Claimed by My Bestie's Alpha Daddy novel Chapter 229

The knock came just after dinner, soft enough that I almost missed it. Richard was still in the kitchen with his sleeves pushed up, humming quietly as he scrubbed a pan. Upstairs, the boys raced through the hallway, one narrating some over-the-top sword battle while the other responded with groaning dramatics. I dried my hands and walked to the front door, expecting someone from the council dropping off late documents or a neighbor with something from the garden exchange.

When I opened the door, Jenny was standing on the porch.

She looked completely worn out. Her hair was tied back in a loose knot that had mostly fallen apart, and her coat hung oddly from her shoulders, the sleeves bunched at her elbows like she’d given up trying to adjust them. Her eyes were rimmed in red, her face pale and slack with fatigue, and the way she carried herself made it clear she had spent far too long bracing for impact without rest.

“Hi,” she said, her voice breaking halfway through. “Can I come in?”

I didn’t move. My hand stayed on the doorframe as Richard’s footsteps moved behind me. He stood beside me in silence, arms crossed, unmoving. We both stared at her, saying nothing.

“I left him,” she said. “I really left Adam. It’s over.”

Still, we didn’t say a word. The silence dragged, and hershoulders began to tighten.

“I know I don’t deserve to just walk in here,” she said. “I know I have no right to ask anything from either of you.”

Richard’s voice was low and rough. “You disappeared for ten years. You helped him lie to our faces. You stood by while he hurt people we were trying to protect. And now * you want to step back in?”

) “I don’t expect forgiveness,” she said quickly. “I know what I did. I let myself become someone I didn’t recognize.

Someone I wouldn’t have trusted either.”

I finally spoke. “You didn’t just disappear, Jenny. You made it your mission to tear me down before you did. You whispered things to the staff. You called me a parasite.

You acted like I stole something from you that was never yours to begin with.”

Her face crumpled. “I know. I did. And I’ve thought about that every single day since | left. I was cruel to you. I hated how easily people started listening to you. I couldn’t stand that you were respected for the things I pretended not to care about. It wasn’t really about you dating my father. It was about you becoming someone I knew I should’ve been, if I hadn’t been so selfish.”

I didn’t look away. “You were my best friend. And you treated me like I was disposable.”

“I did,” she said, her voice cracking. “Because I never Learned how to stand on my own. I always gave my loyaltyto whoever was loudest, whoever made me feel chosen. I never had a spine, and I let Adam fill in the blank spaces. I saw him hurt people, and I stayed. I saw him hurt you, and I looked the other way.”

She turned to Richard. “You warned me. And I told myself you were just trying to control me. I thought that if doubled down, I could make him into semething else. But all I did was burn the bridges that actually mattered.”

She looked down at her hands, then back up again. “t have a daughter. Her name’s Elsie. She’s seven. She’s in the car with the driver, and I didn’t want her to watch me get turned away at the door.”

We were both silent again. I could feel the old anger still clinging to the air around us.

“I came here because I want her to grow up with people who understand love and honesty and community. I want her to grow up around people who know how to stay. I came here tosay I’m sorry to both of you, but especially to you, Amelia. For all the times I tried to humiliate you. For the way I made you feel small when I knew I was the one shrinking. You were the best friend I ever had, and I treated you like something I could throw away.”

Richard finally exhaled. “We can’t go back to what things were.”

“I don’t want to,” she said. “I just want a chance to start from the truth.”

1 looked at her face and saw something raw and real. Not polished. Not practiced. Just tired and sorry and willing to be seen.

Richard stepped aside first. I followed a moment later.

“Come in,” he said.

She stepped into the house like she expected it to vanish beneath her feet. Her hands were shaking again.

We led her to the kitchen, and Richard poured her a glass of water. She took it with both hands, gripping it tightly.

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