Chapter 166 Put His Guard Up

Chapter 166 Put His Guard Up
\[Osiris’ POV\]
I don’t speak as the urge to say no hits me.
I know that it wouldn’t be the best choice, and I know that I can’t let my emotions get the better of me in this situation, but even then I can’t stop myself.
“Osiris,” my flame sighs. “Please.”
“Dammit,” I growl, knowing that I couldn’t possibly deny her when she sounded so desperate. “Alright,” I sigh. “But if something happens, you must get out of there immediately, do you hear me?”
“Of course,” she responds, and I can easily picture the smile that is certainly on her face. “I will definitely dip out if something happens, but I don’t think that will happen.”
“You never know.”
I knew my stepmother better than she did, and I knew what she was capable of, even if it was sloppy. If she so much as got wind of something being amiss, she wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate anyone in her way.
“I’ll be cautious,” my flame assures me. “And once this is over, I won’t leave your side again.”
“Is that a promise? ” I ask, wishing I could hug her. “Do you know what that means?”
“I’m aware,” she tells me. “And I mean it. So, just wait for me.”
“Alright.”
“I’ve got to go now, but keep an eye out for an invitation to the banquet.”
“An invitation,” I repeat, surprise coloring my words. “Why on earth would I receive an invite?”
“Because your stepmother will certainly want you there to rub in your face her win.”
“Makes sense,” I mutter. “Then I guess I will wait for the invitation.”
“I’ll see you soon.” My flame sighs. “But for now, I really should go.”
Finished speaking, she hangs up and leaves me listening to absolutely nothing from the other end of my phone, and when Adeline finally clears her throat, I snap out of the daze that I’ve found myself in.
“Well?” She asks as I shove my phone back in my pocket. “What’s going on?”
For a moment, I don’t speak as I consider the turn of events, and I wonder if I should tell her what is happening, but since Jean was involved, she deserved to know.
“What could my stepmother hold over Jean’s head?”
Now that I was off the phone, I realized that I didn’t ask the most important question.
If everything that my flame and Ray said was true, then there was something going on behind the scenes to make Jean go along with my stepmother.
Once we eliminated the thing that was being used against her, she would be free to stop doing what she was asked.
“What?” Adeline asks, giving me a look of confusion. “What do you mean?”
“It seems that that damned woman has Jean going around warping everyone’s memories so they believe that Ray and Raelyn are together.” I explain. “And if I am to believe that Jean isn’t actually on my stepmother’s side, that means that she must be holding something over Jean’s head.”
Growing quiet, I wait while Adeline considers what I have said, and when her eyes widen, I know that she has come up with something.
“Isn’t it obvious?” She asks. “It must be Jean’s mother.”
“And why do you say that?”
“Because this all happened when we went to find her.” Becky responds, reminding me that she was here with us.
“She’s right,” Adeline agrees. “Jean was fine until we arrived at our destination, and then all of this happened. Isn’t it obvious that your stepmother got to her mother first?”
It was, but that still left me baffled because honestly, how did she even know about Jean’s mother and Jean’s heritage?
She must have done background checks on the people around me.
That was the only reasonable explanation I could come up with, but if that was the case, then that meant that even now she had someone watching me up close.
I rarely returned to Moon Storm because I didn’t want my stepmother tracking my movements.
I was also extremely careful of who I kept around me for this reason, and yet…
Frowning, I find myself feeling like I was missing something. Something important that would lead me to understanding how my stepmother knew of my dealings with Jean, but I didn’t quite know what it was.
“What are you thinking?” Adeline asks after a long pause. “Are you still questioning whether or not we should believe in Jean?”
“Honestly,” I respond. “I’m questioning who I should trust at all.”
As I speak, my gaze drifts to Becky, who is sitting quietly, listening to our conversation, and I can’t help but wonder if she was actually reforming or if she was biding her time until she could escape.
“You,” I say slowly, narrowing my gaze. “Have you been spilling things to my stepmother?”
“Osiris!” Adeline hisses, coming to the woman’s aid. “How could you possibly say such a thing?”
“And why shouldn’t I?” I ask. “Everything was fine until she came into the picture, and suddenly my stepmother knows about Jean and her family. Don’t you find it suspicious?”
It was the most plausible explanation, and honestly that was the thing that made me question whether or not my assumption was correct.
Wouldn’t it be that the most obvious answer was the least likely answer?
Dammit. I hated that I even had to consider such things, but moving forward, I needed to make sure that my plans weren’t spoiled.
My family’s and our pups’ safety was on the line, and that was something that I wasn’t willing to take for granted.
“I think for the time being it is best that she is kept somewhere safe and away from things.” I continue, deciding for now to keep the fact that my flame’s memories were back to myself. “And I think it is also best that you return to your home.”
“What?” Adeline gasps, her eyes widening. “What in the world are you even saying? Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“Not at all,” I tell her. “But for now I will deal with things on my own.”
"This doesn't only involve you," Adeline says, her voice shaking. "You aren't the only one who has someone you love hidden away."
"That may be," I agree. "And because of that I will make sure to deal with it, so just stay out of this for the time being."