Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder Chapter 94: They Lived Happily Ever After

Later that afternoon, I was sitting in the nursery, finishing up the baby blanket I’d been working on, when I heard a bit of a commotion outside.

Even though it sounded like it was coming from the garden out by the living room, I could hear it in the back of the cottage, in the nursery. But then, the cottage wasn’t that big.

My first thought was that Ethan had co to see , and Soren and his guards had showed up and caught him. My heart began to pound in my chest at the idea.

I pushed up from my chair, laying the blanket carefully aside, and headed into the other room to investigate.

When I reached the living room, I saw Lola and Seraphine looking out the window. There were a lot of people in the yard, though I couldn’t tell exactly what they were doing.

Seraphine turned and looked at . “Mr. Soren called a bit earlier,” she explained. “He said to tell you he was sorry for all of the noise, but the flower bushes he had ordered ca in, and he asked the gardeners to co and put them in right away.”

“Flower bushes?” I repeated.

Then I rembered the other night when he’d made those comnts about how badly it stunk out in the garden, when Ethan had been there the first ti. Soren had said that we needed more flowers in the garden.

I didn’t think he was serious, but clearly, he was.

“Do you want to go outside and sit on the porch to watch them put them in?” Seraphine asked. “We could get so fresh air.”

“Sure,” I told her. “That sounds like a good idea.”

I hadn’t been outside all day because Soren told to stay inside, but it had to be safe with all of these n in the yard.

Out on the porch, we had a clear view of what the gardeners were doing. Several large bushes were sitting in pots, waiting for their holes to be dug so they could be dropped into the earth near the other bushes.

It wasn’t necessary at all, but they were beautiful, and I didn’t mind.

They were not going to help with the sll if Ethan kept coming back, though.

“Would you like to sit for a little while?” Seraphine asked, gesturing to the wide porch steps.

“Sure,” I said. “You might have to help up, though.”

We both giggled, and I lowered myself down onto the top step of the porch, and Seraphine sat next to .

I wanted to bring up what I had been thinking about all day– my dilemma. Seraphine always had such good advice, and I thought she could help decide whether I had been too quick to let Ethan back into my life... whether or not I was making the right decision.

When Ethan wasn’t here to influence the logical part of , and I just thought about his behavior in the past, I truly wondered whether we could even make this work.

“Is there sothing on your mind, Ro?” Seraphine asked . “You look lost in thought.”

“I was just thinking... you know a lot of the people on this island, right?”

She raised her eyebrows, obviously surprised at my question. “Yes, I know a lot of them.”

I nodded. “Do you happen to know anyone who... went on to be happy in their marriage... after the husband did sothing awful?”

Seraphine stared at my face for a really long ti before she asked, “Are you thinking of going back to whoever it was that hurt you, Ro?”

I shook my head. “No, of course not,” I said, laughing a little like that was a really silly question. “It’s just... I was just thinking... you know... hypothetically. That’s all.”

She pursed her lips together and stared at for a second, and then said, “Oh, then, uh... honestly?”

I nodded. “Of course, please. Tell the truth.”

“Well, if I’m completely honest with you, Ro, I’ve never t anyone who’s been happy in their marriage after sothing bad happened between the couple.”

“Really?” I asked, not able to keep the disappointnt out of my voice, even though I tried to hide it. “No one?”

“No, no one, dear. I know plenty of people who have tried. There were the Normans, a couple who were married for about five years before the husband had an affair. When the wife found out, she was devastated. He said he was so sorry, and he’d never do it again. She believed him, and they tried again. But within six months, she caught him with his secretary in their own bedroom– the sa room where I’d help her deliver three children.”

“That’s terrible,” I said, thinking about poor Mrs. Norman.

Seraphine nodded. “And then there were the Wilsons. Mr. Wilson had a drinking problem, and he got angry and slapped his wife one ti. He apologized profusely, said he’d never drink again. That didn’t even last a week. He hit her again a few months later, only this ti, he hit her so hard, he broke her jaw. She ended up in the hospital. When she got ho, I tended to her for three weeks. She could hardly even swallow.”

I stared at her for a long mont. I knew what that was like, to be hit that hard.

“How horrible...”

Seraphine shook her head. “It was, but that wasn’t even the worst part.” She paused as if she didn’t want to talk about it to scare , but then finished, “After that, she had a miscarriage and lost her baby.”

Seraphine’s voice was filled with sorrow. My heart broke for Mrs. Wilson. I couldn’t imagine anything happening to my baby...

Seraphine sighed. “That’s the thing about most n, Ro. I would say... ninety-nine percent of them—they don’t change. Their nature is set the way that it is, and no matter what they say or promise that they are going to do, they simply cannot. The way that they are is so ingrained into their heads, they just can’t be any other way. Even if they really, really want to change.”

I listened closely to everything that she had to say.

Part of wanted to disagree with her and tell her she was wrong, that she didn’t know Ethan– or the man that I was referring to– but most of my mind knew that she was right.

Ethan had been the way that he was for so long. The chances that he could just change now were not very good.

My mind was clouded, and I was beginning to fill with so much negativity that I felt sick to my stomach.

