Pregnant With Alpha’s Genius Twins

#Chapter 208 – Hard Lines

When Victor and Evelyn come down the stairs ten minutes later, Rafe is sitting at the kitchen table looking down at his folded hands. Evelyn doesn’t say a word, barely glances at him as she instead goes to her boys, who are standing by the open front door.

“Mama!” Ian says, breathless with excitement. “Did you see it!?”

“See what, baby?” Evelyn says, coming to put a hand on his back between his shoulder blades and see what the excitement is about.

“The house,” Alvin says, leaning against the door and looking up at her with wide eyes. “The car house!”

“Oh,” Evelyn says laughing and looking at the driveway. “It’s called an RV, boys – a Recreational Vehicle. Apparently,” she smirks and looks over her shoulder at Victor, who pulls out a chair to sit across from Rafe, “your dad buys the newest model every year. Just in case.”

“It’s awesome,” Ian says, his wide eyes eager. “Can we go travel in it?”

“Can we go live in it?!” Alvin shouts, clasping his hands beneath his chin in excitement.

“You’d want that?!” Evelyn asks, laughing and gesturing towards it. It really is beautiful but…live in it!? “You’d want to live in that thing, like living in a can of sardines?”

“Well, our other house did burn down,” Ian says, pouting, “we should get a new one and this one is already here.” Evelyn can’t stop the laugh that starts to spill from her at his earnest kid logic.

“Yeah,” Alvin says, as if it’s obvious. “And we can take this one to the beach.”

“Okay, okay,” Evelyn says, reaching for the coat hanging on the peg by the door. “Let’s go explore it, and then we’ll decide whether or not we should move in.”

The boys run out the door, happy with this deal, and Evelyn looks over her shoulder at Victor before following them. Victor gives her a deep nod as Burton hands him a fresh cup of coffee.

Thank you, Victor says into her mind, for distracting them. I’ll handle this in here.

Anytime, Evelyn replies with a wink. Then, she pulls the door shut behind her, following her sons to the RV.

When the house is quiet again, Victor turns his attention to Rafe. “Evelyn told me what she knows,” he says, his deep voice rumbling with disappointment. Hearing his tone, Burton quickly makes himself scarce.

eyes to meet his

head fall a little to the side, giving Rafe a look that suggests what he has said

says ruefully. “I get it. It’s not like I don’t already know that what I did was horrible. I’m going to make it better. You

going to repeat back to you your actions in the past few months? And you’re going to have to face what you

looks at

shrugging. “I’ll leave that to Evelyn – she’ll be more than happy to go through the details and pin you to the wall for

his brother. “That is a good woman,

head in his hands. “I just got so wrapped up in it, Victor,” he says, his voice muffled against his palms. “In all the s**t after the wedding

sitting back in his chair, a little further disgusted. “That dad made

he didn’t,” Rafe says, taking down his hands and glaring at Victor. “I did it. I’m

his coffee in his hands as

I started the lie,” Rafe says slowly, perhaps figuring it out for himself as he goes, “…nothing, in my life, seemed more important to me

Victor sits quietly, listening.

you, to Evelyn, to Bridgette – I realized that…dad was just using me, as he does all of us. He’s just like John Walsh in that way, do you

“Where it’s fine, encouraged, even, to just take whatever the hell you want, and shape the world into

pauses, sitting back in his chair, studying his brother. “How did you get out of it, Victor?” he

not sure I did escape it,” Victor murmurs, holding his coffee tight. “I think

the sentence on his face though. “Evelyn?” Rafe says, leaning

head. “I treated her…I’m ashamed of how I treated her, Rafe, at the start of all of this. I have trouble even thinking about the things I said to her. But I was the Alpha, I was just repeating things dad said to mom for years, things I thought

Rafe

forced me to start seeing her as a person. Not as a Luna, or as a surrogate, or as my kids’ mom. But as a full person, who loves and fights and speaks and breathes. And the way she loves,” he shakes his head, still bowled over by it. “I had to become a

“You certainly blew

that his brother would laugh. Rafe holds up his hands, though, apologizing, and Victor forces himself to cool

Rafe asks after a moment, shrugging. “Is that how I have

treat her well? Bridgette is also a person, if perhaps less strong-willed than Evelyn. But Bridgette didn’t have the resources that Evelyn had, the upbringing in an