The Alpha’s Curvy Cinderella - Chapter 174: Chapter 174

Josie POV
The driver sensed my reluctance.
“I shall wait until you make a decision. You have paid for a full day anyway” he said cheerfully and climbed back in the car, adjusting his hat.
I nodded slowly and made my way towards the restaurant on wooden legs. The closer I got, the more gorgeous the restaurant appeared to be. I was envious of the fact that he had brought this mysterious Lauren woman here. I gritted my teeth and opened the door silently, slipping inside. My eyes adjusted to the dim lighting and I held in my gasp as I saw Rohan sitting at a table, opposite a woman with gorgeous long brown hair and ruby-red lips. They were leaning in close and he was kissing her on the cheek. My temper flared. I was right. He was cheating on me. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. They seemed oblivious that they had company and I was surprised he hadn’t picked up my scent yet, but the woman was wearing some sort of flowery perfume that must have helped disguise it.
“You cheating son of a b***h” I yelled, startling the two of them and they turned, the woman looking guilty and Rohan looking bewildered as tears welled in my eyes.
This was it. We were officially over. He’d gone too far. My heart pounded in my chest and my nails dug into the palms of my hands. He had been caught in the act. I had seen it with my very own eyes. Hurt flooded through me and my wolf gave a low howl of pain. Rohan began to get to his feet, holding his hand up, in an attempt to placate me, while the woman also stood, quickly stepping to the side, as I glowered at them both.
“Josie, it’s not what you think” he began quietly.
“Not what I think?” I snorted in disbelief.
He was really going to try and justify this? I shook my head in disgust. “I guess this explains all the lying and sneaking around,” I said coldly “and not telling me about Lauren” I snarled, staring over at the woman who looked extremely pale. Rohan frowned and glanced at the woman. “You know about Lauren?” he asked slowly.
“You mean your date?” I snapped “She called your phone the other day and reminded you about today. I took the call but she didn’t think to make sure it was you on the other end of the line.”
The woman looked like she was frowning now and looked apologetically at Rohan. “This is all my fault,” she said softly “She’s right, I didn’t check Rohan.”
“No,” he said tightly “this is all my fault. I should have known there was a reason my mate was acting so strangely and now I guess I have my answer.”
I stared at him. This was all he had to say? He glanced at Lauren again. “Excuse us for a minute, would you?” he told her and before I could say a word, he strode towards me and grabbed me by the arm, dragging me out through the front door, his teeth gritted and a furious expression on his face.
“Why are you angry” I spat out, when he finally let go and let me face him again “I’m not the one who’s cheating, you bastard.”
He groaned, looking exasperated “I’m not cheating” he snapped as I stared at him “but I am pissed at you for listening to a conversation you weren’t supposed to be privy to. I’m angry that you’ve been simmering over that conversation and come to a conclusion that isn’t true instead of coming to me and asking me point blank about it.”
Whoa. I had never seen Rohan look so upset or so angry with me. His eyes were dark and narrowed on me. “I have been wondering what I’ve done to upset you for days,” he said with a clenched jaw “and wondering what it is I’ve done wrong and if you had just said something, anything, I could have cleared this up for you within seconds.”
Now I felt like I was on the defensive. “What..what do you mean? I stammered uncertainly.
Why did I feel like I was in the wrong? He growled at me. “We are mates, I would never, in a million years, cheat on the woman I love, especially the one who is giving me pups” he snarled, seething mad.
Oh. Now I felt like an i***t. I swallowed hard. Maybe I had been too brash in my decision to come here after all.
“But you’ve been working late and every time I come close to you, you hang the phone up” I pointed out weakly.
His eyes flashed. “Did it ever occur to you that I was trying to work on a surprise and I didn’t want you to overhear?” he shouted.
Oooh. It hadn’t. I had gone for the worst possible scenario and ran with it. I felt ashamed now. A tear trailed down my cheek. His eyes softened. I gave a small sob. He reached out with one hand and wiped the tear away, shaking his head at me. “You stupid woman, I love you” he murmured “I can’t believe you thought I would look at anybody else but the mother of my child.”
He embraced me, holding me tight as I fought back the flood of tears. “I was feeling insecure,” I said with a cracked voice “And I assumed the worst” I hiccuped.
“Next time just talk it out with me,” he said with a sigh.
I nodded, my head burrowed into his chest, feeling foolish. He stroked my hair. “I guess I can’t blame you, I have been a little detached the last few days” he murmured regretfully “I guess we both have to learn to communicate better.”
He was just being kind. I sniffled and snuggled into his embrace deeper. I mustered up the courage to ask the question that had been hovering on my lips.
“Rohan, who’s Lauren?”
He laughed “She’s my cousin of course.”
I gulped. I had well and truly f****d up. No wonder Rohan found this amusing.