-UndoubtedlyYours-

♚Prologue♛

***

A sigh escaped the man's lips for the hundredth time, he truly didn't have the heart to continue working through the parchment in front of him. Not when the news in the Daily Prophet that evening still plagued him—Along with the rest of the daily horror's he needed to face, part of him was hoping that one of his children would start to cry.

That way he could take the moment and part ways from his work, return with a warmed heart and steadier attention. But he knew full well that babes ran their own schedule, and relying on their call was not productive.

No. Not at all.

He usually would wait until everyone had gone to bed and long been asleep to focus on his work, but that is when the darker thoughts would begin to loom closer. And no amount of fire whiskey would resolve the pain in his heart.

Alphard Black was a man of many talents, said so by his former professors and yet...The trials and tribulations that scorched him in the last few years had dawned on him, had it all been worth it?
His family disowned him and rest of the wizarding society was rightly shunning him for his blood affiliation.

The image was slowly returning, but he needed to strive and continued to make his efforts known.

But frankly, his mates in other countries had shared that it was mostly pity from what the war had done to him.

The torturous they've endured.

It had been the creak of the hallway's flooring that caused his eyes to wander up to the doorway, and offered a delightful grin to see the love of his life standing there with a wandering gaze.

Only to have a soft smile creep up on her face as she caught his attention.

"Love, you're supposed to be sleeping." He ushered, coming to push his chair out from under his desk as he took in her stance much closer. Her right arm strictly wrapped around the lower half of her stomach as she blinked at him.

The day's challenges certainly wearing her attention as thin as his own at the moment.

He allowed her the few moments to take in the room, she's hardly been to this side of the house in quite some time. And he didn't bother to hide in here unless it was late at night.
But clearly, she had been looking for him.

So he opened his arms and urged her to come forward to join him, and what could've been mistaken for hesitation had only taken a moment or two to truly register in her mind before she took the careful steps towards him. His hand taking her waist into his hands and pulling her close, hiding himself in her stomach as he wanted to cower away.

But that wouldn't keep his family afloat.

"Having trouble sleeping, love?" He questioned, but her voice had been lost in translation for weeks now. Just like the movement of her hand, as it seemed to be latched into one position and would need a pry to detach.

Soon, he managed to place her into his lap. And the familiar position had brought an instinctual switch as she curled further and placed her head into the crook of his neck, earning a kiss to her temple.
Leaving a rushed exhale to escape her nose, pure evidence she was still affected by him.

Her love for him hadn't been artificial like most of their families had thought, no, it was real.

As was their predicament.

But he was due to manage, he always has. And so he confessed his love to her as he would on any other occasion, leaving her much more light-hearted before they both retired to bed together.

___________

Author's Note:
I'm very excited to start to post this story, I haven't decided if I want to break it up into two books. But my plan (Without giving too much away), is to have each book focus on a different character. The first two is Alphard/Rhea, and the next would be another relationship.
But that will remain a secret for now😉