Return of The Alpha Heiress Chapter 49: Clarissa – The Only Warm in Winter

I was already in my room, curled up under the blanket.

My mind had returned to normal, as if the heat-like symptoms earlier had never happened.

That made suspicious.

Could it be that he was truly my fated mate? Or did everyone react like that after kissing?

The latter didn’t seem likely. I was only guessing because I had never kissed anyone other than Richard.

His words ca back to again, about that intentional kiss, and my face heated up. There was no way he liked , right?

After all, I was just a child who had been found after seventeen years. Adrian and Shannon were already engaged. There couldn’t possibly be anything between Richard and .

"What kind of relationship am I even thinking about?!" I covered my face in embarrassnt.

"Richard must have misunderstood. That strange feeling during the kiss, he probably mistook it for affection. Or maybe he mistook gratitude for liking because I healed his eyes."

I nodded to myself, satisfied with my own explanation.

Not long after, sleep overtook . My exhausted body and mind drifted into dreams.

...

Winter arrived, just like the cold attitude I showed everyone in this house, including Luna Eileen.

"Yesterday you called ’Mother’. Why did you change how you address today?" she asked, her eyes glistening.

I was tired of forgiving her every ti she showed a sad expression. She never changed anyway.

For the first ti, I spoke without thinking. "Yesterday, I was fooled into believing sweet promises. Protecting ? Leaving behind to go out for dinner, is that protection?"

"Clar, at that ti—"

I couldn’t listen any longer. I wanted to cut ties imdiately, but I knew all my docunts were still under the Green family. Only when I turned eighteen could I make my own choices. Until then, I would endure everything.

Not only , Darren was cold too. He still talked to , but no longer with the tone of a kind older brother.

"Clarissa, don’t make Mother sad. Can’t you go one day without causing trouble?"

I replied sarcastically, "Isn’t this happening because there’s an older brother who failed to teach his sibling properly?"

He choked on his coffee.

As for Edwin, the person I once felt closest to in this house, he openly insulted and treated harshly.

"Can this thief learn her place and stop ruining the view?!" He brushed past , deliberately bumping my shoulder.

A man whose inner wolf had awakened crashing into an oga like , who had none. I stumbled backward instantly.

And he smiled mockingly.

The younger brother I once cherished now saw as his greatest enemy.

Edwin’s change was the most drastic, but the reason was obvious. At his core, Edwin was just a child who grew up with privilege and never understood hardship.

After being tricked by Tessa just once, he hated her for years.

Every punishnt for creating ilegal devices felt like entertainnt to him. At ho, no one ever scolded him. Everyone was used to excusing his ’childishness’ at sixteen.

And when he disliked soone, he would retaliate many tis over, humiliating them until they fell completely.

Back then, I thought Edwin was adorable for his free spirit. I didn’t realize that very recklessness was the most dangerous thing about him.

In this house, only Shannon could still talk to normally. Even though she resembled Luna Eileen in so ways, Shannon never made false promises. And she wasn’t my blood sibling.

Sotis, strangers were the least problematic people.

At school, since my relationship with Tessa and her friends hadn’t improved, I spent most of my ti in Richard’s workshop.

Richard was...

"Why are you spacing out?"

Sothing warm and furry touched my ear. Richard had put earmuffs on .

"What is this?" I asked, touching them.

"What else? Just wear them. Werewolves whose inner wolves have awakened don’t feel the cold much anymore. Maybe soone in your house forgot to buy earmuffs," he said casually.

He was right. Luna Eileen hadn’t bought any. She either forgot that one of her children hadn’t awakened yet, or she forgot about altogether.

Only Richard cared.

The only warmth I had in this cold season.

Richard walked to the cupboard, which used to be empty but was now filled with snacks and various drinks. He had started stocking it this winter.

"Chamomile or fennel?" he asked.

"Chamomile," I replied.

That cupboard was clearly filled for . Tea suitable for ogas, healthy snacks for teenagers who hadn’t awakened yet, and juice to help calm the mind after heat.

"Richard, that cupboard is supposed to store device materials, not food," I said uneasily.

"Who cares," he replied lightly.

He approached and served chamomile tea with banana chocolate cake.

But he wasn’t done. He sat beside and carefully cut the cake into small pieces.

"All done," he said in his deep voice. Anyone who only heard his voice might think he had just completed a groundbreaking device.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or give up.

Seeing not respond, he scooped up a piece of cake and brought it toward my mouth.

"Eat."

I reflexively leaned back in surprise.

"I can do it myself."

He nodded with a smile.

Richard was being so open about his feelings that he felt like a completely different person.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" he asked, his eyes drooping like a puppy asking to be held.

"A little," I answered honestly.

He imdiately straightened up and put a ter of distance between us. "Then forget what I just did," he said calmly.

"Hahaha!" I laughed at his reaction.

When I looked at him again, he was smiling gently. His red eyes, usually intimidating, looked soft now.

I stood up and moved to the chair in front of the worktable. Seeing it reminded of the shifter’s aide that failed to be produced.

I let out a heavy sigh.

From behind , Richard spoke. "Do you still want to produce your device?"

Without turning around, I nodded. "If only there were another company willing to accept it."

"I can help you find a suitable company," Richard replied imdiately.

...