Becoming My Ex’s Mother in Law by Aurora Starling

Chapter 37

My first instinct was to tell Andrew how cliché that line was. My second was to yell at him for nearly giving me a heart attack. I did neither.

“What are you doing here?” I asked instead.

“I could ask you the same question,” Andrew said, suddenly serious. “What are you doing out here, at night, in the rain, all alone?”

I cast my eyes away from him. Of all the people in the world, he was the last one I wanted to know about my situation and pity me.

He covered me with the umbrella and gestured towards his car.

“Let’s go talk about this somewhere warmer,” he suggested.

I nodded and followed him back to the vehicle. After we were both safely inside, Andrew kicked up the heater and turned on the seat warmers. Despite myself, I snuggled deep into the toasty leather seat and let out a contented sigh.

“So, now are you going to tell me why you were out there?” he asked, his eyes. boring into the side of my head.

“I was walking back to my car after grabbing something to eat at Miranda’s Brew,” I replied.

It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the complete truth, either.

“And it has nothing to do with the fact that you were kicked out of your apartment?”

My face shot towards Andrew, my eyebrows raised.

“How-how did you know about that?”

“I have my sources. He took my hand in his. “Crystal, do you have anywhere to stay?

No.I mean, I have my car..”

shook his head.

nycar.

urarceptable. You’ll stay at my mansion, at least for the night.

My b*dy stiffened.

“Andrew, no, I can’t-”

“I insist. I’ll have my driver come get your car and bring it to the mansion. In the meantime, let’s get you warm and dried off.”

Before I could protest further, Andrew released my hand, and we took off.

As we drove to the mansion, I grew more and more anxious. This would be my first time seeing the Alpha King’s mansion since Bob attacked me. Even though I technically stayed the night there. I wasn’t conscious for most of it, and I barely saw anything.

I knew that I should be excited to have this privilege again, but my stomach was in knots. I couldn’t help but think about how I could run into Bob and Lisa there, and I wasn’t sure which would be worse. Solely by letting Andrew take me in from the rain, I could be ruining Every After Weddings’ reputation.

Of course, I wasn’t letting Andrew do anything. He had taken control of this situation, and this had been his idea entirely. Hopefully, Lisa would understand that.

“Once we get inside, I’ll get you a towel for your hair and see if we have some dry clothes for you to change into,” Andrew said, interrupting my thoughts. “If you’re still hungry, we can get you some hot food, too.”

I nodded absentmindedly.

“Thank you, that all sounds wonderful.” I hesitated. “Are Bob and Lisa going to be there?”

Andrew didn’t respond for a moment. When I looked at him, he seemed lost in thought.

They’re at some party, I think. They shouldn’t be back until very late tonight.”

His fingers drummed on the steering wheel.

Fis that going to be a problem?” he added after a moment of silence

no, Isaid quickly, I was only curious

Chapter 37

He nodded, his l*ps pursed.

“Well, with you having to work tomorrow, I’m sure that you won’t run into her tonight or even in the morning.”

I tried to hold in my relief.

“Okay.”

About twenty minutes outside of the city, we drove up a winding hill to Andrew’s sprawling Southern antebellum-style mansion. The fog, rain, and darkness of night obscured my view, but spotlights directed at the house. allowed me to take in snippets of the beautiful white Greco-Roman columns, enormous, shuttered windows, and wraparound porch. It was enthralling.

Andrew buzzed himself in, and the gates opened for us. We drove up the long gravel driveway to the front steps.

“Wow, Andrew,” I whispered in hushed awe, “it’s magnificent.”

“Just now noticing?” he teased, a little laugh to his voice.

“I didn’t really have time to see it in all its grandeur the first time.”

“Yeah, I know.”

I faced him at the sadness in his tone. His eyes searched me with such great care yet also such great pity that the knots returned to my stomach.

“Shall we go inside?” I asked. I cringed as my voice cracked.

Andrew shook his head, as though to shake some thought out of it.

“Yes, of course.”

Umbrella in hand, he ran out of the driver’s side door and rushed to open my door. Together, we walked under the umbrella up to the stairs to the front door. There, we were greeted by Andrew’s head butler, who opened the door. for us and took Andrew’s umbrella and coat.

Parker, please go ensure that we have a room and some dry clothes prepared for Ms. Blanchard, Andrew commanded.

“Right away, Your Highness,” Parker said with a bow. “Will there be anything.

10.37 Tue, 2 Jan M.

Chapter 37

“Yes, please have Carl go to Ever After Weddings, pick up Ms. Blanchard’s car, and bring it here. It’ll be the Civic. Crystal, do you have the key?”

I nodded and handed my key to Parker.

“Thank you, Ms. Blanchard. Anything else. Your Highness?”

“No, that is all.”

“Very good, Your Highness.”

With a bow to both Andrew and me, Parker took off at a brisk walk down the hall.

“Come on, Crystal,” Andrew said, grabbing my hand. “Let’s get you settled in the sitting room.”

Andrew led me down the foyer and into the closest room. Inside sat a lush black couch and two matching leather armchairs atop a furry white carpet. A fireplace roared in the center of the far wall, and photographs of forests and majestic wolf packs occupied the rest of the white space.

I moaned slightly as my bare feet touched the soft carpet. I didn’t even realize how much my back hurt until I sank into Andrew’s couch. Andrew smirked at me, amused, and I barely kept myself from sticking my tongue out at him.

“I’ll go get you that towel so that you don’t wet my furniture too terribly,” he said with a wink.

was

After he left the room, I soaked in my surroundings. This sitting room probably as big as the apartment that I had been kicked out of, or at least the living room, kitchen, and dining room, combined. Who knew how big the entire house was?

When I examined the fireplace closer, I could see that the white marble contained fine lines of gold along the seams to add to the shine. In fact, there were traces of gold everywhere, from the walls to the picture frames. I hardly had any jewelry to my name, and if I couldn’t think of a way to remedy my homelessness soon, I would probably have to start pawning that off.

To think that Bob would soon become Andrew’s son-in-law and would get to

carefree, happy life in this luxurious setting.

Chapter 37

It was his fault that I was in this situation in the first place. It was his fault that I went to prison. I should have let him fry that day five years ago.

Now, my life was unravelling. If Bob had it my way, I would be kicked out of the pack entirely and would have nowhere to go. I might even end up dead.

And he had put himself in a position where I couldn’t touch him.

I collapsed on the floor and buried my face in my hands, weeping with abandon.