Chapter 310: _ Distance
"Oh, come now," Álvaro said with a smirk, raising his glass. "I’m just admiring your wife. Isn’t that a compliment?"
"No! It’s disrespectful. And I won’t warn you again." Axel dangled a warning finger his way.
"Axel," Alpha Tomas said sharply. "That’s enough. Álvaro was merely joking."
"He’s joking with another man’s wife. That’s not funny. That’s pathetic." Axel countered, voice pathetic.
Sometimes, watching Axel get jealous and worked up about me kind of pleased me. It meant there was still that delicate and lover boy Axel beneath the now bitter and heart broken one.
Even though it wasn’t my fault, it hurts me to see how broken it was from the heartbreak that I caused. My sweet Axel... I damaged him.
Camilla let out a sharp breath. "Maybe if your wife wasn’t always throwing herself into the center of attention, people wouldn’t feel the need to comment."
"How about you let the man talk about this, Camilla?" Álvaro hissed at this wife.
"Boys," Luna Ana said softly with a hint of pleading in her voice. "Not at the table."
Álvaro raised his hands in fake surrender, but his eyes were gleaming. "Apologies, dear brother. Didn’t mean to rile the beast. María José, forgive me. I forget how possessive the Beta is."
"I’m not his possession," I snapped before Axel could. "And you’re not charming. You’re just bored and tragically under-loved."
Camilla slapped her napkin on the table. "Are we seriously going to sit here and let her talk like that?"
"Yes," I said, smiling sweetly. "We are."
Tension crackled like electricity. Forks slowed. Knives paused while slicing. Even the candles seemed to flicker nervously.
Alpha Tomas leaned back in his chair, his eyes bland. "You’ve got quite the fire, María José. A shame you waste it on petty accusations in court."
I met his gaze evenly. "Petty? Were the bruises on those girls petty? The reports? The damage?"
His jaw tightened. "Watch your tongue, girl."
Xiomara purred, "Tell him to shove that duck up his ass. We dare you."
But I held back. Alpha Tomas wasn’t only the leader of my pack but my Father in-law. Regardless of how shitty he might be, he was to be respected still.
Álvaro took another sip of wine, his eyes drifting lazily over my face. "You should come riding with me sometime, María José. There’s a trail near the northern ridge I think you’d like. It’s private and Quiet."
Camilla made a sound. A real sound. A scoff crossed with a gasp crossed with absolute horror. "Are you seriously
—Álvaro, you’re disgusting!"Axel also stood so fast his chair scraped across the marble with a banshee screech.
"I swear to the moon," he snarled, fists clenched at his sides, "you say one more thing to my wife, and I will put you through that damn wall."
I stood too, grabbing his arm before he acted.
Álvaro just laughed.
"That’s enough!" Luna Ana’s bellowed.
Even Alpha Tomas looked startled.
"We are family," she continued. "We are leaders. This is not how we act. Sit. Down. All of you."
I eased Axel back into his chair. His chest heaved, his eyes wild. I’d never seen him that close to losing it in front of the family.
I leaned in and whispered, "He’s trying to make you snap. Don’t let him. We’re better than him."
Axel said nothing, but once again, shrugged me off.
Álvaro winked at me across the table. Camilla looked like she wanted to stab me with her salad fork.
I exhaled slowly and picked up my fork again. Xiomara grumbled, "Next time we come to dinner, wear armor."
The rest of the meal was eaten in a strained silence except for the clink of silverware and Camilla’s passive-aggressive sighs.
When it was over, Axel pulled my chair back with a stiff arm to maintain appearances, then left the dining hall before I could even stand.
If he was going to be cold, he might as well commit to the role. Because if he thought the family didn’t notice?
They were watching.
And no one was more invested in our unraveling than the woman across the table, still silently fuming into her empty glass.
He didn’t wait for me as he stormed out of the dining hall. I had to hike up the hem of my dress and trail behind him like some moody wife from an old telenovela whose husband just found out the baby isn’t his.
Except in my case, the only scandal was that I existed. Apparently, that was enough.
We walked through the long hallway that led to our wing, our shoes tapping out an awkward duet of distance and disappointment. The silence between us was like an uninvited dinner guest who didn’t know when to leave.
I wasn’t sure whether to scream or laugh. I’d worn this dress for him. I’d sat through a war-zone dinner for him. I’d let Álvaro mouth off like a drunk rooster at a funeral, just to keep Axel from making a scene.
And now?
He turned the brass handle of the double doors to our suite and pushed them open like he was storming a castle. I followed him in, but he didn’t even look back. Not even a glance. The soft lighting of the room did nothing to warm the cold between us.
"I need to get to work," he muttered, already heading to his study like a brooding CEO.
I blinked. "Axel."
His hand was on the study door. He paused, but didn’t turn around.
I swallowed and stepped closer, the hem of my silk gown whispering against the marble. "Can’t work wait just this one night? We haven’t talked—really talked... in days. Can’t we just... sit for a while? Be a couple? And I don’t mean sex."
He finally turned.
Oh, the look he gave me could’ve frozen a river.
"Don’t push me. You forget your place too often. You’re my wife, María José. Don’t act like we are so in love. Or that you love me." He spat.