Chapter 209: She isn’t sincerely staying by his side.

Chapter 209: She isn’t sincerely staying by his side

(Elena ckwood’s POV)

Points

When I swiped into the suite with the spare room card, the living room light was off. The darkness enveloped me like a familiar embrace after the long day at the research institute.

I gently closed the door behind me, careful not to make any noise. Thest thing I wanted was to wake Marcus if he was finally getting some rest.

I was about to return to my chamber when the light behind the bar’s ss wine cab suddenly turned on. The unexpected illumination made me freeze in ce.

Mooked up to see Marcus ckwood walking out from behind the bar. He was wearing a dark silk bathrobe that hung loosely on his frame, and he held a crystal wine ss in his hand.

“You’re not asleep?” I asked, surprised to find him awake at thiste hour.

“I can’t sleep.” Marcus ced his wine ss on the gray marble countertop with a soft clink.

His golden eyes found mine across the dimly lit room. “You’re back sote?”

I shifted my weight, suddenly feeling the exhaustion from the long day settling into my bones. “I had been working overtime.”

My gaze swept over the wine ss in his hand, noting the amber liquid swirling inside. Without thinking, the words slipped out.

“With your physical condition, you should drink less alcohol.”

Marcus paused, and I caught a trace of something flickering in his secluded eyes. It disappeared in an instant, leaving his expression calm and unruffled.

“Don’t worry, I won’t die,” he said, his voice carrying a bitter edge. “You won’t be a widowed Luna anytime soon, much to your disappointment.”

I felt a familiar wave of frustration wash over me. His constant need to twist my words into something cruel was exhausting.

I was toozy to argue with him tonight. The day had been long enough without adding another pointless confrontation to it.

Just as I was about to enter my chamber, Marcus’s voice stopped me.

“Elena”

I turned back, my hand already bon /bthe door handle. “What is it now?”

(Marcus ckwood’s POV)

I gazed at her face, taking in the tired lines around her green eyes and the way her shoulders sagged with exhaustion. There were so many things I wanted to say to her.

I wanted bto /bask about her day, about the research that kept her sote. I wanted bto /bapologize for my harsh words, for the constant tension between us.

Chapter 209. She isn’t sincerely staying by his side

+ Points

But the words stopped at my lips, trapped by pride and the growing chasm that seemed to widen between us

every day.

In the end, I only squeezed out, “Get some rest early.”

Elena didn’t say anything more. She simply nodded and disappeared into her chamber, the door closing with

a soft click behind her.

I watched her back until she vanished from sight. The hand holding the wine ss involuntarily tightened, my knuckles standing out clearly against my skin.

Isabe’s words from our phone call earlier that day shed through my mind like a knife twisting in an old

wound.

“Cousin, do you think Elena is sincerely staying by your side? I personally heard what Young Master Whitmore

said. She’s willing to stay with you because your mother promised her that once iyou /irecover, she’ll let you

sever the mate bond. It’s not because of you!”

I sank onto the bar stool, covering my forehead with my thumb and four fingers spread apart. My heart ached

so much that I could barely breathe.

The wine ss trembled in my other hand as the truth of Isabe’s words settled deeper into my chest like

poison.

Elena wasn’t here because she wanted to be. She was here because she had been promised an escape.

(God’s POV)

The next day, in the ckwood Ancestral Manor in the Northern Territory, Isabe ckwood stood before

Margaret ckwood with tears streaming down her face.

“Grandmother, I don’t want to go to Europe!” she pleaded, her voice breaking with desperation.

Margaret sat rigidly in her high–backed chair, her expression stern and unyielding. The morning light strearning through the tall windows cast harsh shadows across her weathered features.

Isabe continued, her words tumbling out in a rush of resentment and usation. “It’s not fair that Marcus

is sending me to Europe for supposedly instigating conflict! He’s the one who neglected Elena in the first

ce!”

Her voice rose with each word, filled with the entitled fury of someone who had never been denied anything

she wanted.

“I’m a member of the ckwood family too! I’m your granddaughter! I should have listened to my mother andpeted with my cousin for the inheritancel”

Margaret ckwood, who had already been suffering from a headache due to Isabe’s incessant noise, caught thest sentence with sharp rity.

“Compete for what?” Margaret’s voice cut through the air like a de.

Isabe froze, her face going pale bas /bshe realized what she had just blurted out in her haste. The words hung

in the air between them like a confession.

She tried to backtrack, her hands fluttering nervously. “I… I didn’t mean…”

But Margaret pressed on, her eyes narrowing with dangerous intensity. “Did Diana ckwood suggest you

Chapter 209. She isn’t sincerely staying by his side

48 Points

Isabe desperately tried to exin, her voice bing higher and more frantic. “Grandmother, please, I was just upset. I didn’t mean anything by it!”

Margaret was shocked by the revtion. The idea that her own family members were plotting against

Marcus filled her with a cold fury.

She suspected Isabe’s motives now, seeing clearly how Diana had been poisoning her daughter’s mind with

ambitious schemes.

“Sending you to Europe for further studies is the best course of action,” Margaret decided firmly. “It will

prevent you from being further influenced by your mother’s dangerous ideas.”

Despite Isabe’s continued protests and tears, Margaret remained unmoved. Her decision was final.

“Grace Burton,” she called to the head housekeeper who stood quietly by the idoor/i.

Grace stepped forward with a respectful bow. “Yes, Madam?”

“Make arrangements for Isabe to be sent to Europe in theing days,” Margaret instructed coldly.

Grace Burton nced at Isabe’s tear–streaked face before asking carefully, “Should I consult with Alpha

Marcus about this decision?”

Margaret waved her hand dismissively. “I will personally talk to Sebastian ckwood about it. Marcus has

enough to worry about without dealing with his cousin’s dramatics.”

Amber Stone, who had been standing outside the door handling some paperwork, overheard everything through the slightly open doorway. She quietly gathered her documents and left.

Once she was far enough away from the manor’s main hall, Amber pulled out her phone and dialed Marcus’s

number.

“Alpha,” she said when he answered. “I wanted to inform you that Elder Margaret has decided to send Isabe

to Europe for extended studies.”

Marcus’s voice came through the phone, sounding listless and distracted. “Hmm.”

Amber waited for more of a response, but when none came, she asked, “Is there anything else you need me to handle regarding this situation?”

“No, Marcus replied shortly. Then, after a pause, he asked, “Is there anything else?”

Amber hesitated for a moment before delivering the second piece of information she had gathered. “Fred Xavier’s son has returned.”

This news made Marcus fall silent on the other end of the line. She could practically hear him thinking. processing this new development. /

At the same time, in the research institute, Sophia Rivers made her way to theboratory to check the numerical results from thetest experiments. The hallway was mostly empty, with only a few researchers workingte into the evening.

She approached theputer terminal where the data bwas /bdisyed, her heart racing with nervous anticipation. This was her chance to photograph the information Felix had demanded.

As she was about bto /btake a picture with her mobile phone while others were unprepared, someone behind her,

Chapter 209 She isn’t sincerely staying by his side

suddenly called out.

“Healer Elena, you’re here.”

5 Points 2

Sophia hurriedly put away her phone, her hands shaking slightly as she turned around. Elena also looked at

her.

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