Chapter 195: Not Her, Always You
**Aurora’s POV**
“You… you’re getting married to Alessandro?” My voice shook, my fingers trembling against my sides.
Tamara’s smile was smug. “Yep. I’ll soon be the future Luna of this pack. So…” she tilted her head, eyes glinting, “…you’ll be seeing me a lot more often, sister-in-law.”
I tried to force a smile, but my lips refused to move. The word "married" kept echoing in my head like a cruel bell.
“Well,” she said lightly, “I just wanted to introduce myself properly. I’ll let you enjoy the rest of your day, sister-in-law.”
She gave me one last sweet, poisonous smile before walking out and shutting the door behind her.
Annie’s jaw dropped. “Wait. Did she just say she’s marrying Alessandro?”
I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “… I need to see him. I need to hear it from him.”
I pushed past Annie and flung the door open—only to freeze.
There he was. Alessandro. Standing right outside my room.
And Tamara… was beside him. Her hand resting on his shoulder like it belonged there.
My gaze darted between them—her smug, his unreadable—and my chest squeezed painfully.
Why didn’t you tell me?
Why did you make me believe…?
Why did you make me hope?
The words never left my lips. My eyes burned, and before I broke completely, I turned and rushed back into my room, slamming the door shut.
I leaned against it, my breaths shallow. Annie followed slowly, her eyes searching mine.
“Did you see him?” she asked softly.
I nodded, tears spilling over. “…Yeah.”
“Did you ask him? What did he say?”
“He… he wasn’t alone,” I choked out.
Annie’s face hardened.
“What an ass.” She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close.
That was all it took. The dam broke.
“I… I’m so tired, Annie,” I sobbed into her shoulder. “I can’t keep doing this… It hurts so much.
My heart—” my voice cracked.
“It hurts…..”
It hurt.
It hurt so much I could barely breathe.
Just then, a knock came at the door. I ignored it, wiping the tears from my face, but the knock came again, louder this time.
“Aurora, it’s me, Alessandro. Please open the door. I need to talk to you.”
I stayed frozen, my hands trembling. Before I could move, Annie stormed over and yanked the door open.
“Oh, so you have the nerve to show up here?” She snapped, blocking the doorway with her small frame. “You think you can just waltz in after everything you’ve done?”
“Annie, please,” Alessandro said, his voice tight. “It’s not what you think.”
“Not what I think?” Annie scoffed. “Do you have any idea what you’ve put her through? The least you could do is leave her alone.”
“I’m begging you,” he said, lowering his tone. “Let me explain to her—just once. If she still hates me after, I’ll leave. But she deserves to hear the truth.”
Annie hesitated, glancing back at me. I could see in her eyes she wanted to slam the door, but instead, she stepped aside.
I stood there for a moment, wiping my face with my sleeve, then walked toward the door. My heart pounded as I met his eyes.
“Come in,” I said quietly.
He stepped inside, his gaze never leaving mine. I went to sit on the edge of my bed, my arms crossed tightly, bracing myself.
Alessandro took a deep breath. “Aurora… there’s so much you don’t know. And everything you think you saw—it’s not the truth. Let me explain everything.”
He stood a few feet away, his shoulders tense, like he was holding himself back from coming closer.
"I got to know about this so-called ‘arranged marriage’ with Tamara today," he started, speaking softly but clearly.
"It was my dad's plan. He wrote to her back behind me, making it look like I said yes to marrying her.
He saw it as a ‘smart move’ to make our pack stronger against Alpha Maverick." My face got stiff.
"And you didn’t think I needed to know this?"
"I didn’t tell you right then because I went to my dad right when I found out, to stop it." His tone got tough.
"I told him I would not marry Tamara. Not now. Not ever. I said I was not going to swap my life and joy just to join in his power plays. And I stood by each word."
I searched his face, looking for even a flicker of doubt.
“Then why, why was she with you just now?
Why was her hand on you like—”
He stepped forward quickly, shaking his head.
“Because she came out of your room at the exact moment I was about to walk in to explain things to you.
I didn’t invite her, I didn’t stop for her, and I didn’t even want to talk to her. She put her hand on me out of nowhere.
And before I could shake her off—" He paused, his eyes softening.
“You came out. And I saw your face, Aurora. I saw what you thought, and it killed me.”
My throat ached. “You could have said something. Right then.”
“I was going to,” he said desperately.
“But you turned and went back inside before I could get a single word out.
That’s why I’m here now. Because I can’t let you believe for even a second that I want Tamara. I don’t. I never have. I never will.”
Silence stretched between us, broken only by my unsteady breathing.
He took another step forward, his voice quieter now, almost pleading.
“Aurora, I love you. You’re the only person I’ve ever loved like this. You’re the only person I will ever love like this.
I don’t care if it costs me the pack, if it means fighting every Alpha in the region, or if it means going against my father; none of it matters if I don’t have you. Because without you… none of it is worth it.”
My chest tightened painfully, my anger unraveling under the weight of his words.
He took one more step, close enough now that I could see the raw emotion in his eyes.
“You’re my mate. My choice. My life. And I swear to you, I will never let you go—not for Tamara, not for my father, not for anyone.”
My lips parted, but no words came out.
Then, slowly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. My breath caught.
He bent to one knee, still holding my gaze.
“Aurora… I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but loving you will never be one of them. I want you beside me through every battle, every victory, every moment. So…”
He opened the box, the silver ring inside catching the light.
“Will you marry me, Aurora?”
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