Alpha Damien’s Trouble Maker Novel

Chapter 38 I crossed my arms, my gaze still fixed on the door. What did he want? Cross had never once spoken to me during the celebration in any of my past lives. He'd never even looked at me before. So why was he here now, standing outside my room. My brow furrowed. It wasn't impossible for events to change, small details shifted sometimes between lives, but this was different. Something had to have caused it. Something that altered his behavior. I froze. Wait. The auction. Could it be because of the auction?

Did Cross somehow realize that I was the woman who'd been sitting at the table beside him? Impossible. I'd hidden my face and masked my scent, no one should've recognized me. But with Cross, somehow, it didn't feel entirely impossible. Another sudden knock snapped me out of my thoughts. "Are you not going to open the door?" Cross said, clearly impatient. I let out a quiet sigh, glancing at Evelyn, whose eyes were wide with uncertainty. "Fine," I murmured, straightening my dress. "Let's see what he wants." I walked toward the door, each step slow.

My hand wrapped around the handle, and I opened it. Cross was leaning casually against the wall, his arms folded, eyes closed, as if he hadn't just been standing outside a woman's room for several minutes. But the moment he heard the door creak, his lashes lifted, and our eyes met. And for a second, he froze. His gaze swept over me from head to toe, slow and searching, as though he couldn't quite recognize the person in front of him. His usually calm face flickered. It was slightly, but enough for me to notice. I raised an eyebrow.

"Is something wrong?" He met my gaze again, something unreadable in his eyes, before saying, "I came to escort you." I blinked, taken aback. Of all the things he could have said, that was the last one I expected because it didn't make sense. He was supposed to go with Sienna, that was how it had always been. If he was here, it only confirmed what I thought, Cross suspected something, and he wanted to observe me. I exhaled quietly. He's going to be a difficult one. He didn't seem to notice my inner turmoil, or maybe he did and simply didn't care.

He straightened from the wall, offering his arm casually. "Let's go." I glanced at his outstretched arm, then back at his face. The air between us felt heavier than it should. I slowly nodded and slipped my hand into his. "Alright." If Cross truly suspected me, then I needed to play along, and do exactly as he wanted, so he'd stop paying attention to me. We walked in silence. The corridor was dim, lit only by the soft glow of lanterns on the walls, the sound of our footsteps echoing faintly across the floor. Cross didn't say anything at first, and I was glad for that.

I didn't have the patience or the desire to force small talk just for the sake of filling the silence. My gaze drifted down to our joined hands. His grip was firm but not rough. I tilted my head slightly. This was the first time 34 Chapter 38 Cross had ever taken my hand. In all my lives, I had never felt his warmth. It was strange, and unfamiliar. I looked away. I wasn't going to dwell on something so meaningless. I wasn't being sentimental, nor did I crave his attention. Even if fate itself handed me another chance to mend things with my brothers, I wouldn't take it.

They'd had plenty of chances, and they'd wasted them all. I wasn't fighting for anyone's love anymore. So I straightened my back, fixing my eyes ahead and ignoring everything else. "You are determined." I didn't look at him. "What makes you think so?" "Your body language," Cross replied easily. "The way your eyes flash when you're deep in thought. The way your hand tightened around mine just now. It shows you're determined to do something." The corner of my lips lifted slightly. As expected of my brother, even when he didn't speak, he saw everything. Still, I didn't answer.

I didn't want to give him an excuse to dig deeper. But that didn't seem to stop him. "What are you determined to do, Selene?" he asked after a second, his tone probing. "I didn't pay attention back then Sienna was unconscious, but now that I look closer, you're different. Even right now, the way you carry yourself, your temperament, it's not the same as before." I smiled, amusement flickering inside me. "You're also different, brother." He turned his head toward me, his brows drawing together slightly, as if to ask how I met his gaze, my tone detached.

"You're talking too much." His expression shifted, and I continued. "You haven't said a single word to me in eighteen years, and now you suddenly claim I'm different. Tell me, do you even know what I was like before to say that?" Silence. He didn't respond. His mouth opened slightly, then closed again. Got you. It was rare to see Cross speechless. But that was the thing about him, he lived by logic, and reason. His mind always searched for structure and proof, And the best way to defeat someone like that, was to use their own logic against them. When we reached the entrance, we stopped.

Cross moved ahead slightly, placing one hand on the door. The moonlight spilling through the cracks cast a glow over his face, making his eyes unreadable. Without looking at me, he said quietly, "Did you leave the temple today?" I didn't react. I'd been expecting that question. From the moment he'd shown up at my door, I knew he'd ask it. So I blinked before meeting his gaze with confusion carefully painted across my face. "Leave the temple? Why would I leave the temple? I have nowhere to go.

I was in my room all day." 12:48 Tue, Dec 23 Chapter 38 Cross studied me for a long moment, his expression impossible to read. His eyes lingered, searching for cracks in my words, for signs of a lie. But I didn't flinch. Finally, he said, "I see, then, I'll take the task." My brows furrowed. "What task?" He turned his head slightly toward me. "The task of getting to know you." Before I could respond, he pushed the door open. The silver light of the full moon spilled across the threshold, brushing against my skin, making the white fabric of my gown shimmer faintly.

I froze for a second, the brightness almost blinding after the dim corridor. When I turned my head toward Cross, he wasn't looking at me anymore. He stood straight, his face impassive as he looked forward, as though nothing had happened. I shook my head slightly, wondering if I'd misheard him. Getting to know me? That wasn't something Cross would ever say. I stepped forward, the moonlight following me, and every gaze seemed to land on me at once. At the far end of the courtyard, seated in the private section, my father, stepmother, and the Alpha were watching.

Their faces flickered with surprise. My father's usual cold expression faltered for a moment. Even my stepmother looked stunned. But my eyes didn't linger on them. They found him. He sat beside the Alpha, his expression unreadable, his gaze dark and heavy as it locked on mine. He didn't look away. He took me in slowly as if seeing me for the first time. And unlike the shy, flustered girl I'd once been, the girl who used to shrink beneath his gaze, I didn't look away. We meet again, Adrian..

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