My Ex Husband The Alpha His Brother The Rogue novel Chapter 74

17:16 Tue, Oct 14

Chapter 74

Chapter 74

-Laila

The dining hall of the lake house is built for quiet and tense gatherings.

It has to be. Because there’s no other reason for another morning like this.

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The high windows allow the pale light to spill in. It illuminates the table that’s so well polished, it mirrors the silverware.

Alpha Max and Luna Shirley are nowhere to be seen. With the summit drawing closer, they both have duties to attend to and are hardly around the lake house these days.

Lucky them. I also wish I could be anywhere else but here.

The staff have served bowls of steaming porridge, fresh bread and sliced fruit. It should have smelled like comfort and home.

But sitting here, surrounded by Blackwoods, the air is anything but comforting.

Instead, it’s another tense and uneasy breakfast with daggers glared across the table and veiled intentions behind every stare.

I sit near the end of the table, my back straight and my hands folded in my lap.

The food looks delicious but I don’t have the will to taste it.

My stomach is twisted into a knot. Every scrape of a chair, every clink of cutlery scraped unsettles me even further.

Kael is sitting at my side. He’s close enough to touch, but still far enough that I can ignore him.

He pours himself coffee with the calm arrogance of a man who owns the room.

He doesn’t look my way once. Again, he doesn’t need to. His presence presses against me anyway, heavy as his hand on my thigh.

Across the table, Cameron’s gaze shifts between us, eyes sharp and piercing. He’s been quiet since he arrived at the table, but his eyes are assessing, picking me apart.

And then there’s Sarah.

I thought she would be off to Thorneville by now but it seems she’s hell bent on staying through the summit, even if it means getting on Grandfather Blackwood’s nerves.

I have to admit, I admire her resilience. Especially up against the Blackwoods.

She arrived late for breakfast. Her eyes are red–rimmed, evidence that she’s been crying. Her movements are twitchy and clumsy.

17:16 Tue, Oct 14

Chapter 74

Somehow, she looks so much smaller now than she did yesterday. Almost fragile.

She’s dressed in a silk robe that does nothing to mask how much her hands are trembling. She murmured a barely audible greeting as she slipped into the chair beside Cameron.

Cameron’s fork scrapes the plate, dragging attention his way. He cuts into his eggs like they’ve personally offended him, each motion harsh and deliberate. The muscle in his jaw ticks, and when his gaze flicks from Sarah to me, it isn’t subtle.

Then, they slid to Kael, and finally went back to his plate.

Kael, on the other hand, doesn’t sit quietly. He leans back in his chair, fingers brushing his cup like he owns not just the chair, but the whole damn room.

He eats slowly, lazily, and every so often, his knee nudges mine beneath the table. A silent claim. A reminder of the night he won’t let me forget.

I shift, heat rushing to my face.

“Laila,” Sarah says suddenly, her tone too sweet. “You must be tired after last night. I thought I heard footsteps in the halls.”

I look up sharply.

She didn’t know. She couldn’t know.

Kael’s lips curl, a smirk tugging at the corner. “She slept fine,” he says before I can answer. “Better than fine.”

Sarah’s eyes twitch, her grip tightening on her glass. She looks at Cameron, as if waiting for him to react.

He doesn’t. At least not visibly. But his fork pauses mid–cut. His shoulders stiff.

The silence grows heavier.

Grandfather Blackwood clears his throat, his voice rough but sharp. “This summit will bring rivals sniffing for weakness.”

His eyes shift between Kael and Cameron. “We will not give it to them.”

Kael sets his cup down with a soft sound. “There are no weaknesses.”

His tone is steady, but I feel it…the way his certainty doubles as a jab against the face of Blackwood Pack.

Cameron.

Cameron’s jaw ticks, “Strength is more than brute force, Kael. Diplomacy matters.”

A smirk tilts Kael’s lip, slow and mocking. “Is that what you call letting rivals slip daggers in your back while you smile?”

The air stills.

17 16 Tue, Oct 14 A

Chapter 74

Kael’s words make a not so subtle reference to Alpha Tyler and what happened at the hunt.

How he knows about it already, I don’t know. I didn’t breathe a word of it to him.

But Cameron’s gaze moves to me, almost in disbelief. His eyes reflect his hurt and silent accusations, like I’d betrayed his trust.

I can see how this looks like I told Kael about the allergy episode.

But I didn’t. And I don’t care if no one else believes it.

1 grip my napkin tightly under the table while the tension between Kael and Cameron rises steadily.

At this rate, they’ll tear into each other right here, before everyone.

But then Sarah’s voice breaks the tension. Her tone is low and trembling. “It wasn’t me.”

All eyes move to her.

She has the worst timing ever for her dramatics, but she might be onto something this time.

Her throat bobs, tears welling in her eyes “The Hazel Mall. I have nothing to do with it…I’m being framed.”

The sound of Grandfather’s knife tapping the plate breaks the silence. “Sarah.” His tone makes her and everyone else straighten instantly.

“You’ve made a mess of our public image.” His eyes are cold, pinning her in place. “You thought your wouldn’t reach me? That I wouldn’t find out?”

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Her face pales. She set her glass down too quickly, juice nearly spilling over the rim. “I…I only thought of the family’s benefit…”

“You thought of your own benefit,” Kael interrupts, voice sharp and controlled.

He doesn’t raise his voice. He never does. He doesn’t even need to. His words carry a command no one can ignore anyway. “You pushed Laila off the balcony. That’s not family loyalty. That’s an attempt at murder.”

Every head turns to me.

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