My arms went around my midsection, instinctively covering my baby, like I always did when I was feeling apprehensive.

“Ro? Are you all right?” Seraphine asked, placing a hand on my arm. “You look troubled. That’s not good for the baby. Maybe we shouldn’t talk about anything else like this if it’s making you anxious. I don’t want to upset you.”

“I’m okay,” I said. “But are you sure... there’s not even one case of a man who changed his ways and beca kind to his wife after he realized he was about to lose her?”

Seraphine stared at for a mont.

Then she said, “You know, now that you ntion it... there is one story I can think of.”

Even hearing her say those few words made feel better. “Really? Can you tell that story? That might make feel better. I hate to think that the world is such a dark, sad place.”

“Of course,” she said with a smile. “One ti, there was a man nad... Sor—aby... Soraby, and he had done so things to his... wife... that weren’t so great.”

My forehead crinkled as I wondered if she was talking about Soren. Sor—aby?

But he hadn’t been married before—had he?

“What did he do?” I asked.

“Well, he had done so things behind her back, told so lies, been a little sneaky. Just a lot of underhanded things.”

“What was his wife’s na?” I asked.

“Her na was... Jo—sephine.”

I nodded, but I was beginning to wonder. Was Seraphine basing this story on Soren and ? We weren’t married, obviously, but that didn’t an this wasn’t a true story starring us.

Soren hadn’t done anything underhanded though. So maybe she was just having trouble changing the people’s real nas, and ours were what popped to mind.

“And what did Josephine think when she found out? ...Did she find out?”

“Of course, she found out. And she was angry, naturally. But Soraby was very apologetic and explained that he was just trying to take care of so... business... and Josephine finally understood and forgave him. They lived happily ever after together and raised many children, which I delivered. The couple grew old with one another, and died within a few weeks of each other.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her. “Did you just make that up?”

“No!” She seed slightly offended at first, but then she laughed. “I don’t know why you’d think that!”

I only shook my head. She hadn’t really made feel any better with this story because I was pretty sure she had made it up, but I did appreciate her trying.

I appreciated her.

“You’re such a good friend, Seraphine.”

“Do you feel better?” she asked , smiling. “I don’t want you thinking of anything bad or negative right now. It’s bad for the baby.”

“I do feel better, thank you,” I told her.

But I was still conflicted.

I had such good friends here, such a good life. And that was what made my predicant so difficult.

I felt like I was right back to where I had been before Ethan had spoken to the night before. Perhaps I had been too quick to accept his gift and say I would give him another chance.

Had I acted too impulsively? Had I let Ethan’s allegedly heartfelt apology cloud my judgnt?

“As much as I enjoy sitting with you, I do have more work to do,” Seraphine said, patting my knee.

“All right,” I said. “Thank you for humoring with your stories, though.”

“I’m worried about you, Ro. You’re asking such strange questions.”

“It’s just... the pregnancy,” I smiled. “You know that. All of these hormones. I’m so emotional these days. My mind is all over the place. I’ll be fine in a bit.”

“I do know that hormones can do that, but I’m not sure that’s the case right now. I sure hope so,” Seraphine said, standing. “Because if you truly are thinking about going back to wherever you ca from, Ro, please... don’t do it. It’s a really bad idea.”

She took my hands and pulled to my feet.

“And I would miss you so very much. And so would Mr. Soren.”

She had a good point. Why was I passing up soone I already knew was so good and loving for soone who had treated so badly in the past?

“I know,” I said with a nod. “I’m going to lay down for a while.”

“Good,” she said. “I have so other patients to tend to, but I’ll be back. See you later, Ro.”

“Goodbye, Seraphine. Thanks again for the advice.”

When she was a few steps from the porch, she turned and said, “Oh, and don’t forget... stay inside, especially at night. Mr. Soren has added more guards, but we need you to be safe.”

I stared at her for a mont, and then nodded.

I walked back up the stairs, but paused on the porch to look out over the garden. With so many guards around, I knew that it would be hard for to et Ethan that night.

But I also knew I had to try.

I needed to speak to him.

I needed to see him.

I went inside and laid down for a bit before I went about all of the tasks I needed to get done that day.

Soren wasn’t joining for dinner because he had a business eting. I ate with Lola and Seraphine when she ca back, and then, when dinner was over, they helped with the dishes and went ho.

I was a nervous wreck as I contemplated what to do. What if I went out to speak to Ethan and things went badly?

Or what if he was taken by the guards?

I didn’t know what might happen, but I did know I needed to speak to him.

It was dark outside, and the moon was bright in the night sky.

With my heart in my throat, I walked out onto the porch, praying to the Moon Goddess that I made the right decision and that everything would go well.

I walked over toward the new bushes, but I only made it a few steps when my head suddenly felt very light, and a wave of dizziness overca .

Was it my anxiety about seeing Ethan, or sothing else?

I didn’t know, but I felt like I needed to lie down right then and there.

I turned back toward the house as my head grew fuzzy, and the next thing I knew, my vision was cloudy, and I was looking up at a field of stars.

Then the world went black.