Chapter 45


    45 And It Was Just Us


    Luke.


    I heard the noises when I left my father’s office, and I decided to wait a bit before entering the lounge.


    The breakfast lounge was cursed. There was no day that drama wouldn’t ur in that lounge. I was d


    that Tia and I had moved away from it. Hearing the conversation, regretted bringing my wife to the Moon


    mansion. Caleb was trying to get the truth out of his mother, and I admired his strength. Whatever it was,


    Stacy was really scared because she refused to speak, and it was beginning to bother me. The guy must


    be dangerous, or the information he had must beplex for her to hold out on her son.


    Soon I had enough and walked into the lounge.


    “Tia,” I called to my wife, and she stood up and looped her hand with mine. “I guess this is our queue to


    leave. Caleb, take it easy on your mother,” I advised my brother and was ready to leave. “You are


    heartless, Luke. I told you my problem, and you refused to help me.” Stacy shot at me.


    “I have told you to open up to your mate. I will be stupid to start helping you pay someone that is


    ckmailing you. Whatever the matter is, you and my father are stuck together forever.


    vou, and now that he is no longer Alpha, he can’t cast you out. I definitely wont cast you out because it is


    really none of my business. It will be in your best interest to tell him what is happening, Stacy. It will be


    best for you and everyone,” I said and took Tia with me.


    “I know you have moved out, Luke. I know you two are noting back,” she said, and Iughed.


    “Watch your tongue, Stacy. Solve your problem,” I said, and Tia and I left. Stacy was cursing at me, and


    Caleb kept yelling at her. It was a fiasco.


    The moment we stepped out of the mansion, my luck turned sour when Elisabeth arrived. Bart had gone


    to bring her from the hospital. She stepped out of the car quickly, wearing joggers and a hoody. The


    hospital had many of those to give out. She looked haggard with ashen skin and dark circles. I did not


    know why she was doing this to herself. “Luke,” she said, trying to sound hurt, “You just abandoned me


    there. I am carrying your child, and you showed no care towards me. Then I heard you came and signed


    me up for psychiatric evaluation. Why? All this to please her? Where was she when everyone hated you


    and people thought you would amount to nothing? Who warmed your bed then, Luke? I did. I kept you


    company and loved you. I still love you,” she said in tears, and I had had enough.


    “Just look at yourself, Lisa. Have you looked into the mirror? You are too selfish to care for anyone than


    yourself. Mind you, I was still a nobody when Tia married me. Unlike you, her love had no price or


    condition. She wasn’t ashamed of me or made me go through hell. I have never had to beg her for


    anything. For eight years, you made me feel you were doing me a favour that I could not do better than


    you, Lisa. Yes, I signed you up for evaluation. It is only a crazy woman that would deliberately induce


    symptoms that can kill her baby for attention,” I said, and she shook her head.


    “That is a lie,” she protested.


    “I found the drugs in your room, the search history of your search engine. The doctor confirmed it. They


    found the substance in your blood. If you truly care for me, you wouldn’t try to harm my child for


    attention. I never wanted this. I had let you go, ready to move on and try with my wife, but you decided to


    get pregnant. I would have still cared for you. I was still paying your bills and sending you money. I told


    you to move on because I can never cheat on my wife. I did right by you, and you paid me back with this.


    I have had enough of you. I will have no dealings with you henceforth. I am on vacation with my wife, so


    it would be in your best interest to behave yourself. There will be no one here to attend to your


    foolishness.” I said I was about to walk away with Tia when she spoke. “You know I am supposed to live


    with you,” she said, and I did not want her to know that I knew she was seeing someone. I looked at her.


    “You are living with me. Why else will you be in the Moon mansion?” I said, and she was quiet. “You are


    supposed to be with me, Luke. Taking care of me and following me to antenatal sessions and picking out


    baby things..” she said, and I cut her. “Those are things I look forward to doing with my wife. You decided


    you would be doing this alone when you purposefully decided to get pregnant. Please excuse me,” I said


    and started heading towards my car. Elisabeth said some things, but I wasn’t paying attention anymore. I


    was done with the ce. Tia and I got in, and we drove off. “Eventful,” I said, and she began tough.


    “Breakfast from hell,” she said, and Iughed too. We weren’t expecting less, and the family did not


    disappoint. “Don’t you think we should look into the person Stacy is paying?” Tia asked, and I nced at


    her and looked back at the road.


    ‘Why?” I asked her.


    “It seems serious, Luke. You needed to see how Caleb bungled her, yet she did not crack. She was


    afraid and refused to crack Luke. I think it is serious.” She said, and I scuffed.


