Page 37 of Rejected Mate Bride
Camden tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach. He had been wondering about this ever since Flora had first mentioned she had a child. Flora had insisted that the father wasn’t in the picture and that the man wasn’t Alpha Sier. Despite his curiosity, Camden had convinced himself that was enough. He had done his best to give her space and let her confide in him when she was ready, but something about the situation wasn’t adding up.
“Leave Silverrose,” Camden repeated. “Don’t make me say it again.”
They shrugged, gave each other a knowing look, and backed away.
As Camden hurried back to the house, he thought over everything they had said. He wanted to trust Flora and give herthe benefit of the doubt. She had her reasons for keeping quiet about who fathered her child, and she had every right to do so.
But a thought had taken hold in his mind. It couldn’t possibly be true. She would have told him. Wouldn’t she? He needed to be sure.
Camden pulled out his key to unlock the front door, pleased to see that Flora had followed his request in keeping it shut tightly while he was away. He had Marbles keeping watch over the house while he was gone, but it never hurt to be careful.
“Flora?” he called out as soon as his feet hit the threshold. “Where are you?”
“Laundry!” she called back.
He wasted no time in getting to her, needing to ease his mind about what her adoptive parents had caused him to suspect about Sofia. She was folding towels on the ironing board, her hair up in a messy ponytail and still wearing the pajamas she had woken up in. She rarely came downstairs without getting ready for the day, and the change caught him off guard. He wondered how she managed to be as beautiful and desirable as always, no matter what she wore.
“Everything went okay with your uncle?” Flora asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.
“Um, yes,” he said, shaking his head. “Yes, he’s going to double the guards around the territory like I asked him to.”
“That’s great,” she said, smiling with relief.
“Yeah, it is. Um, Flora, I need to talk to you about something,” he said, running his hand through his hair.
She paused her task and gave him her full attention, waiting patiently for him to continue.
“I know I don’t really have a right to ask, but I had a thought that has been driving me a little bit crazy,” he admitted.
“What is it?” Flora asked. She sounded concerned.
“Is Sofia my daughter?”
Flora inhaled sharply, her mouth opening in surprise. Whatever she had been expecting Camden to ask, it wasn’t this.
The house was silent as Camden waited with bated breath for her to ease his mind. She would tell him that Sofia had been the result of a one-night stand, and he would have no reason to doubt her. Now that he had asked the question out loud, he felt ridiculous. If Sofia had been his child, Flora would have told him long before now.
Or would she?
“Yes,” Flora said.
Chapter 17 - Flora
She had always known that Camden would eventually need to be told about Sofia, but this wasn’t how she wanted to have the conversation. She felt trapped by the sudden question, unable to think of a single thing to explain why she had kept it a secret for four years. All her excuses and explanations had vanished into the air, which was heavy as Flora waited for Camden to respond.
His expression was hard to get a read on: shock, confusion, betrayal, and something else that Flora thought looked like relief.
“What do you mean, yes?” he asked.
“Sofia is your daughter,” Flora admitted. “I was pregnant when you left for training, after that night we spent together.”
Camden’s jaw dropped further, as if he had forgotten how to control his facial muscles. He ran both his hands through his hair frantically, pulling at his scalp.
“How could you do this?” he asked in barely more than a whisper. “How could you not tell me?”
Flora knew that Camden was hurt by her secret. The betrayal was written, plain as day, across his face. But the moment he accused her, she became defensive. Didn’t he understand whatshehad been through? She had been young, pregnant, and completely alone. He had abandoned her, cast her aside, told her she was nothing to him. Did he think she should have run to him with her heart open wide and spill her deepest fears to him?
“How couldIdo this?” Flora asked. “You rejected me, remember? The second you had gotten what you wanted from me, youleftme, pregnant and alone.”
