TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 98

Ninety-Eight

Lisa

A butterfly landed on the back of my hand. Its wings were dusty orange with thin black lines. The hedge blocked the outside noise, and insects buzzed around the flowers near my chair.

Nurse Agatha sat across from me talking, but my attention had already drifted. I closed my hands around the butterfly, cupping it between my palms. The motion pulled something loose in me, the same careless urge I had when I was younger and still climbed trees in the yard.

When I opened my hands, it stayed there, then lifted off and disappeared over the hedge.

My mother cleared her throat.

“Lisa, you haven’t been listening to Ms. Agatha.”

“Sorry.” I pushed myself upright and faced them.

The nurse gave me a polite smile. She flipped a page on her clipboard and tapped a section with her pen. A printed food chart sat on the table between us, circles drawn around protein portions.

“I was just talking about the meal plan that would suit you. Let’s focus on protein and vegetables. Spicy food is fine as long as your stomach handles it.”

My stomach tightened at the word spicy, and hunger took over everything else.

“Mom, I want noodles. Spicy ones.”

“And peppered boiled eggs,” my mom added, her tone tight.

“It’s fine. Cravings are normal.” Nurse Agatha wrote something in her file.

My mom laughed and said when she was pregnant with me she needed roasted corn every day, and my father used to drive across town to find it. I could still picture him handing her the corn through the car window, smiling like she was the only person in the world. That memory felt fake now. Her voice faded near the end, and the smile slipped off her face.

My father sat under every conversation now, a subject nobody wanted to touch.

After the nurse left and my mom went inside to cook, I stayed in my chair. I pushed my weight into the cushion and stretched my legs out. The guards stood at the gate. One of them rolled his shoulders and spoke into the radio clipped to his shoulder. The metal gate rattled when the other one shifted his stance. Somewhere outside, a dog barked.

I wondered if they were as tired of this arrangement as I was. At least we were all getting paid for this.

Small win.

I pulled my phone out and texted Franklin.

If you people don’t let me out soon, I’ll find a way to sneak out.

The typing bubble appeared right away.

Not possible

I stared at the screen and rolled my eyes.

1/4

Neety Eight

+15 Benus

Franklin: You are surrounded by trained guards. There are more guards outside than inside, and there are guard dogs. Please be realistic.

My hand moved to my stomach, still flat under my shirt.

This baby had more security than a vault.

Fine. I need fresh air. The garden isn’t enough. I need to see people. I’m losing my mind here.

His reply came.

I haven’t spoken to Cameron yet. I will today. If it’s urgent, you can tell him yourself.

My thumb moved over the screen. I typed, deleted, then sent: that’s your job. Do it.

Bossy today?

Pregnant.

I pictured him laughing wherever he was when the next message came in.

Fair point.

Mom came back with a tray of noodles. My stomach growled before she even reached me. She watched me as I

wolfed down the food.

“You better slow down. You’ll regret it.”

“I’m starving.”

My lower back throbbed from sitting too long. When I shifted, a tight pull ran along my hip and down my leg.

She shook her head, then pulled my leg onto her lap. Her hands pressed into my calf. Pain flared under her fingers, and I understood how tight my muscles had been. She kept working my calf while I finished the noodles, the fork scraping the bowl as I chased the last bites.

She let out a breath and stared past me into the garden.

“I’ve been thinking about the trial. I don’t know how I’m going to face your father at the hearing.”

“Oh.” I picked up my glass and took a drink.

They were married for thirty years. Thirty years of loyalty. Cooking for him. Washing his clothes. Sharing his bed. Raising his children. Loving him completely. He still chose someone else. It made me wonder if love was even worth it.

“I feel like a fool. Like I wasted my life.”

“Mom, stop. You are the best mother in the world. You have me and James.”

Silence settled between us, and the words came out anyway.

“The other woman destroyed your marriage, and now I’m doing the same to someone else.”

Her head turned toward me, eyes sharp. “That’s not the same. Evangeline and Cameron are not married. They could be in a relationship, but it isn’t the same. There aren’t children involved. There was a contract to bring you in. Nobody was tricked. Nobody was betrayed. If anything, they used you. That’s different.” 1

I spoke again. “Would you ever consider Alpha Kieran?”

2/4

Ninety Fahr

+15 Bonus

Her fingers paused against my leg. Her grip tightened around my ankle before she caught herself and loosened it again.

“After the divorce… if he wants something serious. If he wants you in his life.”

She sighed. “I don’t even know what I feel right now. I have nothing to offer. No business. No money. If he throws that back at me someday…”

“I’m sure he won’t. He seems responsible, and he has enough inoney not to care about yours.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. He lost his wife years ago. The bond is real. It’s not like what you had with dad. He can’t cheat on you. It doesn’t work that way.”

“I’m tired, Lisa. I don’t know if I have the strength to start again.”

I shifted closer and took her hand.

“Mom, you deserve better. You gave everything to someone who didn’t deserve it. That doesn’t mean everyone else will be the same.”

We stayed where we were, staring ahead and thinking about futures that felt out of reach. Rain started tapping against the leaves, and we went back inside.

My mom went upstairs to sleep, and I stayed in the living room, stretched across the sofa while rain slid down the glass doors in crooked lines. The room smelled faintly of damp earth drifting in from outside. My back protested when I shifted, and I tucked a cushion under my hip.

I picked up my phone from the table and opened my messages. My thumb hovered over Cameron’s name.

He really was sticking to the no contact rule. But I needed to hear from him. I didn’t even know what hearing from him would change, but the urge sat there, nagging.

What would I even say?

Hi.

Too small.

How are you?

Too personal.

I miss-

I erased it before I finished typing.

I stared at his name on the screen, exhaled, then opened the keyboard again.

Can I see my friends?

Delete.

Franklin said you were busy. Just checking.

Delete.

This was embarrassing. Why was I acting like a middle school girl waiting for her crush? Why would I be the one

3/4

Sunety fight

+15 Benus

reaching out?

I set the phone on the table and leaned back into the sofa. I was the one dealing with the consequences of all this. If there were to be any communication, he should be the one to reach out first. At least that would be proof that I mattered.

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