TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 194

One hundred and ninety four

Nadia POV

The television downstairs kept talking about my family like we were characters created for public entertainment. By morning, clips from the broadcasts had spread everywhere, and my phone stayed flooded with messages I refused to answer.

Some came from women I barely tolerated before the scandal. Some came from distant relatives suddenly pretending to be concerned. Others arrived from people who only remembered I existed whenever drama became useful gossip.

One of my father’s sisters sent:

You need to carry yourself carefully now. Women are judged differently.

I deleted it.

Matthias’ wife sent three paragraphs about “protecting feminine dignity during public trials.”

Deleted.

Another woman from one of the charity circles asked if Franklin was “supporting me emotionally at night.”

Deleted.

The rumors about Franklin and me did not even surprise me anymore. Guards saw his car outside my duplex almost every night. Staff noticed us working until sunrise. Sometimes he fell asleep on the couch downstairs after going through Cameron’s movements for hours.

People saw exhaustion and turned it into sex.

I didn’t care.

I stood in my kitchen staring at the untouched coffee in my hands. The only thing truly bothering me was Lisa and my brother. Lisa was pregnant and trapped in the middle of this mess because I brought her into it. Cameron was deteriorating while pretending he was functional because he still wore suits and attended meetings.

Franklin wanted me to stay away from the Alpha house for now. I refused. Leaving completely would isolate Cameron further. Franklin needed someone inside the house, and my duplex, which was less than a five-minute drive away, gave me enough distance from Evangeline without fully abandoning the estate.

I grabbed my keys afterward and drove toward the Alpha house. The guards opened the gates automatically when they saw my car. Although I acted unruffled, that did not stop the paranoia crawling beneath my skin lately.

Too many people watched quietly now.

I entered through the east corridor. The house felt calm on the surface. Somewhere upstairs, somebody vacuumed a hallway runner. I headed toward Cameron’s study and slowed near the doorway after hearing drawers opening.

Evangeline stood inside. I moved back before she could see me. Through the narrow gap between the doorway and the wall, I watched her move around Cameron’s desk. She opened one drawer, checked something quickly, shut it, then moved to another, again and again.

Her movements looked too fast to be casual.

I pulled my phone from my pocket.

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Me: She’s inside Cameron’s study going through his drawers.

Franklin replied almost immediately.

Franklin: Don’t confront her. Keep watching.

I leaned against the wall outside the study.

I heard footsteps approaching down the corridor and moved away from the study before anyone sported me lurking outside like a criminal in my own family home.

Evangeline found me later downstairs near the western sitting room.

“Nadia.”

I turned toward her. She approached, studying me too carefully.

“You’ve been avoiding me.”

“I’ve been busy.”

Evangeline folded her arms loosely.

“We need to stop fighting like this,” she said softly. “I miss you.”

The words almost impressed me.

I looked at her without responding.

“You’re my best friend. And my family.”

She watched me, waiting for a response. I gave none.

“You forgot tonight, didn’t you?”

“What?”

“The girls’ circle dinner.”

I let out a scoff. The monthly gathering involved Alpha mates, sisters, wives, and women connected to leadership households.

“I’m not going.”

Disappointment crossed her face too quickly before she smoothed it away.

“You haven’t attended in months.”

“I haven’t wanted to.”

She did not push. After she walked away, I texted Franklin, and he responded.

Franklin: I think you should go.

I frowned.

Me: Why?

Franklin: If she’s monitoring reactions, don’t give her predictable ones. We also need to monitor her closely.

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He was right.

I found Evangeline upstairs later.

“I changed my mind,” I said. “I’ll come tonight.”

Genuine surprise flickered across her face before she grinned.

“I’m glad.”

The dinner took place at one of the private dining clubs near the upper district. Familiar women already filled the room when we arrived. Some were wives, some were daughters, others were women who built their entire identities around proximity to powerful men. Every table already carried alcohol, flowers, and gossip disguised as

concern.

Several women greeted Evangeline, and sympathy came naturally toward her because she fit their understanding of a proper Luna perfectly. Beautiful, controlled, publicly devoted, and humiliated quietly.

People trusted that presentation automatically. I sat beside her while conversations drifted around us naturally. At first, the discussion stayed harmless, then the scandal surfaced.

One woman swirled wine inside her glass carefully.

“The media has been vicious lately.”

Another sighed.

“Public scandals involving Alpha houses always become ugly.”

A third woman looked toward me carefully.

“Nadia, how are you handling everything with Desmond?”

“I’m alive,” I replied.

That earned soft laughter around the table.

“I still cannot believe he embarrassed your family publicly,” somebody added.

“He embarrassed himself,” I corrected.

Another woman leaned forward.

“And the surrogate situation?”

I took a sip from my drink.

“Cameron is capable of handling his own household matters.”

The answer dissatisfied them. One woman glanced toward Evangeline sympathetically.

“It’s tragic for a mate.”

Another nodded.

“The mating bond is sacred. Emotional involvement outside it creates instability everywhere.”

Evangeline lowered her gaze. A woman farther down the table spoke.

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“I just cannot imagine carrying another woman’s mate’s child emotionally. Boundaries must have blurred somewhere.”

I felt sick hearing Lisa being discussed like a social contamination issue instead of a human being. The worst part was realizing most of these women genuinely believed they were being reasonable.

One of them looked toward me again.

“You seem unusually neutral about this.”

“Because public speculation solves nothing.”

“But surely your loyalty belongs with Evangeline.”

They wanted me to pick a side publicly. I set my glass down.

“My loyalty belongs with my brother.”

Silence settled. Another woman laughed lightly to soften the tension.

“Nobody means harm, Nadia.”

People rarely considered themselves cruel while dissecting someone publicly over appetizers.

One woman leaned toward Evangeline.

“You’ve handled this with grace, my Lady. Most women would have collapsed publicly.”

Evangeline smiled.

“I’m trying.”

I stayed quiet and watched them continue discussing the surrogate without ever saying her name directly.

The surrogate.

The girl.

The outsider.

I thought about Lisa sitting inside Kieran’s house while strangers debated her morality publicly. She never belonged in this world. We brought her into it anyway.

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