Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother
Chapter 63: _ The Bitter Truth

Chapter 63: _ The Bitter Truth

I saw it in the way Father’e eyes narrowed and the way his jaw tightened. His hands curled at his sides with his fingers flexing as if he was restraining himself from doing something violent.

What the hell could Axel have ever done to this man to hate his presence so much?

I felt myself tense. Axel’s effort had just gone to a waste. My father disliked people he didn’t respect. And guess who he’d never listen to? People who he disliked.

Dammit. I had just stepped on a Cobra’s tail. Facing the wrath of its fangs was inevitable now.

Don Diego’s greeting was stiff and reluctant "Beta."

The title came off his tongue like it was something bitter. He nodded once like Axel was worth nothing more than a glance before shifting his glare back to me.

"You didn’t answer me," he snarled.

His tone had changed. It was quieter now, colder.

It made my knees want to fail.

"Why did you disobey me?"

My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth, and my mind scrambled for something—anything—to say.

"I... I was just... "

Camilla flicked her nails against each other, her mouth twitching with glee, as though her day couldn’t have turned out any better.

And then, in true Camilla fashion, she dropped the nuclear bomb.

"She was out busy trying to get in the butcher’s pants."

I choked. Axel flinched beside me. Rosa gasped as if she had just witnessed me commit high treason.

Don Diego’s head jerked to me so fast I worried he might get whiplash. His nostrils flared, his lips curled in that way that always preceded a storm.

His dark eyes bored into mine, demanding an explanation I wasn’t ready to give.

"What?" He barked, eyes lit up in stupefaction.

Oh, I was going to kill Camilla. Strangle her with her own hair. Bury her in the pigsty.

"I wasn’t... I didn’t—" Ifumbled, my hands flapping uselessly in front of me as if I could physically swat away the accusation. "That’s not what happened!"

iAy caramba! I was being absurd right now, wasn’t I?

Don Diego’s eyes dimmed further. "Then explain."

Camilla pouted and crossed her arms, feigning disappointment. "Come on, papá. You know she’s always been desperate for attention. It’s not surprising she’d go after a man... any man."

My mouth fell open. "Oh, you—"

"I heard she was throwing herself at him!" Camilla continued and I could picture Axel’s mouth falling open in shock as he never mentioned such.

"I bet she..."

"Will you please?" Axel’s voice countered.

The authority in his tone had everyone freezing, even Camilla, who for once looked like she’d bitten off more than she could chew.

He took a step forward and turned to Don Diego with kind of calm authority that contrasted my father’s urgent one.

"Señor Diego. That’s not what happened."

Father’s glare darted between him and me, suspicion still in his expression. "Then what did happen?"

Axel heaved deeply before launching into an explanation. "María José lost the money meant for the butchery. It was taken from her evens She had no choice but to strike a deal with the butcher to repay it."

Hold up. How did Axel know the money was taken from me?

Don Diego’s nostrils flared again, and he turned his full fury onto me. "You what?"

Oh, now I was dead.

I glanced at Axel, still trying to process how he knew all the details before finally sighing in defeat. "It’s... true."

My father’s eyes darkened. "You lost my money?"

Before I could explain, Axel continued, once again, saving me. "The agreement was that she would work at the butchery to pay off the debt. But the butcher..." his jaw tightened, "... he tried to take advantage of her."

A heavy silence descended upon the porch.

My father’s face went from disbelief to sheer fury. Father was pissed on my behalf?

I knew it. That lovely man who loved to carry me on his shoulder back when Mom was alive was still in there... somewhere.

"The butcher tried to what?" His voice was fearfully calm, but I knew that was the kind of calm before the earth cracked open and swallowed villages whole.

"I handled it," Axel interjected.

My father huffed and puffed, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. I knew his first instinct was never to be concerned for me... it was always about the family name. And sure enough...

"That disgraceful excuse of a man dared to demean the De la Vega name?" His voice roared with outrage. "I’ll have him thrown behind bars. I’ll make sure he never sets foot in this town again."

Of course. Not María José suffered but how dare he shame my family.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. Scratch what I said earlier about the man who carried me on his shoulders. Pfft.

Don Diego turned his burning gaze back to me. "And you," he seethed, "how is it that you always manage to bring disgrace to this household?"

There it was.

The reprimand. The shame. The deep-seated disappointment that no matter how hard I tried, I was never enough.

But before I could lower my head and take it like I always did, Axel spoke up again.

"It wasn’t her fault."

Axel’s voice came out like a shield to my father’s fury, but I was Don Diego’s daughter and I knew that with him, things didn’t work that way.

Don Diego turned to him. "Excuse me?"

Axel straightened his shoulders. "She didn’t put herself in this situation. Someone stole from her. And instead of seeking help, she thought the only way to fix it was to endure punishment that wasn’t hers to bear." His ivory eyes locked onto Don Diego’s, unafraid. "And that speaks volumes about how she’s been treated."

My jaw went slack.

Was he...?

Was Axel standing up for me? In front of my father?

Nobody ever did that.

Nobody.

Don Diego’s demeanor turned gloomily dark, his jaw tightening. "You’re implying this is my fault?"

"I’m saying," Axel continued, "that if you had been closer to your children—if you actually listened—then María José would have felt comfortable coming to you instead of believing this was her only option." His tone was sharp, biting. "Why would she rather work in a butcher’s shop to pay off money that was stolen from her, instead of telling you? Why did she think suffering alone was the better choice?"

The only befitting name for his words was: the bitter truth.

And for the first time, I saw my father hesitate.