Chapter 409: Chapter 428

Chapter 0427 Chapter 0427 Hannah The late afternoon sun filtered through the large windows of my office, casting a warm glow across the mahogany and leather.

The pile of papers on my desk was finally dwindling, and it was good timing, too- it was nearly five o’clock and I was itching to take my daughter on a walk through the gardens before the sun went down.

But as my pen scratched across the paper, I could feel my Beta’s eyes on me.

I glanced up to see Viona sitting across from me with that knowing smirk of hers plastered onto her face. I knew that look all too well, and I sighed, setting down my pen.

“Go ahead. I know you want to ask.”

Viona’s smirk turned into an impish grin. “So... You made out with Noah last night, huh?”

Even though I knew this was coming, I felt heat rush to my cheeks at the mention of last night. Noah’s lips on mine, the sensation of his cool hands slipping up beneath my sweater to caress my warm skin...

We hadn’t taken it too much further, had stopped ourselves once we realized that we were inches away from hooking up right there against the tree, but the desire aching in my low belly still lingered today. I looked away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, feigning innocence.

Viona rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Everyone saw you walk off together after you almost snogged right there on the jumbotron.”

I sighed, knowing I couldn’t avoid this conversation any longer. My fingers absently traced the edge of a file on my desk as I said quietly, “We just kissed.”

“I know. But how was it?” Viona pressed.

“It was... amazing,” I admitted, my voice softening. “When we kissed, it felt like... like some invisible thread was reforming between us. Like a piece of me that I didn’t even know was missing suddenly clicked back into place.”

“A mate bond?”

I nodded. “I think it was... reforming somehow.” I paused, shaking my head wistfully. “You know, all my life, I thought I was just one of those people who would never meet their fated mate. It’s fairly rare these days with so many people in the world, you know? So I never thought too much of it.”

“But now?” Viona prompted.

“Now...” I paused, trying to find the right words. “I wonder if this is how it feels to have your soul truly bound to another–beyond love, beyond the simple bond that’s formed through marriage. A real fated mate...”

“It’s like everything suddenly makes sense,” Viona murmured.

I nodded. “All those times Noah and I couldn’t seem to stay apart, even when we were at our worst... it wasn’t just stubbornness or habit, like I once thought it was. It was something deeper,”

1/2 Chapter 0427 +25 BONUS I thought back on all the times Noah and I should have broken up for good, all the times we drove each other crazy, yet somehow always found our way back to each other.

“At the time, it was infuriating how we couldn’t seem to get away from each other no matter how hard we tried,” I chuckled, leaning back in my chair. “But now, looking back, I think we were always meant to be together. Not even Zoe’s little ritual could truly rip us apart.”

Viona’s smile turned to a sneer. Even the mention of Zoe’s name, especially what she had done to us, made both of us turn sour.

But then she sighed and said, “I really am happy for you, Hannah. It’s nice to see you falling in love all over again. And it’s about time Noah started being the sweet, kind person you deserve instead of an asshole.” I laughed at that. “It feels like a fog lifted and the real Noah finally came back to me after all these years. But...” I felt myself sober a bit. “There’s j