Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother Chapter 160: Conflicted

~María José’s Point Of View~

Even I wasn’t sure where the confidence ca from when I pushed Camilla. I just did. It was sothing about that dream I had.

It felt like it had left an impact on . I almost felt... different. Stronger.

The sharp crack of my palm against Camilla’s cheek echoed louder than I expected. For a mont, everything stopped.

Camilla’s head snapped to the side, and her breath ceased. She stood there, completely still, as if her mind hadn’t caught up with what had just happened.

Then, the silence broke like it was never there.

"¡¿ PEGASTE?!" she screeched, clutching her cheek. Her voice was so shrill it made my own ears ring.

The maids gasped. Soone choked on their own spit. Rosa, who had just entered the room, her eyes darting between us.

I felt my heart slam against my ribs. The rush of adrenaline that had fueled only seconds ago fizzled out as reality set in.

Oh.

Oh, no.

I had actually hit Camilla.

My fingers tingled where they had touched her skin. It was a phantom sensation that made my stomach churn.

What did I just do?

Camilla’s face twisted in fury. She sucked in a dramatic breath, her eyes already glistening with crocodile tears. "¡PAPÁ! DILE ALGO!" she wailed, throwing herself in his direction. "SHE HIT ! MARÍA JOSÉ HIT !"

I didn’t wait for his response. I turned on my heel and ran.

I heard the shocked gasps behind , Camilla’s escalating sobs, but I didn’t stop. My heart pounded in my chest as I rushed down the hall, my breath coming fast.

What was that? What had I just done?

It must be the dream.

The dream. That horrible dream.

Sothing about it still clung to , like cold fingers tracing down my spine. It felt as though I had brought a piece of it back with .

I reached my room and shoved the door open, stepping inside. Without thinking, I turned the lock behind .

Click.

Only then did I let out the breath I was holding.

Outside, I could still hear Camilla’s shrieking. The whole house was probably in an uproar, but right now, I couldn’t bring myself to care.

I pressed a hand against my chest, feeling my heartbeat thunder beneath my skin.

Sothing was wrong with .

And I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what.

.

.

I had spent about an hour brooding on this before Mateo showed up.

And everything that followed? Completely unexpected.

At least now, I knew two things for sure:

One, he didn’t kill the pigs.

And two... he loved .

Mateo loves ?

What the hell?

It was so unbelievable that I almost laughed out loud. I had t him once. Once. Briefly. And yet, here he was, standing in front of , saying those words like they actually ant sothing.

What the heck was love to him?

I had stared at Mateo, waiting for him to take it back. To laugh and say he was joking.

But he didn’t.

His dark eyes were so nacing that I couldn’t quite place what was it about them. He wasn’t embarrassed. He wasn’t second-guessing himself. He had said it—he loved —and he ant it.

That only made it worse.

I had barely processed what had happened downstairs—what I had done... who I had been for that one reckless second when I slapped Camilla. And now this? Now Mateo was here, saying things that made my chest feel tight.

No.

I couldn’t deal with this.

And when he said all those things about Axel? It broke completely. Once again, he sounded so sure and this was completely unexpected.

I didn’t want to believe him without evidence.

His words had haunted ever since he said them—that Axel was not who I thought he was. That he would hurt . That he wasn’t my salvation, no matter how much I wanted him to be.

I hadn’t believed him. I had refused to.

And now, as I sat there, trembling, my skin still burning from Mateo’s touch, I couldn’t help but wonder—had Mateo been right all along?

Because I had put my faith in Axel. I had defended him. I had looked Mateo in the eye and said the words that shattered everything: Axel would never do anything to hurt .

And that was when Mateo lost it.

Had I dood myself the mont I spoke those words?

I don’t rember how it started. Or maybe... I don’t want to.

I didn’t know anything anymore.

All I knew was that I said sothing I shouldn’t have. And then everything changed.

Mateo snapped. His eyes, his voice, his touch—everything about him beca sothing unrecognizable. Sothing terrifying.

I had always known from that very first encounter that there was sothing dangerous about him, sothing that lurked beneath the surface, but I had never imagined... this.

I could still feel the wall against my back, the weight of his presence pressing in on , the way his hands—No. I wouldn’t think about that. I can’t.

But my body rembered.

Every ti I closed my eyes, I was back there. The way my heart pounded, the way my breath caught in my throat, the way I pleaded—but it didn’t matter. Nothing I said mattered.

Because, at that mont, I wasn’t María José. I wasn’t a person. I was sothing to be owned. Controlled. Claid.

It should’ve never happened. It should’ve never happened.

And yet, here I was, sitting in the aftermath, my hands still trembling, my skin still burning where he touched .

The worst part?

A part of still didn’t believe it. Like it was a nightmare I hadn’t woken up from. Like if I just pretended hard enough, I could scrub his voice out of my ears, his touch off my skin, the weight of him out of my mind.

But I couldn’t.

Because I know... no matter how much I tried to shake the mory, no matter how much I tried to pretend I was still the sa, I would never be the sa again.