Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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But I surprised her. I really was just… not her.
“You know,” I said as we stepped out of the shop, both of us slipping on a pair of ridiculous matching sunglasses we absolutely didn’t need, “maybe losing my memory really was the best thing that ever happened to me p>
Rae snorted, adjusting hers dramatically. “Great, now you’re gonna go around headbutting walls just to reset your personality.” 1
I laughed. “No promises.” I nudged a rock with my shoe, watching it skip along the cobblestone path. “But seriously… from what everyone keeps saying about who I used to be, she sounds like a mess. Like some clingy, dramatic girl with no self- respect. It’s weird, it feels like they’re talking about some old high school classmate, not me. I don’t even recognize her. Honestly, I don’t know how you stayed friends with someone like that p>
Rae took a deep breath, swinging her shopping bag as we walked. “Well, for what it’s worth, you remind me a lot more of the old you now, the real you. The you before Nolan. You were fiery, bold, a little reckless. But fun. Men, relationships-they can drain us, Ellie. They sneak in and start carving away at your energy, your confidence. Before you know it, you’re a stranger to yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong. You just wanted to be loved p>
I nodded, a strange lump forming in my throat. For the first time, someone had said something about who I used to be that didn’t make me feel pathetic.
Nolan’s POV
The papers crinkled between my fingers as I stared down at the two test results on my desk, one clean and freshly printed, the other warped by a coffee stain that hadn’t fully dried. Both bore Ellie’s name. Both claimed to know what was going on inside her body. But they couldn’t both be right.
My jaw tensed.
Across from me, the Healer stood stiff as a fence post, shifting nervously with his clipboard clutched to his chest. His white coat looked more wrinkled than usual, and there was sweat gathering at his temples.
“These results don’t match,” I said flatly, lifting the coffee-stained one in one hand and the crisp, clean version in the other. I shook them both, as if maybe one would admit to being false if I just rattled them hard enough.
The Healer opened his mouth, then closed it again. Finally, he said, “Alpha, the earlier result, the stained one, that was the accurate one. I ran the tests myself. She’s pregnant. I swear it p>
I narrowed my eyes. “Then what the hell is this?” I slapped the clean test down onto the desk. The edges curled slightly as it hit the polished wood.
He winced. “That-I don’t know. Someone must’ve switched them out before they reached you. I left the originals in a folder at the front desk. Anyone could’ve tampered with them p>
A slow, furious heat crept up the back of my neck.
I pushed out of my chair, crossing the room in two strides. The Healer backed up instinctively, pressing himself against the wall.
“So, let me get this straight,” I said, my voice low, tight. “You’re telling me my wife p>
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Chapter 15
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“Ex-wife-soon-to-be,” he corrected too quickly.
I glared.
“-my wife is pregnant, and you were careless enough to let someone swap out the evidence p>
He swallowed. “I didn’t think p>
“Clearly p>
I turned away from him, running a hand through my hair. The office felt too small all of a sudden. My thoughts spiraled. Ellie. Pregnant. With my child. That made no sense. She couldn’t even have children. That’s what I’d been told, what I’d believed. That was the entire basis of this mess-the reason I’d even considered divorce, the reason Felicity was p>
I gritted my teeth. My wolf stirred uneasily.
She’s lying p>
I muttered.
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