    “Whatever it is, it isn’t our business. Our business is catching Luis,” I said, and Tia was silent.


    We drove to the office. I made sure Tia handled all the work for that day. It was best to start letting her


    take charge so she won’t need my help when I take over the Alpha’s Office. Now that I had an active Key


    mark, I might have to take over soon.


    We spent the better part of the day trying to trace the money Gabriel received and who was paying it to


    him. We found the money paid to him by looking at his bank statement. It was paid to him before we got


    married. Six months ago. It was paid by an offshorepany called, Nuclei. I browsed the inte for it,


    and all thepany had was an email and a phone number that had been disconnected. It was a shell


    company, so we would have to dig further. The guy seemed a bit rich, so he could not be a ghost. He


    must have some footprint that we can trace him by.


    “Maybe we should investigate the registration Licence of the Nuclei. They need identification documents


    to register these things,” Tia said, and I nodded because I was thinking in the


    same direction.


    “We will spend a lot of money to find the information we need because it wasn’t incorporated in this


    country,” I pointed out to her, and we were silent. I took out my phone to delegate the work to someone.


    After that, we pulled up Stacy’s bank statement and noticed she paid one million Kins to apany


    called Tektite which was also a shellpany. What was it with people’s shadiness? I called Caleb


    immediately to tell him what I found out. He thanked me and said he would find someone to investigate


    thepany. Hopefully, that would lead him to the ckmailer. I urged him to try to get his mother to


    open up to him so she could get the help she needed on time before it was toote.


    Tia and I had lunch and dinner in the office. Once it was seven in the evening, we decided to call it a day


    and leave. Instead of taking the turn that would lead us home, I took another turn, and that piqued Tia’s


    curiosity..


    “So, where are we going?” She finally asked, and I smiled.


    “You’ll see,” I said, and she was silent. She had absolute trust in me. I drove to a private cliff. It was


    called the lovers’ hideout, and I had wanted to bring her there for a while. “This ce is beautiful, Luke,”


    Tia said, and I was d she loved it.


    I took off my tie and my jacket. Unbuttoned the top three buttons of my shirt and rolled up my sleeves.


    We exited the car and sat on the hood to admire the city and the night lights. I intertwined my finger with


    hers and brought her hand to my lips. I kissed her hand gently and ced her palm against my cheek.


    She caressed it gently, and I watched her close her eyes to feel.


    “Luke,” she said with a breathy voice, and I drew her close to me and held her. This was it.


    I kissed my mark on her neck. “I wish we could leave all of these and just run away together,” I


    confessed, and she sank deeper into my embrace. “I used toe here to escape every night. I came


    here alone. It made all my troubles seem distant and far away, but right now, I just want to silence the


    world for us, Tia. I want the world to be silent.” I said, and she got off the hood and stood in front of me..


    Standing on her tiptoes, she reached for my lips with hers. I bent down to meet hers, and she kissed me


    sweetly.


    “We will get through this, Luke,” she said with hope in her eyes, “The noise will be quiet soon. Everyone


    will move on, and it will just be us and our pups,” she said, and I loved the idea of having children with


    Tia.


    “Before you, Tia, I thought love was supposed to be a painful experience, one-sided and unrequited. I


    took that into my marriage and believed I would be miserable because your heart belonged to my


    brother. I did not know that I would learn how to try with you. Being with you, I finally have someone I


    could confide in, Tia. I can’t say it enough, but my heart has always beat for you ever since,” I said and


    ced her palm on my chest.


    “Can you feel that, Tia?” I asked her, and she looked at me with misty eyes.


    “The rhythm is for you, and it will keep beating for you until it can beat no more,” I said, and her tears fell


    freely, and she ced her head against my chest and began to cry.”


    1


    “Luke,” she said between tears. I lifted her chin to look into her eyes. “I didn’t tell you how I felt to make


    you cry, Tia,” I said, and she smiled, but the tears fell freely. They were happy tears. “Where were you all


    this while, Luke. I thought I knew what love was until you happened to me, Luke. I love you,” she said,


    rarely using those words. I knew she meant every bit of it. I hoped we would quiet the noise soon and


    love each other freely.


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    We stayed at the cliff a bit longer, cuddled in each other’s arms, admiring the night lights and the sky.


    The moon graced so beautifully that I knew my union with Tia was blessed. This was supposed to be a


    painful experience for us, but it was a blessing. I couldn’t help but make love to her under the night sky


    with the noise and the crowd far away from us.


    It was just us.