Tangled Hearts - The Alpha's Baby Mama-Chapter 150: A compensation for the bad day I thought I was having…

Selene POV

By the time I arrived at the office which Noah had told me to come to, I was more than thirty minutes late. My earlier confrontation with Brooke had rattled me more than I cared to admit, throwing me into a state of confusion and fresh anger. I stopped at the door and adjusted my dress. Drawing a steadying breath, I knocked lightly on the door before I opened it and ushered myself inside.

Noah was already seated and I didn’t need to be told he was angry. His aura filled the room making me wonder how the counsellor could cope. She was a surprisingly young woman. Maybe in her early fifties or middle fifties at most and she was beautiful too with hair styled in a way that fit her face and drew your attention to her eyes which were the brownest I’ve ever seen.

"Luna Selene?" she rose politely and came to meet me.

I ignored the withering look Noah flashed me from where he was sitting and stretched my hand towards the counsellor giving her the best of my smiles. Of course, she would be angry that I delayed but she was a professional, so she wouldn’t show it. As I opened my mouth to greet and also offer an apology, Noah’s voice reverberated through the room.

Either the counsellor was used to having couples like us or she was made of steel because she didn’t flinch at all. "You’re late," Noah bit out, jaw clenched "After I repeatedly told you how important this first session was to us. If you didn’t want this you could have told me from the onset. Do you know how embarrassing it is for me to have kept," he pointed at the counsellor "Her here for more than half an hour without you showing up,"

Annoyance sparked in my heart at his words and I wanted to retort with the grimmest of details, especially with everything Brooke told me a while ago but I decided to be calm about it. Though the counsellor’s face was blank and she kept pushing at her bourgeois eyeglass that kept slipping to the nose of her bridge, I knew she was not comfortable and it’s best not to give her a bad first impression of me.

Instead, I mustered a bright smile "You’re right, darling," I said, keeping my tone earnest and apologetic. "I lost track of time preparing myself. It won’t happen again, I promise," I also turned to the counsellor with an entreating smile on my face as well "Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay. There’s no excuse and this will be the last time it’ll ever happen,".

As usual, Noah thought I would be on the defensive and was set to rebuke me again but my remorse must have thrown him off-balance. I saw the fight leave his eyes as he nodded curtly and murmured "It’s fine," then gestured for me to take the empty seat next to him. Just before I settled on the seat, I let one of my hands brush his bare arms and his thigh just to confirm what Brooke had told me earlier and he shrank back. I caught the guilt in his eyes too.

The nerves of him to be with me the night before and go back to Brooke the next morning. I was burning with anger so much that I wanted to yell and pull at his hair but that would be showing too much weakness. I will stop being unpredictable. I want my revenge to come as a shock to him and of course, I will go down in history as the woman who put cheating men in their place.

The counsellor watched the exchange in silence before clearing her throat delicately. "Now that we’re all present," she said, adopting a professional tone "And before we proceed, Luna Selene thank you for apologizing, I appreciate your humility, it speaks volumes about you. "Now, allow me to reintroduce myself and outline the purpose of my work here," she paused.

"My name is Janet Tussle but you can call me Janet or Janie... or whatever rolls off your tongue better. I am a qualified marriage counsellor and therapist and I have 20 years of experience. I’ve helped a lot of couples fix their marriage and some of the couples I helped still went on divorcing, in situations like that, I played a role because for me it’s not just about the money, I strive to make sure my clients get the closure they need and get to live the best of the lives either as a single or still in the marriage. I am not a miracle worker either, but I promise I’ll help you navigate the murky waters in your relationship, all I am asking is your cooperation,".

"We’d give our best, Janet..." Noah said flatly "Thank you for telling us,".

"Also, when his majesty first reached out to me and I read all about him online, I was scared because I have never had to do therapy for a Lycan King before..." she emphasized the last word. Beside me, Noah was shuffling his feet... he wasn’t enjoying her little sermon. "And Your Majesty," she suddenly turns his attention to Noah "I know it seems I am talking too much now but these are preliminary protocols that I must follow just like your court or pack proceedings. So...whenever we’re in this room, I am the master,".

Noah wanted to speak but she silenced him with a raise of her finger "And you do not speak unless spoken to. Whenever your wife or me is talking... you’ll wait for us to finish expressing ourselves then you can speak, the same thing applies to you Luna Selene," her gaze flicked to me "Although I have a conviction that I would not experience any hardships from you,".

"Most importantly," she continued, making pointed eye contact with each of us in turn "I need you both to understand that I will not be solely responsible for..." She raised her index and her middle finger in the air to quote "fixing’ your marriage. That will be on you too as partners.

The words hung heavily in the air for a moment as if it was waiting for confirmation from me and Noah. Finally, we turned to each other and exchanged looks and then turned to Janet to give her matching nods of comprehension.

"Since you’ve both taken this vital first step towards reconciliation, it means you’re serious about doing the hard work ahead," she said approvingly. "So, before we begin properly, is there any question?" she turned a pointy stare at Noah.

"First," Noah began "I do not appreciate you not respecting my position and my office. You’re coming here to offer your services to me and my wife and respectfully, I’m paying a fortune to get private therapy, not to mention feeding, accommodation...".

My eyes widened in shock at Noah’s words. I’ve never seen him so agitated and this was the first time he’d say something like this. Noah has a big heart and would never count it for anybody... perhaps Janet’s words got to him. So, I reached out to touch his arm hoping he would stop.

"Don’t worry, Luna," Janet gave me a bright smile "Let him finish and I don’t mind,".

"When you’re addressing me, put some respect to it. I’d appreciate it so much," Noah finished.

"I’ve heard you, Your Majesty," Janet chuckled "It’s either you’re a big bully or something else is agitating you because I have not disrespected you at least not yet. I only gave you a few ground rules. If you were so smart, you wouldn’t have asked for my help... Listen, I have a lot of respect for you but if you feel you’re doing me a favour by flying me across continents just to come here for something that will favour you, just say the word and I’ll refund you your money down to travel expenses,".

She stopped and turned to me "I’m a Luna of my pack and my dear husband Alpha Herbert and I have been married for 30 years. It was his idea that made me into who I am today but you do not see me going around asking people to respect me and call me Luna... in the confines of this office, you have to be like every other normal couple but outside, I’ll walk on my knees to make sure I give you all the respect you deserve. If you’re not still okay with it...I’ll leave,".

Noah’s hands clenched into a fist and his jaw tightened as he stared at Janet for the longest time. I wanted to stand up and give a small victory dance because no one had ever put Noah in his place like this and I loved it.

Finally, he looked away and muttered "I apologize for my behaviour,".

"Accepted," Janet nodded approvingly "Also I wanted to say this but it skipped my mind. You do not talk down to your spouse in the presence of a stranger or anyone at all. If you have any grievances, you do that in the confines of your bedroom. She’s your wife and your partner, not your maid. Respect her... I will overlook a lot of things today because this is the first but as we go on... we’ll get to know each other better, understood?"

Noah sighed "Yes" and turned to me "I’m sorry for talking down at you,".

If this was a compensation for the bad day I thought I was having... then I would gladly have a few bad days. The universe is clearly in my favour

"It’s okay, darling," I smiled and touched his arm again hating the way he flinched. Janet noticed it too because our eyes met each other but she didn’t comment on it.

"Good, then let’s begin,".