feel almost sick. I didn’t know how to respond for the longest time as a million different things whirled around inside my head.
Finally, I was able to speak.
“You’re free to make any decision you want,” I replied, feeling my blood run cold as I spoke. “But you had better be prepared to pay the price for a decision like that.”
Moana’s face fell. She glared at me intensely for several long moments, almost as though she was in disbelief, before she spoke. “Is that a threat?” she asked, instinctively placing her hand over her belly and instantly making me feel guilty for my choice of words. Of course I wasn’t threatening her; I only meant that she should be prepared to face the consequences if she chose to be with someone else. If she was going to have an issue with me being with someone else, even if it was only a fake relationship with another woman, then I felt as though I had every right to set my own boundaries as well. If she was going to fall in love with another man, then she could also leave my house to go and be with that other man.
In fact, I was frankly appalled by her sudden double standards. I wanted to tell her all of these things that were on my mind, but I was suddenly reminded of what the man in the baby supply store had said about not fighting with the mother of my child. Moana had already dealt with enough stress this early on in her pregnancy, and I wasn’t about to cause more stress by arguing with her.
All I could do was sigh. “Listen,” I said, passing my hand over my tired face. “What’s done is done. For now, you need to just go along with it and pretend to be my fiancee. We can cross those bridges when — or if — we come to them. It’s best for everyone right now if we just go through with this.”
Moana was silent. Her hand stayed planted on her belly, almost protectively, but I knew she was also soothing herself by holding her stomach. Then, without a word, she turned on her heel and stormed out.
I watched after her while she walked away; and admittedly, she looked sexy in her robe. She had the sash tied around her waist tightly, accentuating her small waist and round hips. Maybe it was just because it had been so long since I’d been intimate with anyone, but even as she stormed out angrily, I couldn’t help but be a little turned on. Maybe now that I knew that she was my fated mate, it would prove to be too much of a distraction.
As soon as the door slammed shut behind her, I let out another sigh and sank into the armchair by the fireplace.
Of course I didn’t like the idea that Moana could ever love someone else; she was supposed to be my fated mate. And after everything that had happened recently, I couldn’t imagine not having her by my side. But at the same time, I knew that I would never get married, and I still wasn’t even sure if I was willing or ready to commit myself to a mate bond. Would it be best if I just cut her loose so she could be in a normal relationship with someone? If her wolf never fully emerged, then she would never know that I was supposed to be her fated mate, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it would be better for her like that. Not only that, but if she was already distracting me this much, I couldn’t imagine the level of distraction that would come from it if we had a mate bond. How could I ever continue to perform well at my job as the CEO of WereCorp if I was constantly being distracted by this beautiful red-haired woman?
Maybe it really would have been best if I hadn’t announced our fake relationship earlier that morning. But what was done was done, and we needed to stick with it for the time being if we didn’t want even more unnecessary attention. If I announced my fake relationship with Moana and then she moved out and we “broke up” a week later, it would only label me as someone who couldn’t commit to anything. WereCorp stocks were already on the verge of suffering enough from this entire mess and I didn’t want to risk them dropping even more.
But that wasn’t the only thing on my mind.
The stunt that Kelly pulled was still fresh, and I couldn’t let her get away with it. I knew that she would only pay off the police if I tried to turn her in, or she would feign innocence too easily, and she would never receive any repercussions. However, I knew that her parents would not be proud of their daughter if they found out what she did.
And so, even though it was late, I decided to call her father anyway.
Just as I suspected, Kelly’s father answered almost immediately. He was a businessman just like my father, and rarely slept. He was in his office until all hours most nights, poring over documents, and probably had no intention of going to bed anytime soon.
“Hello?” he answered in his usual gruff, gravelly voice.
“Hello, Mr. Anderson,” I replied. “It’s Edrick Morgan.”
“Ah, Edrick! To what do I owe the pleasure at this late hour?”
I stifled a sigh and chewed on my lower lip, unsure of how to broach the subject. I had always respected Kelly’s father. Even though he was a ruthless businessman, he was a successful and proud person, and I always looked up to him in some ways. I hated to be the bearer of bad news, especially when it came to Kelly; she was his pride and joy, and aside from that, she had also given him plenty of trouble throughout her life. Hearing about yet another antic that she pulled might have just sent him over the edge.
“Oh no,” Mr. Anderson said. “You went silent. It’s about Kelly, isn’t it?”
That was another thing about Kelly’s father: he was terribly astute.
“…Yes,” I replied.
“What did she do this time?”
I sighed and cleared my throat. “Kelly paid Rogues to attack my daughter and my… fiancee.”
Kelly’s father was silent for a long time. I could only picture his face turning bright red and his knuckles turning white as he gripped the phone for dear life.
“She what?”
“It’s true,” I replied solemnly. “I wish I was joking, but I’m not. She nearly got my fiancee — and our baby — killed. I found Moana in the Rogue district the other day after Kelly was supposed to take her to a doctor’s appointment. Kelly confessed to it herself; she thought she would play a ‘prank’ on my fiancee, and it got out of hand.”
Mr. Anderson let out a long, drawn out sigh. “I see…”
“I don’t want to press charges right now,” I replied. “But I think that Kelly needs help. Serious help.”
Kelly’s father made an indiscernible sound through the phone that seemed like a grunt. I could hear him pacing around the room through the phone.
“Very well,” he said. “Thank you for letting me know. I knew that Kelly would get in trouble like this someday… And I’ve been thinking about it for awhile, but I think it’s finally time.”
“Time for what?” I asked.
Kelly’s father sighed. “Time for me to cut her off financially until she becomes a better person.”
