Chapter 33 Cleaning Up His Mess

Eira reached the apartment building as movers carried the last of Serena’s belongings through the lobby.

Designer boxes crowded two luggage carts. Garment bags, framed artwork, and enough suitcases for a year abroad filled the entrance.

Serena stood near the elevators in four-inch heels, directing traffic.

"Careful with that," she told a mover. "That bag costs more than your truck."

The mover’s jaw tightened, but he kept going.

Then Serena spotted Eira.

"I wasn’t expecting you tonight."

"I’m here to grab something."

Serena glanced at the mountain of boxes and sighed. "Sorry about the chaos. Alpha Sebastian bought me so much that moving everything into the penthouse has taken all day."

Eira looked over the designer luggage. "Donate half of it."

Serena laughed. "Champagne problems."

"Still sounds like a problem."

Her smile tightened.

"You really don’t care that Alpha Sebastian bought all this for me?"

"You got a penthouse, a moving crew, and half of Neiman Marcus." Eira met her eyes. "If you still need my jealousy to enjoy it, he should’ve saved his money."

Color rose in Serena’s cheeks.

"He loves me."

"Then go enjoy the penthouse. Why are you still here pitching it to me?"

"Because you’re still in the way."

Eira pressed the elevator button. "Am I?"

Serena stepped closer. "If he loves me, then I’m not the other woman. You are."

There it was — cheating dressed up as destiny.

Eira stepped into the elevator.

"That might work better if he weren’t still hiding you from his wife."

"Sebastian is going to divorce you."

"Great." Eira faced her as the doors began to close. "Tell him to stop talking and file."

The doors slid shut before Serena could answer.

--

Eira unlocked the apartment with her fingerprint.

The moment she stepped inside, stale takeout and Serena’s perfume hit her at once.

The place looked like the aftermath of a fraternity weekend. A jacket hung over the back of the couch. Empty containers covered the coffee table. A sock lay beside the television. Another had somehow ended up near the kitchen island.

For four years, Eira had cleaned every mess before Alpha Sebastian noticed it existed.

Without her, the whole apartment had fallen apart in less than a week.

She almost picked up the jacket.

Habit pulled at her fingers.

Eira stopped herself.

Not her jacket. Not her mess. Not her problem.

The welcome packet had been delivered to the building’s front desk, but the concierge needed Alpha Sebastian to approve sending it upstairs. Until he returned, Eira had time to collect a few personal things.

She went to the walk-in closet and opened an empty overnight bag.

A few sweaters. Two pairs of jeans. Her spare laptop charger. The framed photograph of her and Beatrice from graduate school.

Nothing Alpha Sebastian would notice right away.

He thought the family-planning classes would bring her home. For now, she wanted him to keep believing that.

People got careless when they thought they were winning.

The front door opened twenty minutes later.

"Eira?" Alpha Sebastian sounded surprised. Then pleased.

He found her in the walk-in closet, folding a sweater into her overnight bag. "You came home."

"I came for the class packet."

His smile dimmed. "Right."

His gaze dropped to the open bag. "What are you doing?"

"Packing a few things to take with me."

Before he could press her, his attention shifted to the suit draped over a nearby chair—the one that had been delivered to his office.

"That needs to be steamed before the expo."

"The steamer is in the laundry room."

"You always take care of my suits," he said.

"Then this is a great time for you to learn."

"Eira."

"Sebastian." She matched his warning tone so perfectly that his eyes narrowed.

For years, one look from him had been enough to make her drop whatever she was doing and take care of him. Apparently, he had not noticed that those days were over.

He snatched up the suit. "Fine. I’ll do it."

"I believe in you." She turned back to her bag.

Alpha Sebastian walked into the bedroom, muttering under his breath. A moment later, he called, "The sheets need to be changed."

"Then change them."

Silence followed.

Eira stepped out of the closet.

Alpha Sebastian stood beside the bed with the comforter pulled back, staring at a faint stain on the fitted sheet.

A trace of Serena’s perfume lingered beneath the detergent and stale air. So faint that Eira might have missed it if she had not been looking for it.

Alpha Sebastian saw her in the doorway and jerked the comforter back over the bed.

Too late.

"Problem?" Eira asked.

"No." His answer came too quickly. "I was about to wash the sheets."

"Look at you, taking initiative."

His eyes searched her face, trying to decide how much she had noticed.

Eira gave him nothing. Let him sweat.

Alpha Sebastian stripped the bed and carried the sheets toward the laundry room.

As he passed her, Eira glanced around the apartment. "You might want to deal with the rest of this place while you’re at it."

He stopped. "You’re not going to help?"

"I didn’t make the mess."

"This is still our home."

"Then you should know how to maintain it."

"You’ve been gone all week," he said instead. "Of course things piled up."

"You run a tech company, Sebastian. I’m sure you can outsmart a washing machine."

"I’ve been busy."

"So have I."

That left him with nowhere to go.

He carried the sheets away without another word.

Eira returned to the closet and continued packing while Alpha Sebastian cleaned.

The vacuum started in the living room. Cabinet doors opened and shut. Dishes clattered into the sink.

Then everything went quiet.

Eira paused with a sweater in her hands.

In the living room, Alpha Sebastian had found a tube of deep-red lipstick wedged between the couch cushions.

Eira did not own anything in that shade.

He glanced toward the hallway, then slipped it into his pocket.

A few minutes later, while gathering clothes from the bedroom floor, he spotted a scrap of black lace beneath the bed.

Serena’s underwear.

His face lost all color. He shoved it into his other pocket and checked the floor again, this time on his hands and knees.

Eira watched from the closet doorway.

"Lose something?"

Alpha Sebastian’s head snapped up.

"A cuff link."

After that, Alpha Sebastian cleaned like he was erasing a crime scene. He checked beneath the furniture, emptied the trash, and wiped down every surface Serena might have touched.

The intercom buzzed just as he finished.

Alpha Sebastian straightened, breathing harder than a man should after changing a set of sheets.

The concierge’s voice came through the speaker.

"Mr. Hale, the welcome packet from the family-planning program is downstairs. Would you like us to send it up?"

"Yes."

A building attendant delivered one large envelope a few minutes later. Inside were four course guides, a transfer form, and four access badges.

Alpha Sebastian handed them to Eira.

"What do you think?"

"It’s thorough."

That was all he was getting.

He studied her face, clearly waiting for gratitude. Maybe even tears.

Eira slipped the entire packet into her bag.

"We can talk about which room to use for a nursery this weekend," he said. "There’s no rush, but it’s good to start planning."

There it was. Another carefully measured piece of a future he never intended to give her.

"Sure," Eira said.

Alpha Sebastian relaxed.

He thought she had taken the bait.

Eira took out her phone and sent Lila a single taco emoji. Their signal. She was ready to leave.

Less than ten seconds later, the phone rang.

Eira looked at the screen.

It was not Lila.