Chapter 199

Carol’s POV

“You cheated on my mother?” I asked, standing to my feet. I felt disgusted being around him at this point. How could he betray his own fated mate like that? My stomach clenched at the very thought. If Aiden ever betrayed me like that, I don’t know if I could ever survive that; let alone losing my child.

He was quiet for a moment as he thought about what to say. He cleared his throat and lifted his gaze to meet mine.

“That night, I went to a bar as I did almost every night. There was a woman there,” he started to explain. “She wasn’t as beautiful as your mother, but she was still pretty. I could tell from her aura that she was a witch. I couldn’t tell which clan she belonged to though and I had been drinking too much to use my abilities on her. But she was sweet and gentle, and we talked for a while as we drank together. I barely even knew her name; maybe she told me, and I just forgot. I’m not really sure. But I drank a little too much and then the next thing I know, we are both getting into a cab together. We were laughing about something; I just remember it being the first time I had laughed since before you were taken away from me. It felt nice to let loose and laugh like that. But I also remembered thinking that I needed to get home and share this joy and laughter with my mate. I wanted to see her smile again and bring her out of this depression. I thought I expressed that out loud to this woman, but I guess I kept it more internal. I’m not sure what happened after that, I think I fell asleep in the car at some point. Or maybe I just blacked out.”

“You don’t remember having sex with this woman?” I asked, my brows furrowed. “That doesn’t seem right. Are you sure you actually slept with her?”

He thought about it for a moment; his face was almost grim as the memories flashed through his mind.

“I started to remember bits and pieces as time went on,” he confessed. “I remembered her breathy moans and the way her hair smelled as she climbed on top of me. I remembered the feeling I had when I was with her. It was all such a blur, but I remembered sleeping with her. But at the time, I woke up and I was completely naked. She was next to me, very close, and also completely naked. I was mortified about what we had done, and I quickly dressed and went home to find Emalyn crying in our room. She was scared because I hadn’t come home that night, and she thought I had finally left her because of her depression. I assured her that I didn’t leave her and that I would never. I told her that I loved her more than anything. I blocked her from my mind so she couldn’t read my thoughts, not that she would have anyway. She didn’t notice that I blocked her. Me not returning home that night snapped her back to reality; she decided that she would get better and be the wife and mate that I deserved, even if she couldn’t give her parents what they wanted. Her parents felt such remorse for us that they completely forgot about the promise we had made them to produce an heir. For the next several months, we were starting to become normal again. We were even maybe happy.”

“Then, what ruined it?” I asked, my voice coming out barely in a whisper.

He patted the couch beside him, wanting me to sit down again. I hesitantly took a seat beside him, crossing my leg over the other and turning to face him.

“The woman from that night returned,” he told me. “Apparently, she knew who I was… or maybe I told her who I was during that night, and I just forgot. I’m not really sure, but she showed up at the manor, seeking me out. She was upset when she found out that I was married, and she caused a large scene. Then, she told me that she was pregnant.”

My heart fell deep into my stomach as realization consumed me. I stared at him with wide eyes, not believing what he was saying, but also, it made so much sense now.

“Your mother read her mind and found out that she was telling the truth. She was devasted when she found out about my unfaithfulness. It pulled her back into that deep depression, and she could barely even look at me. I didn’t want that woman though; I only wanted your mother. She was my fated mate; I barely even remembered the night with that woman. I loved your mother; I can’t stress that enough. Hurting her was never something I wanted to do. It killed me to see the pain behind her eyes. She couldn’t even look at me anymore and that killed me more than anything.”

“So, what did you do about it?” I asked, my voice thick with accusations.

“I couldn’t turn the woman away because she was carrying my child,” Bennet said softly. “I also didn’t want a relationship with her though. So, I kept her in the manor and allowed her to live here. I had my maids care for her during her pregnancy and I spent some time with her as well. But it was never anything more than platonic. She was the mother of my child, that was all. I tried so desperately to coax your mother out of her depressive state. I never wanted her to feel neglected, like I was choosing another woman over her.”

“But you did,” I said through my teeth, folding my arms across my chest. “You did choose this woman over her or else you wouldn’t have allowed her so much access to you. You let her live under the same roof as my mother. You protected her when you should have been protecting your mate.”

Tears welled up in Bennet’s eyes; it was the first time I had seen him like this, and my heart tugged slightly, but not as badly as it did for my birth mother. I might not have known her, but no woman should have ever been treated like that. She didn’t deserve any of this.

There was a part of me that almost hated King Bennet for putting her through this. But another part of me knew he was manipulated. I bit my lower lip and stared at the ground, unable to look at my biological father in the eyes. I was disgusted by his admittance, and I wasn’t really sure what to do with this feeling.

He was choosing this woman over my mother, just like he had chosen her daughter over me last night. I wrapped my arms around my body like I was trying to hold myself together. I could feel myself falling apart under his scrutiny, but I kept myself calm and sucked in a sharp breath as I lifted my gaze to stare back at him.

“Continue with the story,” I told him firmly.

He looked at me for a moment longer before nodding his head curtly.

“I never meant to hurt her,” he said softly. “I truly never did. But it was unavoidable. I know that now.”

I nodded slowly, hanging onto each word he spoke while holding my breath.

“Something happened to the woman that led her to the pack clinic; she told me she had a fall after getting into a fight with Emalyn. She worried that something might have happened to the baby, and she was crying. I was holding her and trying to soothe her, not wanting her to overdo it and potentially harm the baby. Emalyn walked in that moment while I was soothing the woman. She didn’t like what she saw and broke down into tears; I admit, I lost my temper. I yelled at her for potentially harming our child. She was devastated that I took this woman’s side and didn’t hear a thing she had to say.”

I swallowed my response because he did the same thing to me last night when I was accused of hurting Monica. I felt bile rising in my throat, but I stifled it.

“She ended up leaving that night and I spent the rest of the night with the mother of my unborn child because I worried for this child. I wanted to make sure the baby was okay. So, I kept her company in the clinic. I didn’t know that Emalyn hadn’t returned to the manor until the next day when I returned home. She wasn’t there and some of her things were gone as well. I sent my guards out to look for her….”

“And did they find her?” I asked.

He nodded after a beat of silence.

“Yes,” he said softly. “They found her a couple of days later. But it was too late. She was gone.”

My heart sank; I already knew the outcome, but it hurt hearing him say this.

“And that woman…” I murmured. “Let me guess…”

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as he nodded.

“Yes, that woman was Elizabeth.”