Claimed by My Bestie's Alpha Daddy novel Chapter 86

“Then act like it.”

“I’m trying to protect you.”

“You’re not protecting me. You’re being selfish. You’re protecting yourself, your image, your reelection. You talk about keeping me safe like it’s some noble burden, but the truth is, you’re just scared to lose your power.”

The silence after that was the loudest thing I’d ever heard. I turned and left before I could say something that would shatter us completely.

Emma didn’t ask questions when I showed up at her apartment. She opened the door, took one look at my face, and pulled me into a hug.

She didn’t push, didn’t press. She just wrapped me in a blanket and handed me a glass of wine. I was grateful for the silence. I needed it.

The kind of quiet she offered was a gift, no expectations, no judgment, just the knowledge that I wasn’t alone.

Before she could say anything, I whispered, “Please don’t ask, I can’t talk about it yet. I just… need to not be alone.”

Emma hesitated, then nodded. “Okay. No questions.”

Richard

I didn’t sleep. I couldn’t. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her walking out that door, shoulders stiff, not even giving me a second look. I wanted to run after her, to say something, anything, that would undo the last five minutes. But there had been too many chances to fix it before, and I’d let them all slip through my fingers.

By morning, 1 was a mess of fury and regret. And I didn’t have the luxury of falling apart. I still had a campaign to run, a kingdom to hold together, and now, apparently, a crumbling personal life I couldn’t talk about with anyone.The council was waiting for me outside my office. Harris and Tomlin, both wearing that polite expression they reserved for moments when they wanted to tear me apart in a civil tone.

“You’ve been skipping briefings,” Harris said, his voice sharp but laced with fake concern. “There’s concern.”

“I’m up to date,” I said flatly.

Tomlin folded his arms. “The concern isn’t about your schedule. It’s about your priorities.”

I didn’t respond. I didn’t need to. They weren’t wrong. I hadn’t been focused. Not entirely. Not since | let Amelia crawl into my bed and take up permanent residence in my mind. Not since l’d convinced myself that staying close to her but pretending we were nothing would somehow protect her. It had only hurt her instead.

And then Jenny stormed into the press room like a woman possessed. ” T’ll be endorsing David,” she declared, mic in hand, like she was unveiling a damn art piece.

I was across the room in seconds. “Shut it down.”

Council override stopped the broadcast before it began, but not before half the staff heard her say it. Not before I saw the smug curl of Elsa’s mouth in the security footage. She was still pulling Jenny’s strings, even from the political dead zone we’d banished her to.

I stormed back to comms, fingers already aching from the urge to punch through a wall. Every encrypted message was a needle in a haystack, but I was determined. Somewhere in this digital web, there was a trail leading back to her. And I would follow it, even if it killed me.

And through all of it, I kept thinking about Amelia. About what I could have said. What I should have said. About how I’d let the only good thing in my life walk out because I thought I was protecting her.But maybe what she needed wasn’t protection. Maybe she just needed to be chosen. Out loud. In the light. And I had failed her. And maybe she was right, maybe it was never really about protecting her at all.

Maybe it was about protecting myself, my career, my crown, my ego.

Maybe l used her safety as a shield for my own cowardice, convincing myself it was noble when really it was just easier.

Amelia

It started with a knock on the door. Not mine, someone else’s. It came from down the hall, maybe from across the building, but it landed in my chest like a warning shot. I froze, fingers hovering over my keyboard, the cursor blinking on a half-finished sentence. My hair was still damp from the shower, a towel haphazardly wrapped around me as I scrambled to finish replying to an email no longer cared about.

There was no message from Jenny. No call. But the building’s security logs didn’t lie, her Pack House clearance revoked at 6:03 a.m. She’d moved out before the story was even on its third round of reposts.

She’d known. Maybe not the extent, maybe not how it would be used, but enough. Enough to disappear before she had to see it up close.

Emma’s phone rang. She looked at it, then handed it over. “Nathan.”

I pressed the phone to my ear. “Don’t tell me to come in.”

” wasn’t going to,” Nathan said. “Stay put. The council’s in full panic mode. Richard’s trying to contain it.”

“Is he?” My voice cracked despite myself.Nathan hesitated. “He called an emergency session. There are protests outside the building. Council members are demanding a full inquiry.”

I closed my eyes and let my head fall back against the couch. “So I’m the scapegoat again.”

“No one’s said that.”

“They don’t have to.”

Richard

The strategy room was quiet, but it wasn’t calm. Harris stood at the head of the table, arms crossed, while Nathan scrolled through logs and printouts. Emma’s voice crackled through the speaker. Tomlin, tense and quiet, watched me like I was about to fall apart. I wasn’t goIng to give them the satisfaction.