#Chapter 8 - The Truth


    Karl


    I put down the stack of papers and lean back in my chair. I’ve spent the better part of the morning going


    over the report from my investigators, and I’m still struggling to wrap my head around everything they


    found.


    It seems like Abby has had a tough couple of years. Even though her father gave her a generous


    severance package, his business has clearly been struggling. He even had to sell their house,


    something I know must have been hard for Abby, who spent her childhood there.


    Her father was a supplier for the former Alpha, and her family was very wealthy as a result. When we


    married, though, she offered to change suppliers to avoid suspicion.


    We didn’t want people to see me as a selfish Alpha. I don’t think either of us realized how much of a


    strain that would put on her father’s business, even if he waspletely understanding of our decision.


    After our divorce, Abby started as a backroom apprentice at a restaurant. By doing so, she managed to


    save up a sum of money.


    Looking at the pictures of her from that time makes something in my heart hurt. She looks haggard,


    worked to the bone, and there’s a hollowness in her eyes that makes me feel incredibly guilty. I know I


    caused that broken look on her face. I never imagined she felt as heartbroken as I did. She cheated on


    me, after all.


    From there, she moved to the capital to start her own business. Using some contacts left behind by me,


    she was able to build her restaurant into a must-go spot. Now she’s doing great. She owns one of the


    top eateries here, which is a feat in and of itself.


    Her acquaintances describe her as incredibly smart, great at maintaining rtionships, sweet, and


    good at remembering information about her patrons. Everyone my investigators spoke to had only


    good things to say about Abby.


    It seems like she hasn’t had much time to focus on any personal rtionships as a result. Despite


    seeing her go on multiple dates, and the evidence that she has gone on quite a few since we ended


    things, she hasn’t been in anything serious.


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Instead, she put all of herself into her business, and she’s seen results. Her food is widely considered


    some of the best food in the capital. I can’t reconcile this person with the girl I used to know. She


    always loved to cook. I just never took it seriously. I thought it was silly.


    Justin’s trail, on the other hand, seems to have disappearedpletely from the public eye. My


    investigators couldn’t find anything on him. Wherever he’s working now, it hasn’t been through any


    regr channels. If I want to find him, it won’t be quite as easy.


    Based on interviews with my staff, Abby was always really friendly. She was close to everyone and


    never had any attitude with them. She always loved to cook and would often get them to try her food.


    So, it’s likely that the intimate photos I saw of Abby and Justin didn’t mean anything. She was friendly


    with everyone, not just him.


    That doesn’t exin the other evidence, though. How would her panties have gotten in the weed pile if


    she wasn’t having an affair with him? I can''t think of any exnation, and the information my


    investigators got for me doesn''t refute any of the physical evidence I found. It’s not like I broke things


    off with her without concrete evidence.


    When I found them there that day, my heart shattered. I really loved her, and knowing she slept with


    someone else broke me.


    I pick up the phone and call the doctor. I employed him back when I first found the panties. He found


    both of their DNA on the fabric, including Justin’s semen. It’s hard to refute evidence like that. But


    apparently new technology has developed that can pinpoint the time. I’m desperate to know what he


    found, if only to get my wolf off my back.


    “Good morning, Alpha,” he says when he picks up the phone.


    “Good morning.” I rub my temples. “Did you do the tests I asked of you?”


    “Yes, Sir. I have the results here. Just give me one moment.”


    I wait for him to pull up the information with bated breath.


    “Alright, here it is.” He’s silent for a moment, and I’m not sure if I’m even breathing. “It seems that the


    semen we found on the panties appeared at least 24 hours after the marks made by the owner.”


    “What does that mean?”


    “It means it’s unlikely that the wearer of the panties had them on that same day that the semen


    appeared.”


    I’m shocked into silence. If that''s true, then Abby didn’t have an affair after all. It means that Justin


    somehow got ahold of her panties and did something with them I’d rather not imagine. In case it


    enrages me so much, I decide to track him down immediately and let my wolf w him to bits.


    “Thank you,” I say. I hang up the phone and lean back in my chair. I can’t believe it. If only I had this


    information back then, none of this would have happened.


    You misunderstood her! My wolf snarled at me. You idiot! You broke your mate’s heart.


    His words make me feel a little sick. I put her through so much, and it wasn’t even true. My wolf’s right,


    I am an idiot. I’ve felt self-loathing before, but never quite this acute. My own arrogance destroyed my


    marriage. I pushed away the woman I love because I was too proud just to ask her about Justin.


    I’m an Alpha. I spend so much time away from home, and so much time working. It didn’t seem that


    much of a stretch that Abby would find physical release with someone else. With me gone all the time,


    she had ample opportunity.


    I didn’t trust her, despite everything she did. I thought of her merely as a housewife–unproductive, silly,


    more interested in cooking than reading. She had the audacity to betray me. At least I thought so, and


    that enraged me. She was beautiful and popr and maybe, deep down, it didn’t seem like such a


    shock to me that she would.


    So, I believed it all. It almost felt easier to believe it, to think she had turned her back on me, than to be


    constantly waiting for it to happen. Now she’s gone and if I’m beingpletely honest with myself, I’ve


    been miserable without her.


    My throat is dry. I will win her back, I vow to my wolf. I’m going to make up for everything.


    My wolf huffed. Yes, you will. The ‘or else’ in his statement is more than clear. If I don’t get her back,


    there will be consequences with my wolf.


    The phone rings, shocking me out of my thoughts. I swallow hard and reach for the phone. What if it’s


    Abby? My heart rate picks up as I bring the phone to my ear. A part of me longs to hear her sweet


    voice on the other end of the line.


    “Hello?”