Chapter 158: Chapter 159

Chapter 0159 +25 BONUS Chapter 0159 Ella POV The silence that followed was so pronounced it felt heavy. Alexander didn’t respond, and the seconds dragged on long enough that I glanced at my phone to make sure the call hadn’t dropped.

“Alexander?” I said softly. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, not at all,” he answered quickly, though there was a slight edge to his voice. “You’re right, of course. You should have met my family by now. It’s an oversight on my part that you haven’t.”

“I don’t want to pry,” I said uncertainly.

“No, of course not,” Alexander said, his tone steadying, “You’re not prying at all. I’ll speak to my mother and make arrangements.”

I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “All right,” I said softly. But something about Alexander’s tone left me uneasy.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right. Alexander had never struck me as embarrassed by his family. He’d spoken of them before–briefly–but I hadn’t gotten the sense he was hiding anything. So why had the thought of me meeting them drawn such a reaction from him?

Surely, it was obvious that if he and I were going to get married–even if it was fake–I would eventually have to meet his mother.

Then again, I’d been nervous about Alexander meeting my parents too. Maybe I was just overthinking it. Things would probably be fine. Probably.

“Are you sure nothing’s wrong?” I asked, my voice soft but insistent. “I’ll be honest, your reaction is concerning.

“I’m simply distracted,” Alexander said with a slight laugh, though it didn’t quite reach his usual confidence. There’s a lot of work to be done.”

“Yes,” I said hesitantly. “I guess that’s normal for you.”

11 “Maybe I haven’t been sleeping enough,” he said dismissively. “At any rate, everything is fine. There’s no need for you to be concerned.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” I replied, though his tone didn’t fully ease my worries.

“I owe you for reminding me, actually. My mother’s going to be furious if I leave her out of the wedding planning. I can’t believe I overlooked something like this.”

“We certainly don’t want her to be upset,” I said with a faint smile.

The fact that Alexander had forgotten about his mother when it came to the wedding planning told me they mustn’t be particularly close. I supposed that wasn’t unusual for a grown man, especially one who had been more or less on his own in the capital for the last few years. As much as Alexander worked, I doubted he had much time to go home for a visit.

Still, I couldn’t help feeling sad for him. He’d lost his father and wasn’t close to his mother. Other than August, I hadn’t met anyone who could be considered Alexander’s friend. His life seemed consumed by work, leaving little room for anything else.

At least we managed to have some fun together, I thought. Maybe when this was all said and done, he’d have learned to balance things a little more. If I could help him with that, then all of this trouble we’d gone through together might at least have a happy outcome.

Chapter 0159 +25 BONUS “You’ll have to come to our packlands,” Alexander said suddenly. “It’ll be the easiest way for you to meet the whole family and for me to properly introduce you to the pack.”

“Oh,” I replied, startled. It hadn’t even occurred to me that visiting Alexander’s packlands would be part of this arrangement. I’d never been that far north before. Alexander spent so assumed that was where we’d stay.

“uch time in the capital that I’d just “Is that going to be a problem?” he asked, his tone curious but cautious.

“Not at all,” I said quickly. “I look Ito it.”