Chapter 60 Eira Snaps

Alpha Sebastian stared at his phone.

She had hung up on him.

When had she started doing that?

He grabbed his coat and left the office. On his way to the elevator, he sent Eira a list of what he wanted for dinner.

After several days of takeout and office catering, he was looking forward to a proper meal at home.

Eira did not read the message. She called Isabella instead.

The first call was declined.

So was the second.

Isabella finally answered on the third try.

"Wow. Luna Eira called me first. Should I feel honored?"

"You took one of my packages."

"So what if I did?"

Isabella did not even try to deny it.

"That children’s home sends you boxes of cheap junk every year, and then you pass the stuff around like we’re supposed to be grateful. We don’t want it."

Eira’s grip tightened around the phone. "Where is the box?"

"With me."

"Then bring it back."

Isabella laughed. "Why? So you can hand out stale snacks and ugly little crafts again?"

A cold feeling settled in Eira’s chest. "What do you mean, again?"

Isabella went quiet for a second. Then she gave a careless sigh.

"Come on, Eira. Did you really think we kept all that stuff every year? Most of it went straight into the trash before Sebastian saw it."

Eira stopped breathing. "The letters too?"

"What else were we supposed to do with them?"

"You could have given them back to me. "Her voice remained steady, but it took everything she had to keep it that way.

Years of letters. Drawings made by small hands. Gifts the children had spent hours making for her.

All gone.

"Return the box you took today," Eira said.

"You want it?" Isabella’s voice turned playful. "Come get it yourself."

"Where are you?"

"I’m busy. I’ll tell you when I have time."

"Isabella."

"And don’t complain to Sebastian. If you do, I’ll tear up every letter and drawing in the box."

So she had already opened it.

Eira forced herself to breathe slowly. "What do you want?"

"I want you out of my brother’s life."

"Then talk to Sebastian. He’s the one refusing to let go."

Isabella scoffed. "He obviously loves Serena. I don’t understand why he won’t divorce you."

"Neither do I."

"Maybe because you keep making him feel sorry for you."

Eira ignored the insult. "You took a package addressed to me. Return it today."

"Or what?"

"Or I report it stolen."

Isabella gave a short laugh, but a hint of unease entered her voice. "You wouldn’t call the police over a box of trash."

"It isn’t trash. It belongs to me."

"You’re seriously threatening me?"

"No. I’m telling you what happens next."

Isabella fell silent. Then her anger returned.

"I don’t have time for this. You’ll get it back when I decide you can have it."

Isabella ended the call.

Eira immediately sent Isabella a text.

[Don’t touch anything in that box. If even one letter is damaged, I’ll freeze your study-abroad fund.]

Isabella’s reply came almost at once.

[WHY DON’T YOU JUST DROP DEAD, EIRA?]

Another message followed.

[I KNEW YOU WERE CONTROLLING MY BROTHER’S MONEY. YOU’VE BEEN TRYING TO RUIN MY LIFE THIS WHOLE TIME!]

Then came a third.

[I’m not touching that disgusting box anyway. Who knows what kind of germs are on it?]

Eira gave a cold smile.

Isabella could believe whatever she wanted. The only thing that mattered was keeping the children’s gifts safe.

Eira looked at the open packages around the entryway. She could not leave them there, and she certainly could not take them back to the Thorne estate.

She decided to move everything to the small house she owned. It had been empty for some time, but at least no one in the Hale family could touch her things there.

Eira packed the food and gifts into several large bags. She planned to take a cab, but she had barely dragged everything into the hall when the elevator doors opened.

Alpha Sebastian stepped out.

They passed each other near the doorway.

Eira was still wearing Professor Davies’s oversized black blazer. A baseball cap covered most of her hair, and a mask hid the lower half of her face.

Alpha Sebastian walked past without recognizing her.

Then he stopped.

Something about the woman in the hall felt familiar.

"Eira?"

She paused. That brief hesitation gave her away.

Alpha Sebastian turned and walked back toward her. He pulled off her cap before she could stop him, then reached for her mask.

Eira stepped back and removed it herself.

"What are you wearing?" His gaze settled on the oversized blazer. "Whose is that?"

"A colleague’s."

"What colleague?"

"A professor you don’t know."

Alpha Sebastian studied her face, but her expression gave him nothing.

Then he noticed the bags in her hands. The handles had left red marks across her palms.

"You’ve been gone for days. Did all this pile up while you were away?"

Eira’s eyes cooled.

Isabella had called the packages disgusting. Now Alpha Sebastian was treating them like clutter.

She adjusted her grip and walked past him.

Alpha Sebastian reached for one of the bags.

"I’ll take them to the trash room. Did you buy groceries? What are you making for dinner?"

Eira moved the bag out of his reach.

"These aren’t trash. They’re care packages from Miss Gwen and the children."

Alpha Sebastian paused.

"And I’m keeping them this year," she continued. "That way, your family won’t have to throw them out behind my back."

His expression changed. "What are you talking about?"

"Isabella admitted it. She said your family has been throwing away the packages for years. The food, the letters, and the children’s drawings."

Alpha Sebastian frowned. "I knew my parents didn’t like some of the food, but I didn’t know they threw away the children’s things."

"Of course you didn’t."

Her answer was quiet, but the bitterness in it was clear.

Eira picked up the last bag.

"I’m leaving."

"You just got here." Alpha Sebastian caught her arm. "Where are you going?"

"That’s none of your business."

"I left work early so we could have dinner. Are you seriously leaving again?"

"I never asked you to come home."

His face hardened. "Do you care about this home at all?"

Eira turned to him. "I should be asking you that."

"If I didn’t care, why would I leave work and come straight here?"

"Because you’re tired of takeout."

Alpha Sebastian stared at her.

Eira’s voice remained calm. "You missed having someone cook for you, clean up after you, and keep the house running. That isn’t the same as missing me."

"That’s not true."

"Isn’t it?" Her eyes held his.

"You got bored with what you had at home, so you went looking for something more exciting. Now you want to come back because home is familiar and convenient."

Alpha Sebastian’s jaw tightened. "You’re reading too much into this. I like your cooking. I’m used to it."

Eira let out a short, bitter laugh.

Used to it.

That explained everything.

Her food suited him. Her silence suited him. Her willingness to manage his life suited him.

He did not love her. He simply liked the role she filled.

"And I haven’t been avoiding this place," Alpha Sebastian added. "You’re the one who disappeared. Do you even know how many days you’ve been gone?"

"How many?"

He opened his mouth, then stopped.

"I’ve been busy. I don’t keep track of every day."

"Exactly." Eira pulled her arm free and reached for the bags.

Alpha Sebastian blocked her path. "You’re not leaving tonight."

"You have a husband and a home. You can’t keep walking away whenever you’re upset."