Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother

Chapter 301: _ What Happened To Me?

Chapter 301

~María José’s POV~

I knew something was wrong the moment Axel’s eyes changed.

We were still tangled together in bed, his chest rising and falling against mine. Our bodies had been warm and spent. The sheets smelled like us. It smelled like sex and sweat and something sacred. I’d never felt so close to someone before. I thought I’d never stop smiling.

Then I blinked... and he was gone.

He pulled away like I’d slapped him. He didn’t say a word. He just climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

"Axel?" I called after him, confused, still trying to catch my breath. He didn’t answer.

The door shut with a click. A few minutes later, the shower turned on, harsh and loud. Not gentle or soothing. Like he was trying to scrub something off him.

I sat up, the sheet pooling around my waist. My skin was still tingled with the echo of his touch. Everything between us had been real. I knew it was real. The way he’d looked at me; like I was his beginning and end. He’d said he loved me. I had said it back.

So why did it suddenly feel like we were breaking?

I waited a few minutes, heart pounding, telling myself he was just overwhelmed. Maybe he was processing things. Maybe he was scared—hell, I was scared. But I couldn’t sit still. Not when the weight in the room felt like something had shattered.

This was supposed to be a moment we’d cherish for the rest of our lives, but why did it feel like I had done something that would forever change the course of our relationship?

I knocked softly on the door. "Axel?"

The water kept running. The steam curling under the door smelled like eucalyptus and heartbreak.

"Please talk to me."

He didn’t answer.

I leaned my head against the door, biting my lip. "Did I do something wrong?"

The water stopped. The silence after was deafening.

Then he spoke flatly. "I just need to be alone."

I went in and he chased me out, acting so weird as if there was something I knew I did and was pretending about. I didn’t.

I felt like he’d dropped a bucket of ice over my heart. No. No, not after what we just shared.

I stepped back, pacing. I gave him five more minutes. Ten. I heard the soft sounds of him drying off, the faint creak of the cabinet. My stomach twisted in knots.

When he finally came out, I froze.

He was wrapped in a towel, his dark hair dripping, eyes puffy and bloodshot. He didn’t look at me. He Just walked straight past like I wasn’t there.

"Axel," I whispered, reaching for his arm. "Please. Talk to me."

He flinched. Not visibly, or much—but I felt it. He pulled away.

"I said I want to be alone."

The way he said it didn’t feel like a request. It felt like a door slamming in my face. noveldrama

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "If you’re upset with me, just say it. Don’t shut me out. Please."

He sighed, running a hand through his wet hair. "You want me to say it?" His voice was rough, clipped. "Fine. Why did you lie to me?"

I blinked. "What?"

"You told me you were a virgin."

My heart skipped. Huh? Was that even up for debate?

"I—I am," I said, my voice trembling. "You’re the only person I’ve ever been with. Why on earth won’t I be?"

His jaw clenched. "Don’t do that."

"Do what?"

"Lie to my face."

"I’m not lying!" I stepped closer, reaching for him again. "Axel, I swear to you—on everything... I’ve never given myself to anyone else. Never."

He finally turned to look at me, and the pain in his eyes made my knees weak.

"Then explain what just happened," he said. "Explain why it didn’t feel like it was your first time. Explain why..." He stopped, his voice cracking. "Why it didn’t feel like you were mine."

My breath stopped. "What are you talking about? I don’t—I don’t know what you mean."

"There was no hesitation," he said, pacing now. "No discomfort or resistance. My cock went in smoothly. None of the signs of a first-time. You knew what you were doing."

To be honest, I also knew I didn’t feel as much pain as a first time was rumored to be. But that didn’t mean I didn’t feel any pain at all. It still felt painful.

However, the pleasure of finally being with Axel took over all that pain.

"Because I paid attention," I said quickly. "Because I wanted it. Because I love you and I felt safe. That’s all."

"María! Don’t." He bellowed, blocking his ears with both of his hands.

"I’m not lying!"

He dragged a hand over his face. "I felt something that didn’t make sense. Like someone had been there before. Recently."

What in the world?! Someone had been in me? How on earth was that even possible? I had never... I repeat, never, been with any other man.

Axel was my first. Why on earth was he doing this to me? Why was my very first making it all difficult?

"That’s not possible!" My voice cracked. "Axel, I swear on my life—on my mother’s grave, I’ve never been with anyone. I would never lie to you about that."

"Then how do you explain this?" he demanded. "Because it wasn’t just a feeling. You were tight, but not the kind of tightness one would expect of a virgin. Even your hymen was already broken. No blood at all!"

I took a step back, heart stuttering.

"No," I whispered. "No, that can’t be right."

"I’m telling you what I felt. You’ve had sex before, María. And you didn’t react like someone being touched for the first time."

I stared at him, my lips trembling. "Are you saying... someone has had sex with me and I am oblivious to it

He didn’t answer.

"Ignacio," I breathed.

His name felt like a curse on my tongue.

"No," I said again. "No, that’s not possible. He wouldn’t—he didn’t. I... I would know."

"Would you?" Axel asked, eyeing me with so much irritation that made my heart break.

"I would feel it," I said. Remember something. A feeling. A moment. Anything." I was vigorously shaking my head now. I couldn’t believe this.

This was impossible. Ignacio wasn’t that horrible. He was the reason why Axel and I could get married.

Axel looked at me for a long time. "What if he took that from you too?"

"No." I shook my head. "No, I refuse to believe that without proof. We need to investigate. We need to check. This could be a mistake. Maybe the way you felt was something else. Maybe he put a spell on me that didn’t involve... that."

Axel looked away.

"I don’t care if someone took my virginity," I whispered. "What I care about is that you think I lied to you. That you don’t believe me when I say I didn’t know. That I would never hide something like that from you."

He didn’t speak for a long moment. Then he said, very softly, "I’m not mad that it wasn’t me. I’m mad that I believed it was, and you let me think that."

"Because it was!" I cried. "I didn’t lie to you. Not once. If someone did something to me—if they took something... I didn’t consent to it. I didn’t even know. And I still don’t."

"But I know. And that changes everything." He spat at my foot.

The words hit me harder than a slap. I stared at him, numb, the room spinning around me.

"So what?" I said, voice breaking. "You’re going to leave me? Because I might have been violated without knowing? Because something I didn’t choose or remember makes you doubt me?"

He flinched. "Don’t twist this."

"I’m not twisting anything," I snapped, tears running hot down my cheeks. "I’m begging you to believe me."

"I do," he said. "Part of me does. But the rest of me can’t stop hearing your voice telling me I was your first, and now knowing that wasn’t true."

"I didn’t lie," I whispered again.

But it didn’t matter. Because he didn’t believe me. And that was what hurt the most. He walked to the door, not looking back.

"Where are you going?"

"I need air."

I stumbled after him, my voice rising. "You’re just going to walk away from me? After everything?"

He hesitated in the doorway. "I love you, María. But I don’t know how to carry this right now."

And then he was gone. And I was alone. Utterly, devastatingly alone.

This can’t be happening to me. Was I truly... cursed? It seemed I couldn’t just catch a break. Even when it seemed like I was finally getting everything I wanted, this happened.

I had no idea what ached the most: the fact that I had been violated without even knowing it after keeping myself chaste for years or the fact that I had hurt Axel’s feelings.

What I did know was that my chest hurt, and I wanted to die.