his unreasonable demand

(Pearl’s P.O.V.)

I blinked harder while trying to process what Ryker asked me to do. Evelyn had already warned me about it, but I still had this hope in my heart that the person who cherished me for more than 20 years would not do such a thing to me.

“I don’t know what gave you this courage to ask me to transfer my company…. The company that I started with my hard-earned money and made successful with my hard work, brother. If you want to make your beloved sister happy, go and open a new company for her, but don’t ever think about eyeing anything that truly belongs to me.”

Ryker not only shattered my heart mercilessly but also made me realize that I never understood my so-called family.

“I never asked you for anything, Pearl. Jus…. Just do this as repayment fo… for the care I showed to you all these years.” He replied calmly and I scoffed with disdain.

“You never asked me anything? Are you sure, Ryker?” I asked him, stabbing the piece of apple that I wanted to eat.

There was silence on his end.

“Don’t make me hate you more than I already do, Ryker. I still call you brother because I genuinely treated you as my brother till today. Till today, I …. I have this hope in my heart that you still valued our siblinghood of 20 years and will not let anyone wrong me again, but I was so wrong. You…. You proved th.. that there is no such thing as a sibling-like relationship between you and me. And about repaying you for your care, I have already paid you back by rejecting my mate. I owe you nothing.”

I didn’t know why, but my voice cracked in the end, and I felt my cheeks wet.

It was when I realized that I was crying silently.

“Pearl.” He called me, sounding frustrated, but I had enough of his s**t.

“Go, and tell your beloved sister, who is the real owner of those companies she has been eyeing all these years. I don’t need to tell you how I built these companies. If I can, she, as a princess, can do it on her own too.”

Before he could say a word more, I hung up, and the next thing that I did was block him.

“Why are you wasting your tears on him? This was already expected.” Maya, my wolf, scolded me, still sounding tired.

“I am not crying for him, Maya. I am crying for myself.” I replied to her while wiping my cheeks.

Maya came back a few days ago, but she was still so weak that I refused to let her stay present all the time. It was because of her that I learned that Killian was my mate.

“Call Evelyn and ban their entry to any of our office premises. Issue the letter that your brand will no longer associate itself with those people. You forgot who you really are,” she ordered me strictly.

I sighed and closed my eyes while rubbing my temple.

I couldn’t deny that what Ryker did now really hurt me. They wanted to make up for Emma and that was why, they abandoned me, snatched everything, including their love and care, from me, even my mate, but I still had this hope in my heart that they won’t do anything more to hurt me.

I sniffed harder and opened my eyes.

I was going to do what Maya asked me. Those people don’t deserve any fruit of my hard work even if they are going to pay for that.

I dialed Evelyn’s number and kept looking at the horizon. It was a bright day, but I felt darkness looming over me.

“Announce to our official website that we are terminating our ties with Thornbill Corporation, and any person related to that family or the company is banned from entering our premises everywhere in the world.” I instructed her in a stern tone, still sniffing lightly.

“Finally, you woke up.” She remarked, and I felt a pang of pain in my heart.

I admit now that Evelyn has better judgment of characters than I do.

“So, who called you? Your brother or your father?” She asked me nonchalantly.

“Does it matter? I woke up, and this is the only thing that matters the most.” I replied, still having my gaze at the same point.

“Don’t think too much, Pearl. They don’t deserve even a pinch of your sadness. They want to make up to Emma for those missing years, but what about you?” She asked, feeling pity for me.

“Did you find any clue about my biological parents?” I asked her after deciding to let this topic go.

“No…. the strange thing is that …. That night only Luna Thornbill was there for her delivery at that time. Of course there were a few more pregnant woman, but all other kids born that night were born either earlier than you and Emma or after an hour. So, I am still trying to figure out where this second child came from?” she replied, and I frowned.

“That second child is me, Evelyn.” I remarked annoyingly.

“You can’t say that, Pearl. Emma took four years to get that paternity test. It doesn’t make any sense, and above all, we are not normal creatures, Pearl. We are wolves, and we can recognize our family members at any time, no matter how many years we meet. We don’t need a paternity test to prove the blood relationship.” She pressed every word, sounding frustrated.

“Yeah… you are right, but they still accepted her, Evelyn, and this is the only reality that I have already accepted. I don’t need a family that gave up on me just because someone else claimed that I am not blood related to them.” I replied, trying to move away from this topic.

“That’s right. Let…. Let’s not talk about them anymore. I will send you the draft of the announcement in an hour. Before that, you announce it on your social media accounts. Don’t give them any opportunity to be a step ahead of us.” She asked, and I agreed with her.

“Okay… send me the investigation report and ask the PR to be ready for the next battle.” I instructed her while going back to the room.

The renovation work of this bedroom was on hold because of the attack. Killian told me that they still have a hunch that more assassins are still hiding inside the pack. So, I scowled darkly as soon as I entered the room.

“Okay.” She answered, and we both hung up.

I sighed and looked around. I don’t have any problem with monotonous colours but I am not fond of using them in my daily routine.

I went straight to the study desk that Killian had brought for me in the bedroom. He had an attached study here, and I was free to use that but I didn’t like working inside a closed room.

I opened my laptop and immediately logged in to my Twitter account first.

Evelyn was right. I can’t let them say something before me. Even if they don’t have any influence in these fields in which I dealt, I didn’t want to take any chances.