99 Times for Alpha’s Bestie novel Chapter 114

Without another word, I hung up on him, snatched up my bag, and bolted out the door, charging toward Liam’s location through my phone.

Liam may not have remembered, but I could always track his location through his phone.

He was going to explain what the hell he was doing to my face.

I slammed my foot on the gas, heading straight for the spot where the Find My Phone app was telling me Liam was. His stupid townhouse neighbours that b***h, Claire.

Arriving at his door, I didn’t bother knocking or ringing the bell.

He didn’t deserve that courtesy at this point.

I all but crashed into the heavy door, my gaze piercing straight toward Liam behind the desk he had arranged in the cramped, out-of-date, decorated living room.

This place was beneath me, to be frank. I hated it already.

The noise made him look up.

“Breanne, what brings you here?” His tone was flat. That deliberate detachment erased two decades of friendship ties in an instant.

My chest tightened, and the sting in my eyes barely held back.

“Liam, are you really sending me back to my parents’ hometown?” I clenched my teeth.

Finally, Liam set the papers aside, meeting my angry gaze with composure.

“In the beginning, our parents promised one another to raise the other pups, should anything happen. We have done that. Now that you’re grown, it’s only natural that you go out and face life on your own.”

“You know how humiliating things are for me right now!” My voice trembled, “Is there really no other way than dumping me back in cowtown?”

Liam put down his coffee mug, “Breanne, I only want you to go back and clear your head. Once things-”

“No! I won’t!” I broke down in a shriek. “I’d rather die than go back to that wretched fishing hole! It’ll drive me insane! Liam, how could you send me there to suffer?”

The tears I had fought so hard to hold back finally spilled, one drop after another, darkening the pristine carpet.

Liam watched me. A trace of pain surfaced in his eyes, but he didn’t move, didn’t approach, and didn’t comfort. Something has changed between us.

“Breanne,” he said, still calm, “Slave Lake are your roots, your homeland. A person must not forget where they came from.”

The words cut through me like a blade.

I jerked my head up. Through blurred tears, I saw the man I once believed would always protect me, tossing me away like trash.

“Liam, ever since I can remember, I’ve thought of the Sterling pack as my home, just like you! I was only three when I came back here after the rogue attack. That so-called hometown means nothing to me-it’s a blank space! You’re my only family. And now you don’t want me anymore?” My voice broke, each word raw with grief.

“I lost my parents fighting for our pack. I had nothing. I thought you gave me the most precious love in the world. But now, you’re casting me aside, too?”

My sobs grew harder, tearing through my chest until I nearly collapsed onto the sofa, choking on every breath.

In the past, Liam would have pulled me into his arms at the slightest sign of tears.

Now, as I sat there, a ruin of smudged makeup and despair, he merely walked to the opposite seat, looking down on me with detached eyes.

“You’re an adult now, Breanne. Whatever you do, you should think with your head.” He paused. “If you truly refuse to return, I’ll give you three months. Find a job. If you can support yourself the way Claire does- then I’ll consider letting you stay.”

The way Claire does?

My head snapped up, disbelief widening my tear-stained eyes.

Did he actually see me as less capable than that nobody? What did Claire even have?

She was hiding out in Queenie’s cousin’s small company, working as an insignificant designer.

However, I had studied abroad and trained professionally. Outshining Claire should be effortless.

“Fine! I won’t go back! I’ll find a job. There’s no way I’ll end up worse than Claire!”

I wiped my tears away.

For the first time, a flicker of approval crossed Liam’s eyes.

“Good. I won’t help you this time. Let me see if you can stand on your own without my protection.”

“Don’t worry, Liam! Once I step out there, my starting point will be at least director level! I’ll never stoop to being some junior designer like Claire!” My sorrow turned to pride in an instant, my confidence overflowing.

Claire can actually do more than you-” Liam began, but one glance at my ruined face made him swallow the words. “Three months. If you can establish yourself in some field, you can stay.” He laid down his final verdict.

“Fine!”

I agreed without hesitation. I practically ran out of the townhouse unit and straight into a shopping mall, buying several sets of professional outfits.

Back at the packhouse, I opened the job boards. For every director-level and above position in my field, I submitted my résumé, enhanced with overseas credentials and reference letters from paid professors.

I was certain companies would compete to hire me. But after sitting through the night, my inbox and phone remained silent. My applications vanished into the void.

It was impossible.

Baffled, I called two of the firms that I wanted most.

One person politely said my qualifications were too shallow and not up to standard. The other “kindly” suggested that someone like me-foreign-trained but lacking practical experience-should start as an assistant.

An assistant? What a joke!

Even Claire, who wasted three years as a housewife, started as a designer.

Fury boiled over. I hurled my phone to the ground, cracking the screen.

Just then, a headline caught my eye. “Golden Threads”, the international fashion design awards gala, was about to open in grand style in Edmonton.

My eyes lit up instantly.

Relying on résumés to climb high was pure fantasy.

I had spent years building connections. Wasn’t this the perfect chance to use them?

If I could attend that gala and meet a few industry giants, my Sterling connections would secure me a director’s chair.

The thought alone rekindled my confidence.

I eagerly picked up my phone, this time calling the first name that came to my mind. It was Harrison Grant, the wealthy heir who had pursued me for years but never won my heart.

It was now time to cash in those flirt cards and make Harrison really earn my attention.