Chapter 418: Living Alone Truly Is Too Hard
Chapter 418 of "Mated To The Crippled Alpha" opens presenting twists: The paper still had traces of dried tears on it Whitneyâs and my own fell... Keep following!
The paper still had traces of dried tears on it Whitneyâs and my own fell now, dampening the ink further. I lay in Lewisâs arms, soaking his shirt, unable to stop. I had never been someone who cried easily, but since my rebirth something in me had come loose. Grief found me faster than it used to.I hated how powerless it made me feel. I had come back lived again and what did I have to show for it? No special gifts, no hidden strength, no edge that the stories always promised. Just enemies who had been circling for years, patient and invisible, waiting for the first real crack to split me open.
"Carl, Iâm powerless. All I can do is watch Whitney walk into danger."
Lewis stroked my hair slowly. "Elena, weâre not gods. Even gods have limits. We canât save everyone living our own lives well is already something. Your sister and I talked. Properly."
I looked up at him. "What did she say?"
"She said the life sheâs been living feels like reaching for something that turned out to be nothing like she imagined. She doesnât want to keep grasping for it. She just wants to go back to the person she was before all of this. Vito protected her for twenty years. Now she wants to protect him." He paused. "She said even if we tied everyone around her down, we still couldnât bind her heart. She wanted me to tell you that whatever happens, she wonât regret it. Her greatest regret was leaving Vito on Rosbel Island. If this ends badly, sheâs prepared to face that end with him. Living without him is too bitter."
More tears fell. I couldnât stop them. In my mind I saw flashes someone moving through place after place, alone, from the soft colors of spring all the way into winterâs silence. Day after day. Year after year. Until even the will to continue quietly ran dry.
"Yes," I whispered. "Living alone truly is too hard."
We canât decide how other people live their lives. All we can do is hold onto our own and try to be present in it thatâs where happiness actually lives. Lewis pressed his lips to the top of my head, holding them there.
"Whitney has a tracker on her, a listening device, and some emergency tools I put together. Iâve positioned people nearby to watch over her. But to avoid blowing her cover, they have to keep their distance. I canât promise a hundred percent." He said it plainly, without softening it, because he knew Iâd see through anything less. If every operation went perfectly, the world wouldnât be full of people who gave everything and still didnât make it back.
"When the time comes, Whitney will pass along certain information, and weâll use it to make Vitoâs side of things easier."
I lowered my head. "I understand."
Whether it was Vito or Whitney, all we could offer was support from the edges. Their survival depended on them. And they werenât facing ordinary enemies Luther was nothing like the Blackwells. He sat closer to the center of real power. Even Vito had never seen his face, which meant his position sat above everyone theyâd encountered before.
A man like that didnât make mistakes.
Lewis exhaled slowly. "I didnât want to tell you right away. I was worried youâd carry it constantly, and youâre already carrying enough. But I knew you wouldnât let it go, so it was better to be honest." He tilted my chin up gently. "Promise me youâll take care of yourself, Elena. You have our children inside you. The ones we waited two lifetimes for."
"Okay," I said softly.
I swallowed the rest of my tears and pressed my face against his chest, holding still. All I could do now was hope.
"Will Whitney go looking for Luther before the event? There are still two days, right?"
"Yes. Sheâll let herself seem lost, a little vulnerable someone who needs help. Lutherâs a doctor at his core. Heâll bring her somewhere he feels in control." Lewis said it calmly, but I felt my hands curl into fists at my sides.
What was that if not walking straight into the den of something far more dangerous than she was ready for?
"Carl," I said quietly, "now I understand how you felt when you knew I was at Blackwell Residence."
It was the same helplessness. The same locked-out feeling.
The only thing keeping me steady now was the life growing inside me two heartbeats that were mine to protect, even when I couldnât protect anyone else.
Back home, Jeffreyâs face lit up the moment he saw the checkup report. "Wonderful, my girl! Youâre a true hero of this family!" He straightened in his chair. "Arnold bring it."
"Yes, sir."
I glanced at Lewis, uncertain what was coming.
Arnold returned carrying a document. I looked it over, and my breath caught. It was a share transfer agreement ten percent of the Hale Group, signed over to me. Ten percent. Luke Hale and his father combined only held seven. Jeffrey was handing me, someone who had married into this family, more than either of them.
"Dad, this is too much," I said, still processing it.
"Take it," he said firmly. "Call it a gift from a grandfather to his grandchild." He broke into a short cough, pressing his hand to his mouth. "I donât have much time left. My greatest wish before I go is to clear the rot from this house. This family cannot fall because of me I couldnât face those who came before us if it did."
"Dad, youâll live a long and healthy life," Lewis said, his voice leaving no room for argument.
Jeffrey let out a quiet sound, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. "Whatâs the point in dragging it out? I imagine Jane has been waiting for me long enough already. I wonder if sheâll still recognize this old face when she sees it."
Every time he said her name, something in his eyes went somewhere else somewhere softer, somewhere only he could reach. He had loved her the way some people only love once. Fate had taken her anyway.
"Alright," Jeffrey said, his tone shifting into something final. "Elena is tired. Take her back to rest. And whatever you hear tonight inside this house or out do not come out of that room."
The weight in his words settled over everything like a held breath.
What exactly was going to happen at the Hale Residence tonight?