The Return Of The First Love

Chapter 26

EMELIA

I stood there, utterly shocked, unable to believe my eyes as Keiden remained locked in the kiss with the stunning woman. My heart sank into my stomach, churning with disgust and betrayal. How could he? We weren’t mates or officially dating, but we shared something—an unspoken connection, a bond forged through hardship. He shouldn’t have kissed her, no matter the circumstances.

As my mind raced, the anger bubbled up within me. Keiden, the fierce Alpha who commanded respect, was kissing a woman he barely knew. Was he so careless that he didn’t consider the consequences? He could be poisoned, manipulated by her. The very thought made me feel sick. How could he stoop so low?

The emotions roared inside me, an inferno of jealousy and hurt. It felt as if the world around me had stopped, the kiss stretching on like an eternity. I clenched my fists at my sides, wishing I could scream, wishing I could break this spell that had him entranced.

Finally, they broke apart, and I took a shaky breath, trying to steady my racing heart.

“It’s me, Naomi!!” the woman exclaimed, her voice dripping with sweetness.

“Naomi…” Keiden echoed, licking his lips, as if savoring her taste. “The name sounds familiar, but it still doesn’t ring a bell.”

“I was your first love! We were in love!!” she insisted, stepping closer to him. “We were dating before I traveled to further my education.”

My stomach twisted at the words. First love? I felt the burning sting of tears in my eyes, my chest tightening as I struggled to keep my composure. How could he have forgotten? Or worse, how could he be so easily swayed by her?

“Don’t you remember me?” she pressed, her eyes sparkling with an exaggerated innocence.

Keiden’s eyes lit up, recognition washing over him like a tidal wave. “It’s you! I remember you now.”

They hugged each other as if the last few years had disappeared, their embrace a clear testament to a history I was not a part of. My heart shattered into pieces as I watched them, feeling invisible, a mere shadow in their reunion.

“Where have you been all these years?” Keiden asked, pulling back just enough to gaze into her eyes. “I missed you!”

“I wasn’t able to get into another relationship because I couldn’t get over you,” Naomi replied, her voice laced with a heartbreaking sincerity. But Keiden didn’t respond, his expression unreadable. It was as if he were weighing her words, and I could see the glimmer of doubt in his eyes.

“How come you’re here all of a sudden after traveling and leaving the pack for years?” Keiden questioned, arching a brow as he scrutinized her.

“I’ve been searching for you! When I heard you were the Alpha of this pack, I quickly took the nearest transport to come meet you. I miss you, Keiden. I do not want to lose you.” Her voice was a mix of desperation and longing, and I felt my heart twist painfully in my chest.

Lose him? I wanted to scream that he was already lost to her. But he didn’t seem to hear my silent pleas as he remained tethered to her, still holding her hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Tears spilled down my cheeks, the warmth of my anger mixing with the icy dread settling in my bones. Wasn’t he the one who promised to protect me? What was happening? Did I mean so little to him?

“I want you to come back,” Naomi said, giving him those doe-like eyes, her voice dripping with charm.

“Naomi, it’s going to be a step-by-step process. We’ll talk more about it,” Keiden replied, but there was a distant tone to his voice that set my teeth on edge.

“For now, let me introduce you to my…” He hesitated, searching for the right words.

“Your maid?” Naomi interrupted, cutting him off before he could finish his sentence.

I felt a flash of fury surge through me, my heart racing with indignation. “I am not his maid!” I shot back, glaring at her with blazing anger.

Naomi only laughed, the sound a taunting melody in my ears. “It’s so sad that you aren’t his maid because you look like one, from your stature to your dressing,” she sneered, her gaze traveling over me like I was an afterthought.

The sting of her words felt like a knife twisting in my gut. I couldn’t understand how Keiden was allowing this to happen, how he was standing there, silent and still. The room felt suffocating, filled with a tension that made it hard to breathe.

“Why aren’t you doing anything about it?” I asked Keiden, my voice rising with desperation. “Can’t you see how she’s treating me?”

“I can’t do anything about it,” he said, his eyes drifting back to Naomi. “As you can see, she already told me that we were first lovers.”

My heart dropped. The air around us felt thick and heavy. “You don’t expect me to hurt my first love?” he added, as if that justified his inaction.

I felt a wave of betrayal wash over me, the tears threatening to spill over once more. “But what about me, Keiden?” I whispered, my voice breaking. “What about the promise you made to protect me?”

He looked back at me, a flicker of confusion crossing his face. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by a lingering affection for the woman standing beside him.

“Emelia, I…” he began, but I couldn’t listen anymore. I felt my heart shatter completely, each piece slicing through me like glass.

Naomi turned to him, batting her eyelashes as she smiled. “Oh, Keiden, I’m so glad we’ve found each other again.”

My heart ached as I took a step back, the weight of my emotions pressing down on me. How could he forget everything? How could he throw away what little care he had for me because his “first love” came back

I could feel the emptiness swallowing me whole
I didn’t even realize when the tears began to fall. They slipped silently down my cheeks, unbidden and warm, contrasting the icy dread that had settled deep within my heart. My mind spiraled back to the promise Keiden had made to protect me, to keep me safe. Where was that man now? The one who had stood fiercely at my side, who had warned those ladies not to lay their hands on me.

Unable to bear the sight of them any longer, I cleared my throat, trying to regain some semblance of composure. “Keiden, can you show me to our room? I need to take a rest.” My voice wavered, betraying the pain simmering beneath the surface.

As soon as the words left my lips, I felt Naomi’s gaze shift sharply toward me. Her smile faded, replaced by a look of incredulity. “Our room?” she echoed, her tone dripping with disdain. “What do you mean by that? Why are you two sleeping together?”

I glanced at Keiden, searching his face for support, but instead, I found a look of uncertainty clouding his features. He opened his mouth to explain, but Naomi cut him off, her eyes blazing.

“What’s this? Are you cheating on me, Keiden?” she accused, her voice sharp as a knife.

Keiden hesitated, a flicker of confusion crossing his face. “I didn’t know you were still into me, Naomi. It’s been a long time since we dated. This isn’t cheating; I need to protect Emelia.”

Naomi’s expression twisted into a mixture of anger and disbelief. “Protect her? You think I care about that? The only person who should be spending the night in that room is me!” She stepped forward, positioning herself between us, as if to physically block me from Keiden. “Any other woman can find somewhere else to sleep. I won’t have this!”

I could feel my temper rising, a fierce heat flushing my face as I stepped up to Naomi. “If you aren’t sleeping in Keiden’s room, where do you expect me to sleep?” I challenged, my voice steady despite the whirlwind of emotions inside me.

Naomi crossed her arms, a smug smile curling on her lips. “I don’t care where you sleep. You can go sleep with the maids for all I care. I am the only one who belongs in his bed.”

Her words were like daggers, each one cutting deeper than the last. I looked to Keiden, pleading silently with my eyes for him to intervene, to say something that would reassure me I wasn’t alone in this. But he remained silent, the space between us growing wider as he stood there, seemingly torn.

“If we look at it from the bright side, Emelia,” he finally spoke, his voice softer than I wanted it to be, “staying in the maid’s room isn’t really bad, you are going to make new friends there.”