All Chapters of Alaric Thorne: My Mother's Dangerous Man: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

“I have a boyfriend.”The words left Rhea’s mouth before she could stop them.Melissa froze mid-motion, a stack of elegant white plates in her hands. For a second, the only sound in the luxurious beach villa was the distant crash of waves outside. Then the plates slipped from her mother’s fingers and shattered across the marble floor.Rhea’s heart slammed against her ribs. She had planned to tell her eventually, but not like this — not while they were preparing dinner for the man her mother wanted her to accept as family.The broken porcelain looked almost violent against the white floor. Rhea stared at the shards, her throat tight. The smell of garlic and herbs from the oven filled the air, but it suddenly felt suffocating. This weekend was supposed to be about her mother finally finding happiness. Instead, Rhea had just dropped a bomb right before their special guest arrived.Melissa stared at the broken pieces for a long moment. She didn’t yell. She didn’t even look angry. Just… qu

She pushed the door open and stepped into a sleek, modern office. A middle-aged man in a crisp navy suit sat behind a large desk. He looked up with a professional smile.“Miss Bennett?”“Yes,” Rhea said, trying to steady her voice. “I’m here for the Junior Marketing Executive interview.”“Please, have a seat.”She sat down, smoothing her white pantsuit over her thighs. The man extended his hand.“I’m Richard Harlan, Head of Human Resources.”Rhea shook his hand and handed over her CV. He scanned it for what felt like only a few seconds before looking up again.“Your CV is impressive,” the HR manager said. “Let’s start simple. Tell me why you applied to this company.”Rhea straightened slightly. “Because I want to build something stable for myself. I’m hardworking, and I learn fast. I don’t run from pressure.”A brief pause.The HR manager studied her for a moment, then flipped through her documents.“You’ve worked part-time roles before.”“Yes.”“Good.”More silence. The kind that mad

A sharp noise cracked from deeper inside the dark house.Rhea froze.“Did you hear that?” Rhea whispered, her voice tight with unease. “Because I just— I swear I heard something.”“I didn't hear anything," Alaric lied.Rhea frowned."No, I'm serious. It sounded like somebody moved."The noise came again.This time it was louder.Rhea's head turned instinctively toward the dark hallway.Alaric felt his jaw tighten. Matt was still inside. If Rhea saw him, everything would unravel—questions, accusations, truths he wasn’t ready to give. He had seconds.Rhea hesitated, her gaze fixed on the hallway. Another second and she’d start walking.Alaric acted.His hand shot up, fingers wrapping firmly around the back of her neck. Before she could draw breath, he yanked her forward and crashed his mouth against hers.Rhea’s eyes flew open in shock.It was meant to be a distraction, nothing more. But the second their mouths collided, Alaric felt the dam break. The memory of that night flooded him. A

Rhea stared at the glowing screen for several long seconds before finally answering the call. She pressed the phone to her ear without saying a word. Melissa didn’t expect a greeting. Things were still too awkward between them after the fallout.“You left your Riverside proposal on your desk.”Rhea’s brows drew together slightly. She hadn’t expected her mother to call about that.“I figured you’d remember eventually,” Melissa continued, her voice unusually calm. “You worked too hard on it to let something so small ruin your second week at work.”Rhea remained silent, listening.“I already dropped it off at your company’s reception.”“You… what?”“It’s in a large brown envelope with your name on it.”Silence settled between them.“I didn’t want you getting into trouble.”Rhea closed her eyes. She had been sitting at her desk, trying to gather the courage to call her mother. Melissa had quietly removed that burden before she’d even made the decision. Her fingers tightened around the ph