Alpha's Private Plaything (Elsa and Drake Stone) novel Chapter 275

Alpha’s Private Plaything

Chapter 275

I shifted uncomfortably, suddenly more aware of who I was sitting next to, my heart racing a little faster. “Why tell me this? I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling suddenly vulnerable.

Ava sighed, her shoulders slumping as #f the weight of her secret was physically crushing her. Because I want someone to know the truth before I leave. And you… she hesitated, finally meeting my eyes, “you’re the only one who might understand what it’s like to be someone’s dirty little secret

She began to tell me how she’d met Joseph. She’d been driving recklessly, angry about an arranged mating her family had set up with the Moonlight family. She’d crashed her car, and Joseph had been the one to pull her from the wreckage. As she spoke, her hands moved animatedly, then fell limp in her lap during the painful parts.

“I thought he was the one I was supposed to mate,” she said with a hollow laugh that seemed to scrape her throat raw. “Some cosmic joke, right? I was bleeding, barely conscious, and I looked up and saw him and thought–this is him. This is the man my family chose.”

“But it wasn’t,” I guessed, my fingernails digging into my palms.

She shook her head, a fresh tear spilling down her cheek. “It was his brother, Allen. Joseph was just… a complication.” Her voice broke on the last word.

“Elsa,” she said, looking at me with red–rimmed eyes, reaching out to grip my wrist with surprising strength, have you ever felt that heart–pounding

moment? When you’re drowning in the darkest mud, and suddenly someone reaches out and pulls you up, and you think you’ve found your salvation?”

I thought of my mother, of her silver–poisoned heart, of Drake arranging the surgery that saved her life. The way my chest had tightened with a terrible

mixture of gratitude and resentment. I nodded slowly, swallowing hard against the lump in my throat.

‘I fell for Joseph right then,” she continued, her grip tightening on my wrist. “I betrayed my family for him. I changed my name, cut ties with everyone I knew. Became the Moonlight Group’s social butterfly,‘ attending parties, making connections…” Her voice trailed off as she released me, wrapping her arms

around herself. “For nothing.”

I’ve been with him for years now,” she said, anger seeping into her tone as she stood abruptly, pacing the small landing like a caged animal. “No name, no status, completely devoted. I’ve worked for him, socialized for him, even helped him look good in front of others. And he won’t even acknowledge me

properly.”

She wiped furiously at fresh tears, her breathing becoming ragged. “I’ve trained him to be a better man, and now he’s just going to give himself to someone else. It’s not fair! Her voice echoed off the walls, and I flinched at the raw pain în it.

I could have any fucking man I wanted, she continued, her voice rising as she slammed her palm against the wall. “I’m still a White, no matter what use. I could call my family right now and be back in their good graces by morning. But I only want him. Just him.” Her voice cracked on the last words.

She stood abruptly, smoothing down her wrinkled dress with shaking hands. “I’m getting out of here.”

“Let me walk you back to your room,” I offered, standing too, my legs stiff from sitting on the cold steps.

There’s no place for me there,” she said bitterly, a hollow laugh escaping her. “I’ll call a car.

same!

I watched her disappear down the stairs, her silhouette fragile against the harsh fluorescent lighting. As the echo of her footsteps faded, I felt a heaviness settle in my chest, my throat tight with unshed tears, Aya at least had an escape route her family would welcome her back if she swallowed her pride.

I had nowhere else to go, no family wealth to fall back on. Just a fucking contract that bound me to Drake, and a mother who depended on his resources to stay alive.

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