Chapter 143 The Class

Eira’s phone buzzed with Finn’s text first thing in the morning.

Beneath the polished apology, it was an invite to dinner.

Hale Group, one of his backers, had caused a stir at the last bidding event. Now he wanted to smooth things over.

Dinner? What for? Alpha Sebastian and Serena had already dug their own grave. Hale Group didn’t owe her an apology.

Besides, she had somewhere to be.

Eira texted back: I already have plans.

Finn stared at his phone, thoroughly deflated. He wanted to know what those plans were. More than that, he wanted to know where she was going.

So he started asking around.

Finn got rejected. Alpha Sebastian got the good news.

Eira had turned Finn down and was heading to her fertility class instead. Alpha Sebastian smiled when he saw the update.

Angry or not, she was still attending the classes he had signed her up for.

Too bad the Porsche wasn’t ready yet.

Otherwise, he would have driven over to pick her up and handed her the keys himself. He could still give them to her now and deal with the repairs later.

Alpha Sebastian dressed with unusual care before leaving. The champagne roses he had ordered arrived right on schedule.

He took the bouquet and headed downstairs.

The moment he stepped into the lobby, he ran straight into Serena.

"Sebastian? Where are you off to?" Serena’s eyes dropped to the roses. Her grip on her purse tightened.

He was caught off guard. "What are you doing here?"

"We haven’t seen each other in days." She didn’t bother hiding it. "I missed you. So I came."

His first reaction wasn’t happiness. It was a frown."Serena, I’ve got something to take care of today. I’ll come find you tomorrow."

He moved to step past her, but she caught his hand and cut straight to it. "You’re going to see Eira, aren’t you?"

He didn’t see the point in lying. He nodded.

"Eira won’t even see you. I came to you, and you’d rather run off to her?" Her eyes brimmed with wounded reproach.

Alpha Sebastian couldn’t quite meet her gaze. He looked away.

"She’s my mate," Alpha Sebastian said.

That line again.

Serena couldn’t take it anymore. "You’re mates in name only! You’ve never even touched her. What kind of mate is that?"

Four years of never touching Eira had once made Alpha Sebastian feel like a devoted man. Now the thought brought nothing but regret—and a fresh sting of guilt.

"Serena, whatever this is, it can wait.If I don’t go smooth things over with Eira, a summons from the court is going to land on both our doorsteps."

Serena froze.

In the heat of the moment, she’d forgotten all about that.

Eira wasn’t stupid. She’d known about them the very day it broke. She’d move on it, no question.

Serena’s hand fell away from his.

He was right to go. She couldn’t let a fit of jealousy cost her her reputation.

"Where are you meeting her?"

"She has a class today."

"What class? Did she finally get accepted for tenure? Which university is it?" Serena’s face tightened, doubtful and irritated.

"Fertility class," Alpha Sebastian said.

Serena’s stomach dropped.

"Fertility classes?"

That was worse than tenure.

Alpha Sebastian wasn’t just supporting Eira’s career anymore.

He was planning for a future with her.

A family.

Pups.

Serena’s nails dug into her palm.

So where did that leave her?

She had spent so long believing Eira was temporary. That sooner or later, Alpha Sebastian would get tired of her and come back to the woman who actually belonged beside him.

But now?

Now Alpha Sebastian was thinking about children with Eira.

Before Serena could process the blow, Alpha Sebastian was already walking away, his pace brisk and his expression unreadable. He didn’t spare her another glance, as if their conversation had been nothing more than a few polite words exchanged with a stranger.

Her chest tightened.

Serena grabbed her purse and followed.

--

At the front desk, the receptionist recognized him instantly. "Mr. Hale, here to pick up Mrs. Hale again?"

"Mm." He smiled. "She’s about done, isn’t she?"

"Any minute now." The receptionist couldn’t stop gushing. "Mrs. Hale never comes in late or leaves early. She’s so focused in class. Takes notes on everything.She’s clearly serious about starting a family."

The knot of anxiety that had been sitting in Alpha Sebastian’s chest for days finally began to loosen.

"Thank you. She’s always been like that. Thorough about everything."

The receptionist smiled and headed toward the classroom, ready to let Mrs. Hale know her devoted husband was waiting for her again.

Rachel intercepted her in the hallway.

"I’ve got it from here," Rachel said casually. "You can head back to the desk."

"Sure."

The receptionist turned and walked back.

Rachel waited until she was out of earshot, then pulled out her phone and called Eira.

"Mr. Hale’s here again. Want me to keep him busy?"

"No need. Don’t bother covering for him."

"He’ll ask what to do."

"Just tell him the truth."

The call ended.

Rachel walked back to the front desk.

"Mrs. Hale," the receptionist said with a smile.

Alpha Sebastian looked over.

He recognized Rachel immediately. She had been the one who handed him the pads the last time he came to pick Eira up.

His smile faded."Wait. What did you just call her?"

"Mrs. Hale?"

Rachel gave him a polite look."I’m not Mrs. Hale. Nice to meet you, Mr. Hale."

The receptionist stared at her."But you’re the one who’s been taking the class."

Alpha Sebastian went still."You’ve been taking the classes?"

Rachel nodded."Every single one."

His eyes narrowed. "Then where is Eira? When did she arrange for you to take her place?"

"From the beginning." Rachel shrugged. "She didn’t want to attend, so she transferred her spot to me."

The receptionist looked horrified.

Alpha Sebastian said coldly."Then last time, she lied to me?"

Rachel looked at the roses in his arms."If she didn’t want to take the class, why would she need someone to cover for her?"

Alpha Sebastian’s jaw tightened."Why would she do that?"

Rachel gave him a flat look."Maybe because you cheated on her."

The receptionist’s eyes widened.She suddenly became very interested in anything that wasn’t happening in front of her.

"You cheated on your wife and still expected her to prepare for a baby with you?"Rachel shook her head."That’s pretty damn selfish, Mr. Hale."

Then she walked away.

Alpha Sebastian stood rooted to the spot.

Eira had never attended the fertility class.

Not once.

She had known about Serena long before the bidding disaster. She had never believed his "we’re just friends" excuse.

Instead, she had played along and let him think she was still preparing for the family he wanted.

She had been keeping the truth from him for more than a month.

Why?

And why had she gone to such lengths to deceive him?