Chapter 124

#Chapter 124: Alpha Daddy to the Rescue Moana I didn’t sleep in Edrick’s room that night, and he never came to my room to sleep with me. I had to admit that I felt a little lonely without him, but I simply couldn’t get over everything he had said to me. It felt as though I had no choice in the matter, and now I was stuck in a fake relationship that I didn’t ask to be in and would have to change myself to fit the role of the “billionaire’s fiancee”.

Not only that, but what had he meant when he said that I should be prepared to “pay the price” for falling in love with someone else?

There was no denying the fact that we were both young, and it would be nearly impossible for either of us to live our entire lives without feeling love for anyone else. Maybe it was natural for Edrick to be closed off and without intimacy, but it wasn’t natural for me. I craved a loving relationship with a good man not just for my baby’s sake, but for my own sake, too. What woman didn’t want to feel loved and cared for?

But then again, I did feel a little cruel for what I said. I supposed that it was a bit of a double standard for me to be angry with Edrick to even consider a fake relationship with someone else while I considered falling in love with someone else someday, and maybe I shouldn’t have said that. In the moment, it felt right, but it didn’t feel so good when I thought about it while laying alone in my bed.

…

The next morning, I woke up shortly before Edrick left for work and ran into him on my way to the kitchen to make tea.

“Good morning,” I choked out, feeling my heart race as we passed each other. Edrick replied with hardly more than a grunt and brushed past me, leaving me standing in the middle of the dining room by myself.

Of course I expected there to be tension between us, but as I heard the elevator doors open and close without Edrick so much as saying goodbye, I felt even worse about the situation.

However, it was a beautiful day; maybe I just needed to get out. I hadn’t taken Ella out for crepes for breakfast recently, so I decided to get dressed and wake her up.

Ella’s big eyes widened when I woke her up with the mention of crepes. “Really?!” she said, practically shouting as she jumped out of the bed.

I nodded, stifling a laugh at the little girl’s sudden energy after only waking up a few moments earlier.

“Yes,” I replied. “Get dressed and brush your teeth, and then we can go.”

Ella excitedly zoomed around her room as she got ready. I helped her put on a little dress and fix her hair, and once she was ready, we headed downstairs to the lobby. It really was a beautiful day outside, and I looked forward to even going on a little walk in the park across the street after we ate.

However, I quickly realized that going out alone with Ella may not have been a good idea.

At first, I didn’t realize what was happening; there were a lot of people on the street, many of them with cameras. I wondered if there was something happening on the news, but when Ella and I exited the lobby hand-in-hand and the lights on the cameras began to blindingly flash in our faces, I knew what was happening.

I was instantly stunned by the amount of flashing lights and all of the noise. Ella also immediately began to cry, not understanding at her young age what was happening. I held her tightly to my side as the paparazzi began to crowd around us, shouting their questions at us.

“Please stand back!” I shouted, feeling my voice shake with fear. “T-There’s a child here and I’m pregnant!”

But the paparazzi didn’t care. They only closed in on us more tightly, squishing us up against the building and blinding us with their lights as they asked their questions.

“How does it feel to be the Alpha CEO’s new fad?” one woman shouted.

“Are you and Edrick Morgan really engaged, or is this just a publicity stunt in light of his poor treatment of human workers?”

“Is Edrick Morgan paying you to be his bride? Why do you think a wealthy Alpha werewolf would be interested in a human such as yourself?”

“P-Please!” I begged again, ignoring the barrage of questions that were being thrown at me. “Stand back!”

I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes. Ella sobbed into my skirt, clinging to me for dear life. I couldn’t even see a way to get out over all of the flashing lights, not that there was a way out anyway; they were fully closed in on us on all sides, with only the side of the building behind us.

Suddenly, I heard a booming voice emanating over the paparazzi that caused a slight lull in all of the noise and the chaos.

“Back OFF!” the voice bellowed. “NOW!”

I recognized that voice immediately; it was Edrick.

“Daddy!” Ella shouted, her face caked with tears. I let out a sigh of relief as I saw Edrick forcing his way through the crowd. He didn’t say anything as he came up to Ella and me, but he instead blocked us with his body.

“All of you leave, now!” he shouted. I had never heard him this angry before; his voice was deep and threatening, almost like a growl.

Some of the paparazzi got scared of the Alpha werewolf and scattered, but not all of them. One man in particular kept putting his camera in our faces regardless of Edrick’s warnings, causing Ella to sob even harder.

All of a sudden, Edrick did something completely unexpected: when the man wouldn’t stop taking photos and barraging us with questions, Edrick’s face turned red, and in one swift movement he pulled his fist back and then punched the man right in the center of his face.

Nearby onlookers gasped as the man fell to the ground, blood gushing out of his nose and his camera shattering on the sidewalk. My eyes went wide, and Ella’s wails raised in intensity, but Edrick only whirled around and scooped her up with one arm while putting the other around me. He quickly ushered us both out of there and back into the lobby, where two security guards immediately locked the doors before more paparazzi tried to run inside.

Edrick was silent as we took the elevator up. Ella continued to sob and wail after being traumatized by the paparazzi, and it was all my fault; I should have known better. I half expected Edrick to berate me for doing something so stupid when we got back to the penthouse, and I would have accepted it because I knew that what I did was wrong.

But, much to my surprise, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he only continued to hold Ella tightly in one arm while his other arm stayed firmly wrapped around me, and together the three of us collected our bearings in the foyer until Selina and the maids came scurrying in.

“Are you okay?!” Selina said, her eyes wide.

“It’s those goddamn paparazzi,” Edrick growled, setting Ella down now that she was a bit calmer.

“They’re animals. But it’s over now, at least. I’m glad I decided to come home for something, but I think I’ll be staying now.”

But when my eyes shifted over to the TV and I saw that clips of Edrick punching the paparazzi were already being broadcast on the news, I knew that I wasn’t over. Now, because of a stupid decision I made without thinking about the consequences, Edrick would have to deal with even more bad press.