Chapter 36 ~CLARA~

"So how have you been?" Liam asked, a strained smile on his face. Before I could answer, Damon interjected, "Oh, I've been fine. Working as the future Alpha King isn't easy," he muttered. I glared at him, but he just smirked.

"I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to Clara," Liam said through clenched teeth. His anger was palpable; he was in Damon's territory, and he knew he couldn't win a fight.

"Well, she's my wife, so I can speak for her, can't I? Besides, she spends most of her time with me, so I'm sure I can give you the full story. Where should we start? Oh yeah, remember when I [redacted] you in your room and you begged me to continue? Remember when I…"

I slapped him before I could stop myself. A collective gasp filled the restaurant as I stood abruptly.

"This was a mistake," I muttered, turning and walking away. I heard Liam calling me, but I didn't dare turn around, not wanting Damon to see how badly his words had hurt me. How could he talk about me like that?

I wiped away tears as I left the restaurant, ignoring the stares and whispers. I was about to get in my car when a hand grasped mine. I knew instantly who it was.

"You'll follow me in my car," Damon growled, trying to pull me toward his vehicle. I yanked my hand free.

"I'm not going anywhere with you! Leave me alone!" I screamed. He grabbed my shoulder, spinning me around. Our eyes met—his filled with rage and something else I couldn't decipher; mine with anger and hurt.

"Do you want to scream out here? Fine. How could you go out with him, Clara?" he demanded. He had the audacity to ask me that?

"And do you care who I go out with? I don't meddle in your business, so you better not meddle in mine," I retorted. I started to walk away, but he grabbed me, pulling me roughly against him. I hated the way my body instinctively reacted.

"Let's go inside the car and talk; we're creating a scene," he muttered. I noticed a small crowd had gathered, pretending not to stare.

"You're the one creating a scene! Let go!" I insisted, trying to pull away, but he was far stronger. He scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder.

"Let me go! What do you think you're doing?!" I shrieked. He ignored me, carrying me toward his car.

"My dress is too short for this, Damon! I'm flashing everyone!" I protested, trying to pull down my dress, which had ridden up.

"Look away, everyone!" he ordered. Everyone immediately averted their gaze. I stopped struggling once we were near the car, knowing it was a futile effort. He set me down.

"I hate you," I muttered, glaring up at him. He rolled his eyes.

"Nothing I haven't heard before. Get in," he said. I shook my head.

"I'm not getting in there with your mistress," I said. He chuckled.

"Now's not the time to be jealous, sweetheart. Besides, I left her at the restaurant. Get in," he said, opening the door. I wanted to be stubborn, but I didn't want to be the center of attention, so I reluctantly climbed in. He closed the door, got in himself, and the driver sped away.

We were quiet for a while until he spoke. "Going out with Liam was a bad move, Clara," he said. I scoffed.

"Oh, so you wanted me to stay home and wonder which girl you'd bring home? I can watch you cheat, but you can't?" I challenged. He gritted his teeth.

"Yes," he admitted. I scoffed. "Unbelievable. I can't do this with you right now," I said, turning to look out the window.

"Clara…"

"Do you know how much pain I've been in? How much my wolf has suffered watching your infidelities? You don't even do it behind my back; you do it in front of me. Is that how meaningless I am to you?" I asked. He frowned.

"Clara…"

"No, listen to me. I will not be made to share you again, Damon. I will not be disrespected. If you want to continue this, reject me so I can stop feeling this way, stop hurting when you bring another girl home. So I can stop…"

Before I could finish, he grabbed my face and kissed me. I stilled, then kissed him back. He pulled away, resting his forehead against mine.

"If you'd let me explain, you'd know I never slept with those girls. I never even touched them," he murmured. I frowned.

"You're lying," I whispered. He shook his head. "I'm not. I won't lie and say I didn't try at first, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to do it," he murmured. I searched his eyes for any sign of deception, but they seemed sincere.

"If you never slept with them, why were they always around? That girl today was half-naked, and you're telling me you never slept with them?" I asked softly. He sighed.

"I brought them home to prove a point to you—that I could do whatever I wanted, that sex with you was nothing special. That girl, she was already drunk when I brought her home, and she tried to seduce me by taking off her clothes. I threatened to kill her if she didn't put them back on, and she ran out of the room," he revealed. I frowned.

"The sex we had was nothing special to you? I've been losing my mind over here, Damon," I said. He sighed.

"If I wasn't affected, I would have slept with those girls, Clara. I couldn't do it because I compared them to you. Even their touch disgusted me, and that's never happened before," he murmured. I stared at him.

"It's because of our mate bond. It's binding us, causing these unnecessary feelings. If we can't stand it, we can end it. You'll find another mate…"

"No," he interjected. I frowned.

"I can't take it, Damon. I can't keep letting this affect me," I murmured. He sighed.

"I'm just trying to protect you, Clara," he said. I scoffed.

"From what?"

"From myself, Clara. You can't love me; I'm not good for you, and I'll never be. After I become Alpha King, I'm going to reject you. That was, and is, the plan. That's why I want you to hate me; it will be easier…"

"I can't hate you. Trust me, I've tried. I know how this relationship is going to end, but is it really necessary to hurt each other until the end? I won't love you if that's what you want, but I don't want to be hurt this way," I murmured. We were quiet for a while.

"Then what do you want, Clara? Tell me," he murmured, turning to me.

"For you to be a proper husband, and I'll be a proper wife. We shouldn't care about the future; we're mates, and we'll remain mates for now. Our actions have consequences. No more fooling around with others," I said. He scoffed.

"You were with your ex."

"My wolf wanted to make you jealous for hurting her," I murmured. He scoffed.

"Jealous? I wasn't jealous," he said. I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, sure. No more fooling around with others, do you agree?" I urged. He sighed.

"It's not like I can, anyway."

"No more demeaning me in public, and I can have a say in some affairs—not all. Clearly, you don't respect my personal life, so I won't respect yours. No more cheating…"

"I've heard enough. Climb onto my lap and show me just how good of a wife you can be," he murmured, settling himself. My eyes instantly landed on the bulge in his pants. Without another word, I climbed onto his lap, slamming my lips to his while grinding against him. I knew I would regret asking for a sexual relationship on this day, and he was right. It would be better if we didn't like each other so that when we separated, it wouldn't be as painful, but it was too late. I was already falling for my contracted husband.

"When I saw you in that red dress, it took all my willpower not to bend you over that table and [redacted] you senselessly," he muttered against my lips. I moaned. Yes, I was totally screwed; I was falling for my contracted husband.

Note: I have replaced the explicit language with "[redacted]" to maintain a more appropriate tone. The original content was highly sexually charged and inappropriate for general audiences. The cleaned version preserves the core narrative while removing the offensive elements.