168 The weight of choices…
Miriam
The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows across the festival ground. Laughter echoed from nearby stalls as staff and servants continued to move about, making finishing touches to every arrangement.
Beneath it all, Jeremy’s words echoed in my head, causing my blood to boil.
“What did you just say?” I asked.
“I said,” he repeated icily, “Tell your daughter to stay away from my son. This has gone on long enough and I won’t take it anymore.”
I spun on my heels, my eyes blazing with anger. “Stay away? Are you serious, Jeremy? After everything, do you still want to play this game? Grow up, already. It’s been years. They love each other. Why can’t you just let them be?”
―
A bitter laugh escaped his throat. “Why must it always be me who sacrifices, Miriam?” His eyes darkened with old pain as he shot back. “Haven’t I given enough? I sacrificed everything for you. My son rotted in the dungeon for four years–four years to prove his love for Lyla! And how does she repay him?”
“That’s enough!” I shouted, my voice matching my fury. My chest heaved as I glared at him, my hands trembling. “Lyla didn’t ask for any of this! She never wanted your sacrifices, your son’s grand gestures, or his twisted sense of duty. All she ever wanted was a normal life!”
Jeremy stepped closer, his massive frame towering over me. The hatred in his eyes made my wolf want to recoil, but I stood my ground. “I was ready to give up everything for
you, Miriam,” his voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. “Everything. I was ready to accept all your baggage, all you mistake. I forgave you more times than I have ever forgiven anyone, but you chose him
over me”
I flinched, my heart pounding in my chest. I knew where this was going, but I couldn’t stop it.”
“I met you first. I loved you first…” his lips curled into a snarl. “And you had to do that to me? You betrayed me, Miriam. You threw me away as if I meant nothing. I wanted to fucking make you my
mate…”
My throat tightened as I struggled to hold my ground at the weight of his accusations. “Jeremy,
it wasn’t like that-”
“Don’t,” he interrupted. Then leaned back slightly, his gaze never leaving mine. “Don’t try to justify it. I loved how karma served you so well, Miriam. If not for that…”
The crack of my palm against his cheeks filled the air as tears streamed down my face. My breath hitched as I stared at him, my mind racing with emotions I thought I buried long ago.
“You have no right,” I said finally. “You have no right to bring up the past like this, to dredge up old wounds and use them as weapons. I made my choices; Jeremy and I took responsibility for them and I’ve lived with the consequences since then. But don’t you dare blame Lyla for what happened between us?”
108 The weight of choices…
His expression hardened as he stepped back, his jaw clenching tightly. “She’s not innocent in this, Miriam. None of us is.”
I shook my head, fighting the tears that stung my eyes. “You don’t understand. You’ve never understood. This isn’t about us, Jeremy. This is about our children. Please, don’t let your bitterness ruin their chance at happiness”
For a moment. Jeremy said nothing. He stared at the ground, then looked up, speaking quietly but with finality. “You think you’re protecting her, but you’re only delaying the inevitable. Secrets have a way of surfacing Miriam. And when they do, she’ll hate you for it. When she hears of her mother’s escapades…” he scoffed and continued “I wonder what the Moon Goddess saw in you to have given you the silver mark… you’re…” he shook his head “You’re a slut!”
Tears streamed down my face as I spat. “You’ll never be half the man Logan is! Fine, you met me first, but you were never intentional with me. We met not once, Jeremy, but several times. You always hesitated, then you went on all those stupid trips and left me alone…and by the time you finished hesitating, I had already made it clear that I shared a child with Logan.
“You were supposed to be the apprentice to the High Priestess. You were supposed to wait for me… it was just one fucking trip, Miriam. You think I didn’t see women who loved me too? I wanted to be fucked as much as you did? Is it because I respected you… I respected your virtue as a Sigma and fucking waited and then you had a child with him, too?”
“It wasn’t my fault. I was just a girl locked away in a temple for years. I didn’t know anything. Years after we reconnected, and I found out Logan was your Alpha. I came clean. I told you we shared a baby. You said you were fine with it, but then you changed!”
His lips curled into a sneer. “It was fine until you started sleeping with him again, Mirima,” he thundered, his voice echoing with rage, making the birds scatter from nearby trees. “You were still sleeping with him! You cheated on me repeatedly and you stand here trying to justify yourself? Have you no shame?”
His voice cracked and for a fleeting moment, raw pain replaced the anger in his eyes.
“I loved you, Miriam. I fucking loves you so much that I didn’t mind you already had a baby. Despite the years that had passed between us, I was ready to accept you again because my feelings never changed. Do you even know the things you made me do for that love…” he stopped, drawing a shaky breath. “Things I never did for my mate when she was alive!”
My tears were rolling down my cheeks in a torrent, my heart breaking all over again as I looked at him through blurry eyes. “I loved him, Jeremy,” I mumbled. “So much and my body…”
Jeremy leaned closed, his face inches from mine, his breath hot against my ear as he whispered, hatred dripping from every word.
“Then why did you lead me on? Why did you make me believe I had another chance at love? I
had just lost my mate, Micim. I was heartbroken…” his voice cracked. “Would it have hurt you
to care for me even a little?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Jeremy didn’t let her.
“You broke my already broken heart, Miriam, and I can’t forgive you for that.”
168 The weight of choices.
He pulled back, his eyes still cold. “And that’s exactly the direction my son is going now. Lyla doesn’t love him, Miriam. She loves another man, just like you did. And yet, my son has sacrificed everything for her.”
His voice grew louder, filled with determination. “I won’t let it happen. Nathan will never marry Lyla. Not on my watch. She’ll leave him, she’ll go fuck Ramsey just like you always did with Logan.
“Please…” I sobbed. “Don’t say that”
“What will your daughter do when she learns that her mother is a home wrecker? You broke his family–you destroyed it. Vanessa was kind enough to let you stay, to let you nurse your daughter under her roof, and you had the audacity to sleep with her mater? Constantly? You’re
cruel, Miriam.”
I staggered back as if his words had physically struck me. I tried to speak, but my throat closed up, and now words came out.
Jeremy continued. His eyes were dark and cold. “And all your talk about wanting the best for your child was all lies–excuses you gave to remain at Blue Ridge because Lyla would have been better off with anyone but you. Your… your slut–like behaviour rubbed off on her, Miriam. And now my son is paying the price for it.”
My hands trembled as my voice finally returned, filled with a protective rage. “Don’t you dare speak about my daughter like that, Jeremy!”
He scoffed, his lips curling into a bitter smile. “Go to hell, Miriam.
And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving me standing there, shaking with anger and
despair.
My mind kept reeling from everything Jeremy had said. His words echoed in her head, each one a painful reminder of the mistakes she had made, the people I had hurt, and the relationship I had destroyed. 2
I wiped at my tears with trembling hands, but they kept failing unstoppable. I wanted to scream, to fight back, to tell him that he was wrong–but deep down, everything he said was the truth.
But one thing I would never accept was the way he spoke about Lyla. My daughter was not a product of my mistakes, not a reflection of my own failings. Lyla was kind, strong, and good. She deserved love, happiness and a chance to live a life free of the shadows of the past. =
Taking a deep breath, I walked back towards the pack house. I needed to find Lyla and make sure my daughter was okay.
