Amber’s POV

    bAs /bhe stared at me, Roman’s eyes went wide.

    I blinked back at him, confused as to why he would be so stunned. Did I really say something so unusual?

    Actually… what had I just said? I didn’t breally /bremember.

    “Amber…b” /bhe said. “How much have you had to drinkb?/b”

    I didn’t really see how that was any of his concernb, /bbso /bbI /bsaid b“/bbI /bthink you should just go, Roman.”

    He frowned slightly, looking displeased. “Yes, I suppose maybe I should,”

    At that time, Anna came out of the kitchen. Seeing some of my predicament, she came to stand beside me at the door.

    “Why don’t you go and have some water in the kitchen, Amber? I’ll talk to Roman.”

    b“/bbI /bcan talk,” I said stubbornly.

    “I know you can,” Anna said. “But maybe you should stop for a while.”

    That seemed like a rude thing to say, but I was thirsty. With a shrug I walked out of the room.

    Roman’s POV

    Roman waited for Amber to be out of earshot, not wanting Her to overhear what he had to say, lest it started another argument. He came all this way to see her andfort her. He hadn’t expected to be sent away, especially by her in such a drunken state.

    He knew he messed up with the engagement. Though he had dual purpose in proposing, partially because he was in love with Amber, he primarily did so because he wanted to protect her. Even now, with her rejection, he loved her still. Her downward spiral into drinking only made him want to protect her more.

    She had said that she wouldn’t cheat on her husband. She could only be talking about Julian. There were no other men in her life to my knowledge, and she and Julian had been close. But that had been a long time ago, before the ne crash, before she had started a new life.

    Before she met Roman.

    To go back to those days in her mind, even in her drunken sate, made Roman deeply ufortable and unhappy. Had he not done enough to win her heart? Had he not been a good enough role model for her daughter?

    What more did she need from him to start seeing him as the kind of man that could be her husband?

    Why was she still seeing Julian that way? What had he ever done to earn that title than treat her badly and cheat on her with another woman?

    Why had Julian earned her blind loyalty, when she wouldn’t consider Roman? What did he have that Roman didn’t?

    With Amber gone, he switched his disgusted gaze onto Ann. “How could you let her get in this state?”

    “She needed to let loose,” Anna replied. She mirrored my annoyance, sending it right back at me. “She’s home, with her friends. She’s safe here. Or at least she was until you showed up.”

    “What is that supposed to mean?” Roman countered.

    b+15 /bBONUS

    Anna crossed her arms. b“/bShe doesn’t need anyone judging er right now. She needs space to be herself without outside pressuresb./bb” /b

    “I can help her with that.”

    “You are judging her right now,” Anna said. “I think you should leave. If she wants to talk to you tomorrowb, /bbI’ll /bremind her you stopped by and she can reach out.”

    Anna was an infuriating woman who didn’t like Roman, for reasons that he didn’t fully understand. He’d never done anything to her, as far as he knew. And the only things he was guilty of with Amber is treating her with respect and acting like a father figure for her daughter.

    “Go,” Anna said. “Come back tomorrow.”

    She didn’t give me much choice as she closed the door. She at least waited long enough for me to step backwards out bof /bthe house.

    Frustrated, Roman turned back around to my rental car. He had rushed her from the airport, having hurried to travel after seeing news of the sick elder and how much pressure Amber was under.

    He hadn’t even booked a hotel yet. He packed in a hurry, as was certain that he only had one change of clothes. Did he bring his toothbrush?

    He supposed that he should have been worried about all of this, but what was at the forefront of his mind was Amber and Julian.

    Roman knew their rtionship had beenplicated. He also knew it was ongoing, at least legally. Amber had confided in Roman that Julian had no signed the divorce papers. So while they weren’t actually a couple, they were still technically married.

    That was why what Amber said just now was such a shock.

    He had thought that chapter of her life was behind her, yet in this moment, she was still acting like she was actively married.

    She wasn’t in a ce to listen to reason, so Roman took his issue to the next logical step.

    He drove to the pack Alpha headquarters building and demanded to speak with Julian himself.

    The assistant at the front desk seemed surprised by his presence. b“/bIs he expecting you Alpha Roman? I don’t have you on his schedule for today.”

    “It’s important,” Roman said. “Tell him I’m here, and he’ll see me, I’m sure of it. Especially if you tell him what I have to talk about is Amber.”

    The assistant seemed nervous about that but still lifted the phone and made the call. A couple minutester, Julian’s Beta was there to lead Roman to Julian’s office.

    When he entered bthe /boffice, Julian was sitting behind his desk, staring absently at the papers on top of it. Looking up, he spotted me and stood.

    “Roman.”

    b“/bJulian.”

    Both of their greetings were curt and filled with tension.

    b“/bYou said this was about Amber,” Julian said.

    Roman had already told the world that he and Amber were engaged. Though she didn’t like it, this had been beneficial in protecting her. This situation was no different

    “Amber and I are engaged,” Roman said.

    Julian’s mouth was a hard t line. “I heard.”

    “So you need to sign the divorce papers. We cannot marry while she is still married to byou/bb./bb” /b

    Julian didn’t move.

    I pushed, b“/bbIf /byou refuse to give Amber a divorce, know that have some of the bestwyers on the in my pack, and no end to the resources I need to employ them. bI /bbwill /be after you personally, ending this marriage as ugly as possible if I need to. But I don’t think anyone wants that to happen.”

    “You are threatening me,” Julian said, his voice carefully cold.

    “I am telling you to do the thing you should have done years ago,” Roman said. “Amber wanted that divorce. You refused to sign the paperwork. Do the right thing now, and set her free.”

    Julian narrowed his gaze. “I will if and when Amber asks me to herself. And not a minute before.”

    “She already asked you,” Roman said impatiently. “She asked you when she gave you the papers.

    “That was years ago, as you said,” Julian said. “And I thought she had died. If she still wants a divorce, she needs to tell me so.”

    “My word should be enough. She is my fiancé, and I have the right to speak for her.”

    “No you don’t,” Julian replied. “In my pack, engaged or no everyone speaks for themselves. Tell Amber, my door is always open to her. When she’s ready to discuss this, I will listen.”

    Chopter 71