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.

lifts his eyes to meet his brother’s. “Listen, Victor. I

fall a little to the side, giving Rafe a look that suggests what he has said is an understatement. A massive, horrible, disgusting

on. Evelyn already yelled at me last night,” Rafe 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

to you your actions in the past few months? And

looks at his brother,

go through the details and pin you to the wall for each one. I’ll skip right to telling you what a rotten piece

with you, Rafe?” Victor growls, leaning across the table and glaring at his brother. “That is a good woman,

voice muffled against his palms. “In all the s**t after the wedding – in all of the s**t before the wedding. You weren’t there – you didn’t hear everything Dad was saying about you bringing those boys into your life. About how you were failing the

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

and glaring at Victor. “I did it. I’m man enough to take responsibility for

hands as Rafe takes a moment

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.

after all that I did – to you, to Evelyn, to Bridgette – I realized that…dad was just using me, as he does all of us. He’s just

encouraged, even, to just take whatever the hell you want, and shape the world into the image you want it to fit. But these past months with you, with the

his chair, studying his brother. “How did you get out of it, Victor?” he asks. “How did you…not become them, like

did escape it,” Victor murmurs, holding his coffee tight.

leaning forward in his chair, a little disbelieving. “Seriously?

the start of all of this. I have trouble even thinking about the

then?” Rafe

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

little at that. “You certainly blew up your life to do

and a little mad that his brother would laugh. Rafe holds up his hands, though, apologizing, and Victor forces himself

how I have to change? I have to find

looking for a woman to make you 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 Alpha household that told her her entire life that she deserves more. Are you going to use that