Chosen as the Cursed Alpha's Seventh Bride

Emilia’s POV

Sebastian stepped up to the headstone. For a moment he only stood there, looking at the photo of my mother set into the stone.

Then he spoke.

"Mom." His voice was steady. "Maybe you don’t know me well. I didn’t know you either, until a few days ago. When I learned what happened to you, I was angry. And sad. You were a great woman. A great mother. And you raised an incredible daughter."

My chest tightened.

"Your daughter chased away shadows I’d lived in for three years," he went on. "She brought warmth and light back into my life. She made me feel again."

I bit my lip, trying not to cry.

"I know there was injustice in your death," he said. "But today, the man who ruined your life is paying for it. He’ll spend the rest of his days in prison. You can rest now. And you don’t have to worry about your daughter anymore. As long as I’m alive, I’ll take care of her. I won’t let her suffer. I won’t let anyone hurt her. I’ll love her and protect her until my last breath."

The tears spilled over. I couldn’t stop them.

Sebastian turned and walked back to me. When he saw my face, his eyes widened. "What’s wrong?"

"I heard everything," I said, crying and laughing at once.

"I knew you’d eavesdrop."

"So you said all that knowing I’d hear it?"

"What are you talking about?" He reached out and ruffled my hair. "You don’t speak lies in front of the dead. Even if the Moon Goddess didn’t strike me down for it, I wouldn’t risk her wrath."

I threw my arms around him. "Thank you," I whispered. "Thank you, my bad-tempered husband."

"Thank me one more time," he murmured into my hair, "and I’ll have to make you repay me another way."

I pulled back, my face hot. "You’re saying that in front of my mother’s grave? Aren’t you afraid the Moon Goddess will punish you?"

"This isn’t disrespectful." He grinned. "It’s clearly a declaration of love."

"Nonsense," I muttered, but I was smiling.

We stood there another moment, hand in hand, the morning sun warm on our backs.

Then we turned and walked away together, and left the past where it belonged.

We left the cemetery.

Sebastian held the car door open for me. I slid into the passenger seat, and he rounded the front before climbing in beside me.

"Where to?" he asked, one hand on the wheel, the other reaching over to rest on my thigh. "Home, or somewhere else?"

"Pacific Shopping Center," I said, buckling my seatbelt. "I want to walk around for a bit. Clear my head. Say goodbye to the past and all that."

"Do you want company? I can move my afternoon meetings."

"You’re sweet, but no." I covered his hand with mine. "You’ve got a company to run, and I already made plans with Lily."

"Fair enough." He pulled onto the main road. "Though if you know how busy I am, maybe you should think about helping me lighten the load."

I looked over at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Come work at Simons Imperial Group," he said, tone casual, eyes sharp. "I could use someone competent on my team."

"Oh, really?" I tilted my head, fighting a smile. "And what position did you have in mind for me, Alpha Sebastian?"

"My personal assistant."

I burst out laughing. "Your assistant? Seriously?"

"Yes. Seriously." His jaw tightened. "What’s so funny about that?"

"Nothing, nothing." I waved a hand. "It’s just, I’m not really interested in being an assistant anymore."

His head turned toward me. "You were Scott’s assistant."

"Here we go again." I rolled my eyes. "Sebastian, what is your problem with Scott? You bring him up every chance you get."

"My problem," he growled, "is that you scheduled his meetings, ran his calendar, made his coffee, picked up his breakfast, did everything short of breathing for him. So why won’t you do the same for me?"

I bit my lip to keep from laughing at how genuinely offended he looked. "It’s not about Scott. I just want to try something different. A new direction."

"Do you already have something in mind?" His voice was tight, suspicious.

"Maybe," I said, enjoying how tense he was getting. "I’m still figuring it out. But when I do, I promise Simons Imperial Group gets my resume first."

His hand left my thigh and gripped the wheel. "You’d better not be playing games with me, Emilia. If I hire you and you ditch me for another company, I swear—"

"You’ll what?" I grinned. "Fire me before I even start?"

"Don’t test me."

"I’m not making any promises," I said lightly, leaning back in my seat.

At the red light he braked a little harder than he needed to and turned to glare at me. "Emilia."

"Sebastian." I matched his tone exactly.

"You’re unbelievable," he muttered.

"You’re adorable when you’re jealous." I leaned over the console and kissed him, quick and firm, right on the mouth.

He went still. Then his hand came up to cup the back of my neck, holding me there as he deepened the kiss. When he finally pulled back, his eyes were darker. Heated.

"Don’t think that’s going to work every time," he said, voice rough.

"It worked this time, didn’t it?"

He didn’t answer, just shook his head and started driving again.

When we pulled up to the entrance of Pacific Shopping Center, I grabbed my purse and opened the door.

"Drive safe," I said, glancing back at him.

"You too." His eyes softened. "Have fun."

I waved and shut the door, watching him pull back into traffic and disappear down the street.

The shopping center was busy, the kind of late-morning crowd that filled the cafes and drifted past the boutique windows. I pulled out my phone and called Lily.

"Hey," she answered. "I’m just about to leave."

"Just about to?" I frowned. "Lily, you were supposed to be here ten minutes ago."

"I know, I know. I’m sorry." She groaned. "My stomach’s been a mess since yesterday. I’ve spent half the morning in the bathroom."

"Are you okay? Do you need to see a doctor?"

"No, it’s fine. I took something for it. I’ll be there soon, I swear."

A woman walked past me, tall and graceful, wrapped in a mink coat. Her hair was pinned up in an elegant twist, and she moved with the kind of poise that made people step aside without her having to ask.

Then a wallet slipped out of her coat and dropped to the floor.