Chapter 55 Hate For Her Daughter
Calhoun's POV
Kristen stares at her mother in shock, clearly not expecting to see her here and a cloud quickly befalls her face.
I know she's afraid of Natalie, too stunned to even speak or move, so I pull her into a one-arm hug.
Natalie is clearly enjoying this, making her presence known to ruin our evening.
I wonder what she's up to at this moment, but I know I won't let her say or do anything to hurt Kristen.
"Look who we have here, the cheating husband and the backstabbing daughter, trying to be all lovey-dovey," Natalie pops her head from me to Kristen and Kristen to me.
Kristen doesn't say anything except rubbing the side of her arm. She does this when she feels uncomfortable. A die hard habit of hers.
Upon seeing this, I pull her away from the painting so it could be packaged, since her mother, who had no desire for painting, wanted that one.
The look on her face is as if she wants to be anywhere other than here and I know it's because of Natalie.
Wanting to get back at her, I turn to the manager, "What's the cost of the painting?" I ask and watch as Natalie's eyes rise in their sockets because she never expected that from me, that I would say that.
I know she wanted to get it because she saw how awestruck Kristen was when she looked at it, so she's trying to get it, to make her daughter feel less of herself.
"Just eleven thousand dollars, Alpha Calhoun," the manager finally replies.
I let go of Kristen who's staring down her feet, avoiding the eyes of her mother because she's unsettled. She hasn't even uttered a word.
"Let me pay thirty thousand dollars, have the painting handed over to my woman,"
"You mean your Luna."
"I'm talking about my mate, Kristen." I slip Kristen's hand in mine. "I'd pay the thirty thousand. Package the painting for my mate here."
And there's gasping from both mother and daughter.
"Sorry about the confusion," The manager apologized.
"I don't want it," Kristen speaks up for the first time since Natalie showed up here. "Just give it to the person who wanted it at first, and don't waste your money on it."
"Are you sure about this? You don't have to be afraid of anyone, Kristen. I'll get you whatever you want."
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"I told you I don't want it, I only paused to stare. It's too creepy to keep anyway, could cause nightmares," Kristen lets out an awkward laugh as she pulls away from me.
However Natalie is glaring at her with contempt, she had her hands clenched.
"Let her have it, there's no way I'd let you spend thirty thousand dollars on me anyway, it's too much," Kristen lowers her eyes to the floor as she walks away from both me, Natalie, the manager, and the boys packaging the painting.
Natalie's friends come to catch up with her when Kristen leaves this side.
Why did she leave me alone with her mother? Someone who I don't even want to be around when she's starting to creep me out. Natalie has hurt in her eyes as she looks at me. Well, she asked for it.
I went to meet Kristen because she's the one I brought here, and it was Natalie who followed us down here because she's been stalking us.
Natalie is now aware that I don't even care about her anymore, nor am I trying to hide things between me and Kristen.
But she's worsening things for herself.
"Let's get married," I say.
"What?" Kristen asks me with her eyes raised up in their sockets.
"I said let's get married," I iterate.
"You want to marry me?" She looks at me with disbelief.
Slowly, I nod.
"I don't think we have to be away from each other anymore, let's get married after I divorce your mother."
Kristen looks at me as if she's letting her brain fully comprehend what she just heard from me.
"Why would you want to marry me?"
"Because you're mine and I love you?"
"Do you want to create enmity between Mom and me? She already hates me so much, and things will leap from bad to worse if she finds out you want to marry me." Kristen concludes breathlessly.
"I never planned to be in the way between you and your mother, but from the onlook of things, she already hates you and it doesn't look like she'll forgive anything."
"No matter what, she's still my mother. I can't live with her hate, it will affect me. Even though our relationship wasn't good from the beginning, it doesn't change the fact that she's the only person I have."
"You have me now, Kristen. I'll take care of you." I say, hoping she will at least not beat herself over this.
"No, you don't understand." Sadness takes over her face after she lets this out.
"Then I'll try to make things work out between all three of us, so you two won't be on bad terms," I tell Kristen because it's obvious she doesn't want to fight with her mother.
"How will you do that?" She looks at me with so much hope in her eyes.
"After she agrees to divorce me, we'll have a discussion, to let peace reign."
"I doubt Mother will agree to that. She still loves you." Kristen fumbles with her hands as she makes this known to me.
"What about you, Kristen? Don't you love me?" I ask because I've never heard it from her before.
Kristen doesn't respond, she just bites down on her button lip and sighs.
"You don't want me?" My voice is more audible.
"Things are just complicated right now," she looks away from me when she says this.
"For once, think about yourself and what you want.'
"I want to, but it's just hard because we're talking about my mom here. I've known her my entire life and she's your wife."
"I told you I'll fix things, just don't overthink and focus on yourself alone," I sigh, already getting fed up with this conversation about Natalie.
"Don't you love her anymore?"
Kristen's question quiets me for some time because she's trying to make me understand things from her perspective. She's so smart and considerate.
"Not anymore. It's you I love, and what I felt for her before cannot even measure up to the way that I feel for you. There's a big gap."
"Let's just get out of here," I suggest because we fell into an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes.
Kristen doesn't say anything else, she follows me outside the museum and hops into the shotgun in the car.
"Do you want to go anywhere else?" I ask.
"No, just take me to my apartment."
"Are you upset?"
"Not really, I just don't feel so good anymore."
"Let's go for a drive to get some air."
She doesn't respond to this, just stares out the window.
My mind flashbacks to the night I first saw her when she was drunk and with her friends, and then she approached me. So much has happened since then, I thought I would never see her again, only to find out that she was Natalie's daughter the following
day.
Upon sensing she's not in the mood to hold any conversation, I let her be.
She's a good girl.
Still cares so deeply for her mother, upon knowing the woman hates her and sees her as a threat now.
Kristen's chest rises and falls, something which gives out that she's lost in deep thought. And I can tell it's causing her distress. Things would've been better and easier for us if I had called off the wedding after finding out Kristen is my mate.
It'd have saved us from a lot of problems, but now the damage is already done and the only way of fixing things is by divorcing Natalie.
Sighing, I stare straight ahead of me as I continue driving.
Kristen lets out a sigh and doesn't even look away from the window.
The urge to ask her if she's okay is great but it's best I don't.
She's thinking things through and shouldn't be interrupted at this point.
Kristen's POV
Calhoun doesn't know how it's hard for me to accept that he wants to divorce my mom to marry me.
No sane daughter will feel elated even though she shares mutual feelings with the man.
Marrying him will bring forth enmity between me and my mother.
I know she hates me and she won't hesitate to attack me if she's given the chance, but she doesn't deserve any of this.
Pulling my hair away from my face and tucking it behind my ear, I continue staring out the window because I don't want to talk
now.
I thought the evening would end well for me until Mom showed up with her friends and approached me and Calhoun.
Now I don't feel so good anymore.
Something settles on my hand and when I shift my gaze away from the car window, I see Calhoun's left hand covering mine.
He's using his right to drive.
"I promise I'll fix things and then we can be together," he assured me before raising my hand to his lips and kissing my open palm.
And I want to believe him.