Goodbye Alpha, I'm Done - Chapter 42: Chapter 42

For years, Nina had been deceiving everyone by faking an illness and playing the victim, manipulating Kieran into caring for her. Their families, the Hawthornes and the Simones, had been close friends and business partners for generations.
Nina was born with a heart condition and had spent much of her childhood in and out of hospitals. She was an only child and Kieran was too, so eventually they became close friends as well. As a result, Kieran, who was a few years older, was asked by her parents to look out for her. After her parents died due to a severe attack from a stronger and dangerous rival pack when Nina was just eight years old, Kieran felt responsible for her well-being and continued to care for her.
When Kieran and I were always together, she always had attacks to draw his attention from me. I didn’t think anything of it at first and even felt pity for her being sick all the time. But then, I discovered she had been lying to us all the whole time! I found out when Macey and I had gone to a club together to have some fun months ago. I couldn’t believe my eyes and decided to make a video discreetly. After that day, I hired a personal investigator to keep a closer eye on her and I got more evidence that I was going to show everyone now.
Without hesitation, I instructed one of the workers to connect my phone to the large projector screen where everyone could watch the show. I pressed play on the first video, and the room was filled with the sounds of Qiana's laughter and the beat of music. It showed her twirling and dancing very wildly with some male vixens from a club.
The whole crowd gasped in shock and Kieran's eyes seemed to pop out of his head as he watched the footage, "Nina, what on earth am I seeing right now?"
Her face drained of color, and she stormed towards me, her hands outstretched. "No, Kieran, you can't watch this! It's a fake, a lie!"
But I was too quick for her, holding the phone out of her reach. "Oh, I assure you, this is very much real. And it's not the only evidence I have."
I pressed play on the second video, revealing her in a different setting, this time surrounded by a group of handsome men as she took a long drag from a cigarette. She was giggling happily and wasted on alcohol as well. She even snorted cocaine on another video much to everyone’s horror. This was so different from the fragile, sickly woman she presented herself as.
Kieran looked like he was going to snap."How could you be consuming those harmful substances into your body like that? You've been lying to me this entire time?"
Nina let out a desperate, anguished cry. "No, Kieran, please! You have to believe me, this is all a lie, a trick!
Selena, that bitch, she's the one who's been sabotaging me and that video is fake!"
"Enough of this charade” Kieran barked. “Stop treating me like a fool - that video is clearly yours."
The elegant banquet had turned into a circus, with the other guests whipping out their phones to capture the whole drama on a live video.
"Get the hell out of here, Nina. Out of my pack, and get out of my life, for . I never want to see your lying, manipulative face again."
Nina flinched as if she had been struck by lightning, her face soaked with tears and her makeup ruined. Without a word, she turned and fled the room in shame.
Satisfied that the little witch’s eception had been exposed, I turned to leave, ignoring the apologetic look Kieran was giving me. But before I could move further, I could feel his hand wrap around my arm.
"Selena, please, wait. I'm so sorry, I was such a fool for ever believing Nina over you. I should have trusted my instincts, trusted you. Can you ever forgive me? I really do want you back and I realize that you’re the only woman I love. "
Ryker appeared at my side immediately and with a gentle tug, he pulled me away from Kieran's grasp.
"Keep your filthy hands off of her,you bastard. You've done enough damage already." He warned and I was grateful he arrived at the right time.
He wrapped his arm around my waist, giving me a soft kiss on my cheek making me smile widely. Then he asked if I was doing okay.
"I'm fine, Ryker. I just want to get out of here, get some fresh air on the balcony."
"Then that's exactly what we'll do. You need a moment to yourself, away from all this drama." He told me as he guided me away leaving Kieran standing there like a total moron.
That night at the banquet, I had planned to tell Ryker about the baby, but something important had come up, and he had been called away. And now days has passed without having the right opportunity to tell him.
Ryker called me to come into his office one day at the company. He leaned back into his chair with a serious look, eyeing me thoughtfully. "There's something I want to discuss with you."
I chewed on my bottom lip, my mind racing with all the possible things he could say. Had he figured out my secret somehow?
"I've been offered an incredible opportunity," he began, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "To oversee the expansion of our biggest branch offices in Singapore."
I blinked, caught off guard. That wasn't what I'd been expecting at all. "Oh...that's wonderful, Ryker!" I exclaimed, feeling proud of him.
"And I want you to come with me," he added, holding my gaze intently. "There's a huge deal on the table that I need you to spearhead. It would be an incredible career move for you and the investors want you for it."