COG
Cecelia stood in the center of the ballroom, her ruby–red gown shimmering under the chandelier’s golden light.
A glass of wine dangled delicately from her fingers, her lips curled into a sly smile.
“First of all,” she purred, “thank you all for coming to celebrate my birthday tonight.” She let the words hang in the air, her gaze scanning the crowd.
Something about the way she smirked made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
Nathan leaned in slightly. “I don’t like that look on her face,” he muttered under his breath. Neither did I.
9:38 AM D
I Kept the Alpha’s Secret Heir
Cecelia turned her head slightly–just enough so that her eyes landed on me.
And then she dropped the bombshell.
“As many of you know, my dear sister Hannah has been struggling in her… relationship with Alpha Dean.” She sighed dramatically, feigning concern. “And I do hate to be the bearer of bad news, but secrets have a way of coming out, don’t they?”
A murmur rippled through the crowd, people glancing at me, then at Dean, and then back at Cecelia.
I clenched my jaw, every fiber of my being telling me to walk up there and slap that smug expression right off her face. But I stayed rooted to the spot. If she wanted to play this game, then I’d let her. I wasn’t about to make a scene before I knew exactly what she was trying to pull.
“Tonight, I just wanted to clear the air about something,” Cecelia continued, her voice sweet as honey. “Because, really, it would be awful if people were misled, wouldn’t it?” She sighed dramatically. “Which is why I feel it’s only fair to announce that Hannah is pregnant.”
A collective gasp filled the hall.
My body turned to ice.
Whispers exploded all around us. My pulse pounded in my ears. I could feel every single pair of eyes on me, their curiosity, their judgment.
But Cecelia wasn’t done.
“And the best part?” she added, her voice dropping into something dangerously sweet. “The father isn’t Alpha Dean.”
Silence. Heavy, suffocating silence.
Dean’s entire body went rigid beside me. His fists clenched. His jaw tightened. His nostrils flared as he turned to me with a look that could burn down a forest.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Dean muttered under his breath.
I forced my spine to straighten, my heart hammering against my ribs. “Cecelia,” I said, my voice steady despite the chaos inside me. “You certainly know how to put on a show.”
She tilted her head, looking positively delighted. “Oh, dear sister, I’m only telling the truth. Surely you wouldn’t want to keep secrets from your guests?”
Dean took a slow, menacing step toward me. “Is it true?” His voice was eerily calm, but there was a storm brewing behind his eyes.
I turned to face him, meeting his glare head–on. If Cecelia thought she could use this against me, she was sorely mistaken.
I forced a smirk. “You seem upset, Dean. What’s the problem?” I gestured to Cecelia. “She just said the baby isn’t yours. Isn’t that a relief? Now you don’t have to worry about being tied to me anymore.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched.
He didn’t like that answer.
Cecelia giggled. “Oh, Hannah, trying to play it cool?” She turned to the crowd. “Perhaps she’d like to tell everyone who the father really is?”
I refused to take the bait. “You seem very invested in my personal affairs, Cecelia,” I said smoothly. “Why is that? Jealous?”
Her eyes darkened. “Jealous? Of you?” She let out a sharp laugh. “Please. You’ve been nothing but a nuisance to Alpha Dean, and honestly, we all know he deserves better. Maybe that’s why you had to go running into another man’s bed.”
Another round of gasps.
9:38 AM
1 Kept the Alpha’s Secret Her
Nathan suddenly stepped forward. “Enough,” he said, his voice cutting through the noise.
Cecelia’s smirk grew. “Oh? Do you have something to say, Nathan?”
Nathan clenched his fists. His body was coiled tight, like a predator ready to strike.
I could end this now. I could tell everyone the truth–that Dean was the real traitor here, that Cecelia had been sleeping with him behind Nathan’s back. But as I looked at my father–frail and sick, sitting near the front of the hall, his face pale with confusion–I knew I couldn’t do that. Not yet. Not like this.
So instead, I did something else.
I stepped forward, slipping my arm through Nathan’s. “Since everyone is so eager to know the truth,” I said, lifting my chin, “yes, I’m pregnant. And yes, Nathan is the father.”
The silence was deafening.
Dean’s eyes blazed with something dark and dangerous, his entire body tensed like he was ready to tear something apart.
Cecelia’s smug expression flickered–just for a second.
And Nathan? He just held my hand a little tighter.
Dean’s voice was low, sharp as a blade. “You expect me to believe that?”
I smiled sweetly. “Believe what you want. I don’t owe you anything, Dean. Not anymore.”
Something in his gaze shifted, his anger twisting into something unreadable. But before he could say anything else, my father’s voice–weak but firm–cut through the tension.
“Enough,” he rasped.
The room fell silent.
He slowly pushed himself up from his chair, looking around at all of us. “This is not the place for such talk. I will not have this disgraceful display in my house.” He turned to me, his expression unreadable. “Hannah. We will discuss this later.”
I swallowed hard, nodding.
Dean was still staring at me like he was trying to figure out whether to believe me or rip me apart.
Cecelia, however, was smiling.
And that’s when I knew.
She wasn’t just trying to humiliate me.
She had something else planned.
