Chapter 135 CHAPTER 135
Chapter 135 CHAPTER 135
The moment Soren arrives back at home, he runs back to the bedroom and throws himself on the bed without bothering to take off his clothes and curls up in the sheets as tears run down his face and a cry escapes his lips.
Just this morning, he was happy, and for a moment, he forgot about his troubles for a while until they knocked at his door. Soren knows his mother is crazy as long as money is involved, but he didn't think she would go that far just to humiliate him in public. He never thought she would drag Iris into her drama. He never thought she would hurt the little girl this way.
Soren should have taken Iris away from her at that moment, but he was overwhelmed with the emotion of fear that she might expose his secret in public. He thought everything was going to be over at that point, and he would lose Reign forever.
Why does she get to do that and get away with it? Why does she get to ruin his life and turn his life into some sloppy opera? He hates it. He hates her for doing this to him, for reminding him that what he has with Reign is like walking on a thin glass that’s about to shatter?
Soren curls around himself and shuts his eyes. Maybe he will wake up and realize all of this is just one big nightmare, but the heaviness in his chest refuses to lessen, and just then, the door of the bedroom opens, but Soren doesn't move while the bed dips on his side and the sheets are slowly removed from his face.
Soren's teary eyes meet the dark ones of Reign. Soren’s lips quiver, and he pulls himself up, and in the next moment, he’s throwing his arms around Reign’s abdomen, burying his face in the crook of his neck and letting his tears out.
Reign gently strokes his head without saying a word, releasing soothing pheromones that Soren greedily breathes in until he’s calm enough, and finally, Reign speaks. “You never told me you had such a relationship with your mother.”
Soren sniffs. He already knows Monroe must have told the Enigma everything that happened at the shoot. “I don’t know what got into her. I don’t understand why she hates me so much. I gave up so much just to give them a better life, but no matter what I do, it’s never enough,” he murmurs, feeding the man a half-truth and a half-lie. His voice sounds small enough to make anyone believe he’s genuinely hurt. He tightens his arms around the Enigma. “I—I should have taken Iris. I can’t believe she dragged Iris into it, Reign… she used my sister like a fucking prop.”
He can’t keep up with her anymore, and Soren can’t keep taking her blackmail and manipulation anymore.
Reign gently strokes his hair. “Shhhh,” he whispers, moving in to press a kiss at the top of his head. “I’ll take care of everything,” he promises.
~~
Diane Fox grins from ear to ear at the lottery ticket in her hand. If she’s lucky, she might hit the jackpot tonight. Without a second thought, she unlocks the door of her apartment and pushes her way in before reaching for the switch on the wall, but the moment the room brightens, she abruptly pauses at the two guards that stand in front of her.
She looks at the door, realizing there’s no sign of a break-in, but then how do these men get into her home? She slowly stares back at them and shoves her ticket into her pocket. “Who are you and what are you doing in my home?” she demands, but instead of answering, they crowd her while she takes a step back, ready to run for the door, but she barely makes a turn before both her arms are grabbed roughly, and she’s hauled to the living room and thrown to the floor.
She instantly snaps her head up but immediately regrets it as she meets the dark eyes of Reign Montgomery, sitting on her chair in front of her, legs crossed over the other, his large coat draped over his shoulders while his gloved arms tap patiently on the armrest, his presence filling every corner of the room. She gulps heavily, a cold sweat rolling down her temple as she looks at the corner to see Iris held by two other guards. She slowly looks back at him.
“M-Mr. Montgomery,” Diane stammers, her voice cracking as she desperately tries to summon the fake tears that had worked so well at the studio. “I... I didn't mean any harm today! I was just hurt—as a mother! Soren has been abandoning us, and I—”
With a motion of his hand, one of the guards moves, grabbing the woman by the hair and yanking it back like he’s about to rip it off her scalp, and then holds a knife to her throat while the other guards turn Iris around, turning her back to the scene.
“Please! Don’t kill me!” She cries out.
“Give me a good reason why?” Reign finally speaks.
Her entire body trembles violently as the guard digs the blade further into the skin of her throat. “I am still Soren’s mother.”
“Not good enough.”
“Wait! Wait!” Diane shrieks, her voice breaking into a ragged, pathetic plea as a tiny drop of red bubbles up where the sharp steel presses against her skin. “I won’t show up in front of him again. I swear by my life, I won’t hurt or demand money from him again. Please. Please. Don’t kill me!”
Reign waves the guard off dismissively and stands to his feet, hovering over her as his gaze strikes into her like a pest under his feet that he can easily crush. “From now on, you will no longer appear in front of him, you will relinquish every legal right to Iris as her mother, and you will leave this city before the sun rises tomorrow.”
Slowly, he squats to her level and roughly grabs her jaw, digging his nails into her skin while his gaze drills a hole into her face. “The only reason you still live is because you bore my mate. I’ll give you this chance once, and only once. So you better run.”
Diane nods feverishly, tears falling down her face like water. “Yes! Yes! I’ll leave! I’ll never come back!”
He lets go of her face with a push and stands to his feet. He turns to the little girl who still has her back turned to the scene, and finally, the guard turns her back around.
“Come, child. Your brother is waiting for you at home.”