Chapter 104
Claire’s POV
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Leo and I sat down to breakfast. Leo sat at the farthest end of the table he could get away from Daphne. I sat on the inside of him, trying to give him comfort while blocking Daphne’s view of him.
The tension was thick. Leo stared hard at his plate like he was hoping Daphne and Justin would just disappear.
Things only got worse when Gideon arrived. Sighing, he took his usual place at the head of the table. Justin openly glared at him. Daphne just smiled.
She’d been doing that a lot lately, acting like she had won some kind of prize. I supposed she had. In finding her fated mate with Justin, she had escaped her own prosecution, and now she was treated like the princess she had always wanted to be.
I didn’t know why she couldn’t just revel in her good fortune and leave the rest of us alone. Maybe that was just one more reason to let her have Darius and be done with it.
But the question remained. Even if she was given her father back would she finally leave us in peace? Or would she only keep coming back wanting more and more?
The servants brought out some food for the rest of us. Justin and Daphne were finishing up, but since we arrived, I noticed Daphne was eating slower, like she didn’t want to finish too soon. Maybe that was simply my paranoia talking. I’d been uneasy since she had reappeared in all of our lives once again.
“Have you changed your mind?” Justin asked. It was clear he was talking to Gideon.
“No,” Gideon replied.
“He needs more time,” Daphne said. She glanced at me. “The real question is why he allows ‘the help‘ to sit and eat at the same table as him. Raven, the help eats in the kitchen. You once again dream above your station by sitting with us like an equal.”
I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to make things worse, even though internally, I was raging. This wasn’t her table or her house anymore. This wasn’t even her pack. She did not get to dictate who ate what where.
Yet, she was right about one thing. She was an honored guest, and I was not someone who could speak out of turn without starting a fight that could lead to war.
Maybe that was why Gideon also remained quiet. Though, his silence cut into me more than I wanted to admit.
He was never the type of man who would have defended me. I didn’t know why I hoped for it in this case.
His silence stretched, and my heart ached.
Leo however frowned deeply.
“I think you should leave,” Daphne said to me.
“No!” Leo shouted suddenly, claiming the attention of everyone at the table, even Justin and Gideon who both had seemed to be trying to ignore everything around them. “You can’t talk to her like that.”
“It’s alright, Leo,” I said gently, not wanting to get him into trouble.
“It’s not,” Leo replied. “You are my bodyguard but also my friend I want you here so you get to stay here. She doesn’t get to decide anything anymore.”
Though Gideon remained silent, he did look at his son with sudden pride in his eyes.
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Chapter 104
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I was proud too, and filled with love. My boy was so brave, and for him to speak up for me like this showed that he cared about me, even if he had been treating me distantly.
“Are you going to let him talk to me like that?” Daphne snapped at Gideon.
Gideon glanced back coolly. “The boy has his own mind.”
“No one here knows any respect,” Justin told Daphne. “You shouldn’t be surprised that the boy doesn’t show any either.”
I glared at him, but he ignored the lot of us.
The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Justin and Daphne left first. Then Gideon, after ruffling Leo’s hair.
When Leo and I were alone, Leo sheepishly looked away from me.
“I’m sorry I’ve been mean to you,” he said. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“It’s okay,” I said.
“No,” Leo said. “I don’t care who you date. I just… I’m sorry.”
“Leo, I’m not dating Ivan,” I said. “Nova told me that was what you were worried about, but I swear it’s not true.”
He looked up at me finally, but his gaze was still guarded. “No?”
“No,” I said. “We are just friends.”
“Good friends?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
Leo tried to give me a smile but it seemed like he was still holding back. Like he didn’t believe me.
Would Gideon believe me if I told him? Or would he have the same cautious reaction as Leo?
For better or for worse, Gideon stayed on my mind throughout the rest of the day. I thought about my desire to help him and decided it was something I needed to do, not just for his sake, but for Leo’s.
I wanted Leo to be under my care, but I knew how much he loved his father. To see Gideon broken would do irreparable harm to my son.
Maybe if I…
A wild thought filled. For so long, I had hidden my true identity, but perhaps, if I were to reveal the truth to Gideon, we could combine forces to weather this crisis. But… given our past history and how quickly our time together had gone downhill, I wasn’t eager to reveal my identity without first knowing how it would be received.
Maybe this was a foolish effort, especially given how cold Gideon had been to me lately. But, for his sake and for Leo’s, I felt I had to try.
In the evening, I asked Peter to watch the kids as I made my way down to Gideon’s office. The light was on. He’d been working late most nights. When I walked in, I wasn’t surprised to find him sitting behind his desk, his eyes downcast on the mountain of paperwork in front of him.
“Excuse me, Alpha,” I said. “I was hoping I could speak with you about something, if you have a moment.”
He sighed as he turned a page. I could tell he wanted to reject me, and I thought about leaving just based on feeling alone.
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Chapter 104
But no, this was important.
The revelation of my identity could change everything. I didn’t want to be the coward who didn’t even try.
He looked up at me, and then nodded. “Very well. What is this about, Raven?”
“Well… I was hoping we could talk about… uh… Well… About Claire.”
His reaction was immediate. His face hardened as his frown deepened. His eyes froze over into twin blizzards.
“No,” he said firmly, and I shivered from the sheer cold behind the word. “We will not now, nor ever, talk about Claire.”
I swallowed down the hurt.
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“You should focus on your own life, Raven. You are with Ivan, are you not? What does Claire matter to you?” He lowered his gaze, dismissing me. “Do not ask me such personal questions again. You overstep and disrespect us both, as well as Ivan.”
I bit back any cutting remark that came to my tongue.
Who had more of a right to talk about Claire than me?
But I couldn’t tell him that without revealing too much, and from his reaction – from the frigid coldness he showed at the mere mention of my name – I decided right then and there.
I would never reveal my true identity to him.
