How To Lose Your Billionaire Alpha Husband In 365 Days (Or Less)!-Chapter 24: Alpha’s Orders...

JASMINE’S POV

The days passed in a strange, heavy fog.

I kept my distance from Aiden. Physically, at least.

Emotionally?

That was harder.

He wasn’t locking me up. But he wasn’t letting me leave, either.

Every time I tried to step outside—onto the veranda, down the garden steps, even toward the gates—Kieran was conveniently there.

"Not safe yet," he’d tell me in a calm but firm voice. "Alpha’s orders."

"Of course, it’s Aiden’s order," I muttered as I turned around.

It wasn’t a prison.

But it wasn’t freedom.

And that gnawed at me.

Because no matter how much I told myself I didn’t want him near me... I could feel him in every corner of this house.

He wasn’t hovering, but he left... pieces of himself everywhere.

A mug of my favourite tea left steaming on the kitchen counter, even though I hadn’t told anyone I liked it.

Fresh jasmine flowers arranged in a simple glass vase by the window.

A new book left on my nightstand—one I’d mentioned offhand days ago, never expecting him to remember.

Neatly folded blankets where I do my evening reading.

It was subtle and almost felt like an apology. But I couldn’t ignore it, and it was making me go crazy.

Every little gesture made it harder to dislike him, harder to push away the growing feeling in my chest, and harder to ignore the thought that maybe—just maybe—he wasn’t the monster I had made him out to be.

I did my best to keep the mask on and appear calm. But inside, I felt like I was struggling, completely out of control.

No matter what I tried, my thoughts kept circling back to him, and that terrified me.

I spent hours pacing my room, tracing invisible patterns across the floorboards. The quiet creaked with memories of our arguments, our silences.

I found myself watching the doorway, half-expecting him to appear, half-dreading it.

I used the time alone to learn more about his world—werewolves, vampires, fae, and many more. Turns out he has an entire section in his library dedicated to the supernaturals.

Well, he was one.

I spent afternoons flipping through old tomes, their pages smelling of dust and secrets, piecing together a puzzle I wasn’t sure I wanted solved.

I was gradually easing into the idea of being married to a supernatural. Things were going well, and I was already making mental notes of all the questions I’ll ask Aiden when he reappeared...

It happened late afternoon, on the veranda. I’d slipped outside while Kieran was nowhere in sight.

Aiden had gone to work for the first time since the rogue incident, and I was bored, hoping for five minutes of fresh air without invisible chains tightening around me.

I should’ve known better.

She leaned casually against the marble pillar at the veranda entrance, arms crossed, lips painted a deep, blood-red.

Her pale blue eyes gleamed with malice, and her smile? Dead cold.

Elena.

I didn’t need an introduction.

"You’re still here?" she asked, her voice dripping sugar and poison in equal measure.

I stiffened. "I don’t see why I wouldn’t be."

She tilted her head. "You really think you belong here?"

My eyes narrowed on her. "What do you want, Elena?"

She uncrossed her arms, stepping closer. Her heels clicked softly against the stone, sounding a bit like distant thunder.

"I want what’s best for Aiden," she said smoothly in a sultry tone that should have been meant for men with loose hold over their ding dong. "And you... are not it."

I held her gaze, refusing to look away. "I’m pretty sure a billionaire alpha like him can decide that for himself."

A small, pitying smile curved her lips. "Oh, honey... so you know now. You’ve seen what he really is. You finally understand." Her gaze sharpened. "And yet you’re still standing here."

For a second, I froze.

Her words from our first encounter ringing in my ears. "You don’t belong in our world."

She knew what Aiden was. She was probably one, too.

"You were waiting for me to run," I said quietly.

Elena’s smile widened. "Because you should run, Jasmine. You don’t belong in this world. He’s a werewolf, an alpha... and you... are just a mere human."

Her words slithered around me like a noose, tightening with every syllable. My pulse pounded at my throat, loud and fast.

I should’ve been afraid. I should’ve felt small under her stare, under the weight of everything I’d learned. But instead, a flicker of stubborn fire sparked inside me.

I inhaled sharply. "Even so," I said, voice steady, "I still choose him."

Her laughter was soft. Almost... sad.

"Oh, sweetheart." She stepped even closer, enough for me to see the faint edge of something cruel under her beauty. "You think this is a choice? You think you’re still in control?"

Her words sliced through the last threads of certainty holding me together.

"This bond will consume you," she warned, low and intimate. "Mark my words, little human. It’ll burn you alive from the inside out."

I swallowed hard against the lump rising in my throat. "I’m not scared of him."

Her lips pulled back in that slow, knowing smile like she could see the future.

"No," she murmured. "But you should be scared for yourself. Of what will happen when he finally marks you... Or when he doesn’t. You won’t even recognise the girl staring back at you when this is over."

She leaned in, her perfume curling between us. "Leave while you still can."

Rather than cowering as she hoped, I straightened, forcing my spine tall. "Get the hell out of my way."

She stepped aside, lips curling into something between a smirk and a warning. "You won’t make it far," she whispered.

And then she disappeared, heels clicking down the veranda steps until silence swallowed her up.

I stood frozen for a long minute, my heart thudding so loudly that I felt it in my throat.

Her words kept replaying in my mind, twisting and burrowing in deeper than I wanted them to.

When I returned to my room, a deep sense of unease crept over me. I shut the door and leaned against it, feeling completely drained, like something important had been taken from me.

I fell onto the bed, pulling the blankets around me. I stared at the shadows on the ceiling, watching as they faded into nothingness.

Before I knew it, sleep caught up with me.

—

I’m not sure what woke me up. Was it a noise, a change in the air, or something else?

I had no idea, but when I finally blinked awake, I saw Aiden standing quietly by the door... barefoot and shirtless.

Holy goodness...