Chapter 0287
I set the food down; whatever appetite I’d had vanished. “You can’t just decide that—”
“I am the Alpha, and I will decide.”
His tone was gruff, brooking no argument. I wanted to bite out a retort, but the words died before reaching my tongue.
“So you just think you’re going to get ‘better’,” I whispered, lowering myself onto the bed. “Like that will save our sham of a marriage.”
Noah huffed, though whether from annoyance or agreement, I couldn’t tell. “Look, Hannah. We can’t work on ourselves separately without working on our relationship as well. We’ll have to work on our marriage for the child’s sake.”
He paused, rose, and crossed to the window. I held my breath as he brushed past me, not wanting to inhale his scent—because if I did, I might soften. And right now, I was too furious for that.
“If that doesn’t work,” he continued, looking out the window with his back to me, “then we’ll come to some sort of co-parenting arrangement. But as things stand, divorce is officially out of the question.”
Fury bubbled up inside me, so hot it was burning. I wanted to scream, to throw something, to make him understand that I didn’t love him anymore, that I couldn’t stay in a marriage with a man who couldn’t even remember our shared past, regardless of whether I carried his child or still felt aroused by his touch. But I remained silent, the food now tasting like ash in my mouth. Still, I forced myself to pick up the container and keep eating, knowing I needed the nutrients for the baby. Or if I needed to run at the last minute.
Noah turned, watching me for a moment before speaking again. “In the meantime, I will spend two hours a day with you for the duration of the pregnancy. And I want you to follow a strict meal, vitamin, and doctor’s appointment regimen to ensure the health of our heir.”
“You mean your heir,” I sneered, unable to keep the bitterness from my voice.
Noah’s eyes flashed. “No, Hannah. Our heir. We’re staying together, and that child is every bit yours as it is mine.”
I turned away, unable to bring myself to look at him. The weight of his words pressed down on me, suffocating.
“We’ll see about that,” I muttered. Then, a thought occurred to me, sending a chill down my spine. “Are you going to keep me locked in this room forever? Your little wife and broodmare, never to see the light of day again?”
“No,” Noah said firmly, returning his gaze to the window. “But if you try to run back to Silvermoon, I’ll come personally and bring you back myself.”
“So I’m still a prisoner.”
“Only if you want to look at it that way.”
I did look at it that way; in fact, I felt trapped, cornered. The walls seemed to close in again, and I jumped to my feet just as Noah turned fully to face me. “You’re a monster,” I spat, the words tasting like poison on my tongue.
Noah’s lips quirked up into a humorless smile. “You didn’t think I was a monster when I was inside you not long ago.” He strode toward me, so close I could feel his warm breath on my face as his voice lowered to a husky timbre. “Or last night, when I felt how wet you were.” His eyes flicked to my thighs, which were exposed beneath my skirt.
His words hit me like a punch to the gut. Rage surged through me, and I couldn’t control it any longer. Without thinking, I spat directly onto his shoe, a small act of defiance.
Noah’s jaw clenched, and for a moment, I thought he might yell. I braced myself for his anger, for the punishment I was sure would come.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he calmly pulled out his pocket square, bent down, and cleaned his shoe.
“I’ll take you to your appointment in the morning,” he said, his voice eerily calm. The lack of reaction unnerved me more than any shouting would have. “I apologize again for locking you in here earlier. It won’t happen again.”
Without another word, he turned and left the room. I waited, my heart pounding in my chest, expecting to hear the lock click. But it didn’t. He had kept true to his word—for now, at least.