I’ve heard them. Heard the way people in town talk about her. Positive things.
Kind things. How sweet, talented, and how lucky we are to have found her.
The town has adopted her.
"The judge offered you a paying job today," I remind her. "One who’s notoriously known for being picky about who she works with. Who's turned down dozens of applicants. She tastedyour baking and immediately wanted to hire you. That means something."
I hold her gaze steadily.
"The judges praised your skill publicly. The town applauded when you won. As long as Oakridge supports you—as long as the people who actually know you and interact with you and see your real character have your back—you have nothing to fear from faceless internet strangers who'll forget about this drama in a week when something new catches their attention."
She's listening intently. Really processing what I'm saying. I can see the shift happening gradually in her expression. The fear giving way to understanding. To cautious hope. To determination.
"Go along with Kael's accusations when we walk in there," I continue firmly, using my command voice. "Act exactly like he expects you to act. Act naive and worried and confused. Act like you believe his lies completely. Like you're terrified he might be right. Give him what he wants to see."
I lean in closer.
"If he wants to defame you publicly, let him think he's winning. Let him think he's got you trapped and helpless. Let him commit fully and completely to his fabricated story. Bring witnesses. Make official statements. File his fraudulent lawsuit. The bigger and more elaborate and more public his claims become, the more witnesses he brings forward, the more official documentation he creates, the harder and more spectacular he'll fall when we systematically and publicly prove every single word is a deliberate calculated lie."
And he will fall.
Hard.
I'll make sure of it.
Nobody threatens my Omega. Nobody tries to take her away. Nobody makes her cry like this. Kael is going to regret evercoming after her. Going to regret thinking he could intimidate her.
Going to regret thinking we'd just roll over.
I grin confidently, reaching up to wipe away the last lingering traces of tears from her cheeks with careful tender strokes. My thumbs trace her cheekbones gently.
"Then we'll prove to everyone watching—to Kael, to his entire pack, to this whole town, to anyone paying attention—exactly why they shouldn't mess with me, Nash Rivera Callahan."
And I mean it.
Every single word.
She takes a shaky breath, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.
"Okay. Okay, I can do this. I can play along. I can act naive."
"You can," I confirm. "You're stronger than you think. Stronger than Kael ever gave you credit for. You left him. You built a new life. You found success and happiness. You won a gingerbread competition today. You can handle one confrontation with your lying ex-Alpha."
I stand up from my crouch, offering her my hand. She looks at it for a moment, then takes it. Her grip is stronger now. More confident.
"Ready?"
She slides off the conference table, her legs a bit shaky still but holding her weight. She's standing on her own. Composed. The worst of the panic has passed.
She's breathing normally. Color is returning to her face.
"Ready," she says, her voice stronger now. Determined. Steady. "Let's go prove why nobody should mess with Nash Rivera Callahan."
That's my girl.
CHAPTER 36
First Christmas
