A year after he rejects her 79

Nicolas POV

“Mrs. Zara,” Jenn, the saleslady, called us as we exited the private room. Despite the strange expression on her face, she maintained an even tone. She must have heard us having sex in the dressing room.

“Yes,” Zara answered, her attention shifting toward her.

“Your husband asked me to hand you this,” she said, handing her an envelope.

“Thank you so much,” Zara replied, opening the envelope.

I patiently waited for Zara to read through the contents. I already knew what Levi was planning; he had informed me when I arrived.

“Levi says he has another surprise for me,” Zara said, seemingly a bit worried about it.

“Oh? That sounds promising,” I replied. “Where to?”

“He says we should meet up at Martino’s,” she sighed.

“Then that is where we’ll go,” I replied, taking her hand and heading to the door.

Martino’s was a small Italian restaurant, just around the corner from the boutique.

Levi had already left to get us a table.

My gaze shifted to Zara as we headed down the street. Zara’s long raven-black hair appeared disheveled, as though a crow had nested in it; her swollen red lips and smudged lipstick created a red stain around her lips.

After our brief encounter in the dressing room, I attempted to make her look more presentable, but to no avail; Levi had taken her handbag with him. Despite our best efforts, we were unable to successfully restore her makeup.

Levi’s surprise involved Zara officially meeting Kyle. I obviously didn’t have any objections; Kyle was a cool guy. I have known him for most of my life. I haven’t seen Kyle in a while, knowing that he was still upset with me following Isabella’s death.

I internally sighed.

I knew the two had a very close bond; they shared every secret.

The familiar bell on the door chimed above us as we entered the restaurant, causing my heart to flutter. Memories of my last visit flooded back, when Isabella was still alive and well. She was the one who made a reservation. I guess the only reason she chose this restaurant over the fancy hotels I owned was because she knew how much I loved the small and cozy restaurant’s warm atmosphere.

As I imagined her sitting at the table, waiting for my arrival, a small smile came to my lips. She looked as beautiful as always, but there was an extra glow around her, one of happiness and excitement.

Isabella’s face lit up when she saw me; she immediately waved me closer.

I quickly met up with her, kissed her cheek, and took my place at the table.

As I sat down, making myself comfortable, she immediately popped a small box, wrapped with a big red bow, in my hands.

“What is this?” I asked, startled by the gesture. Isabella’s gifts were unfamiliar to me.

“Open it,” she urged; her soft voice had an edge of excitement.

I tried to read her, but she gave nothing away.

I slowly unwrapped the box, finding a pair of knitted blue booties inside.

I shook my head, unable to process what I was seeing.

“You are going to be a father,” she blurted out. “I am six weeks pregnant.”

Time seemed to stop as I picked up the sonar photo—proof that a little one, my son, was growing in her belly.

I narrowed my eyes; something seemed a bit off.

“Why does the photo show you are further along than six weeks?” I asked.

“Oh, uhm,” Isabella’s face fell. She didn’t expect me to ask such a question but rather hoped that I would find joy in the information. She suddenly looked worried. “Doctor Davis said it was because of the Alpha gene the pup carries. He grows much faster than other pups.”

I tilted my head to the side, observing her as the excitement faded from her face and transformed into worry.

“What else did he tell you?” I asked.

She hesitated and removed her hands from the table and into her lap—a familiar characteristic of hers when she became nervous.

“Tell me, Isabella,” I tenderly whispered as I reached out to her. “What did the good old doctor tell you?”

She lifted her head and met my gaze. Tears had already welled up in her eyes.

“My body might not be strong enough,” she whispered.

I sat back in my chair, feeling the blood leave my body. From the moment I marked Isabella, her body seemed to reject my mark, and she became sick. I took Isabella to every doctor I could find, hoping for a cure, but no one could diagnose her condition.

I needed to stop her.

“Isabella,” I found my voice. “I don’t think—”

“I want this pup,” she cut me off, her tone giving me no room to argue. “He is just as much a part of me as of you…”

I shook off the memory, and my gaze shifted over the tables. I spotted Levi sitting deep in the restaurant.

I raised my hand, and he immediately jumped to his feet and rushed to Zara’s side. His bewildered expression screamed that he could see that I had just screwed Zara.

What did he anticipate from our meeting? Did he anticipate that we would simply sit down and converse? It was in our nature to mate whenever we got the opportunity, especially in the first few months of our relationship.

I just nodded at Levi and kept my exposure calm, acting as if everything was in place.

“Uhm, Zara,” Levi said, his eyes wide as he looked between the two of us. “Let’s go clean you up before someone sees you like this.” We don’t want the entire town to know about what you two just did.”

Zara’s face flushed red, and I chuckled in response. She acted so innocently in front of Levi; if only he had known how wild she could be.

Zara bit her lip and turned to me. She hasn’t said much during our time in the boutique. I guess I didn’t give her much time to speak, especially with her hot, naughty lips wrapped around my cock.

I had to be honest with myself: it was unbelievably hot and unexpected. My mind would take weeks or months to forget those images.

The memory of her standing on her knees and shoving my entire cock down her throat is still vivid in my mind.

Who could have predicted that she would be able to successfully seduce me by engulfing my entire genitalia?

“Go ahead,” I told her. “I’ll sit with Alpha Kyle; we have a couple of things we need to discuss.”

“Alpha Kyle? Are you sure?” Her eyebrows knitted together as she shifted her gaze between the two of us.

Why did she suddenly look so worried?

“Yes, I am sure,” I said, pulling her closer to me. Her beautiful, warm, flowery scent filled my inner needs. “Don’t worry about me; I will be fine. Alpha Kyle and I are well acquainted.” I kissed the top of her head. “I promise to wait there for you. Should I place an order for you in the meantime?”

Zara nodded.

“Yes, please. Alfredo would be wonderful,” she replied. “I am starving.”

“Me too,” I wanted to say. After all that f*cking in the dressing room, we both burned enough calories to last for a day.

“I will place your order in the meantime,” I answered instead. “Go with Beta Levi now and clean yourself up.”

Levi took her hand and guided her toward the ladies’ room, and my gaze followed them until they disappeared from view.

“What are you going to tell him?” Ray asked me as I moved closer to the table. He has been active from the moment we arrived at the boutique.

“The truth,” I replied. “What else?”

“Do you think he will believe you?” Ray inquired.

“It doesn’t matter,” I replied. “He deserves to know I’m not responsible for Isabella’s circumstances.”

Kyle gave me one look as I sat down at the table, but before I could open my mouth, he stopped me.

What he said next surprised us both.