-LANA-
“Lana-”
“No.” I cut him off, unwilling to hear anything more. I was too hurt to listen. “You’re protecting her for some reason. You refuse to tell me anything about her, even though you know how deeply it’s affecting me. I cannot believe that you would treat your mate like this Apollo. I don’t know what I’ve ever done to you to be treated this unfairly.”
I couldn’t believe I had revealed that truth to Apollo. I didn’t want him to see how much it pained me to watch him shield another girl when he should be looking out for me. Yet, I was powerless against the whirlpool of emotions raging inside me.
I’ve been keeping it bottled up inside me for so long that I had finally snapped. All of the emotions was coming out of me and I didn’t know how to stop it even thought knew that I should. It was important that I covered my mouth before I said more things that I couldn’t take back.
Who was she? Why did she matter so much to him? Those questions echoed in my mind, and I demanded answers from my mate. I deserved the truth about her. I understood that he might not want to be with me, but he still dropped everything to come and stop my date today. He didn’t have to come here. He didn’t have to show up and try to get between Derek and me.!
Even last night, he chose not to go to dinner with his mother and that girl because of me. Something was going on, and I needed to know what it was. He was intentionally keeping things from me and I needed to know why. His words and actions weren’t lining up. I refused to let him confuse me anymore.
Despite my resolve not to cry, tears began to form in
my eyes.
“Lana,” he whispers. “I chose not to tell you about Jada because I was trying to protect you, not her. You’ve misunderstood this entire situation. I didn’t believe that sharing the details would help matters between us. This thing between us, it cannot become more and you know it. I didn’t want to tell you about Jada because it didn’t make any sense for me to do so.”
My eyes widen as the tears stream down my face. “But why? Who is she? Why won’t you just tell me? You claim that you aren’t protecting her but it still seems that way to me.”
The fact that he kept silent only fueled my anxiety. Why would revealing the truth harm me? What was he trying to shield me from? I didn’t think he was telling the truth. He was simply trying to stop me from crying.
I could see that my tears were affecting him, but I didn’t want him to open up just because I was crying. I wanted him to genuinely want to be with me. Yet, my emotions had taken control over my body and I could not stop this even if I wanted to.
He sighs heavily. “Since I was young, my mother has insisted that she will choose the woman I marry. I’ve always known she had a few women in mind. She had plans all along to select someone who would suit our family the best.”
His words tightened my chest. He hadn’t even finished explaining, and already, I felt the sting of hurt.
Why did his mother feel the need to dictate who he should marry? Shouldn’t that be his choice? Did she not consider the wish to spend his life with her? Was only her opinion important?
“What does Jada have to do with any of this?”
I asked the question even though I already anticipated the answer. Still, I needed to hear it from Apollo.
I sensed his hesitation. He still wanted to hold back but felt pressured by my tears to speak up.
ght find his mate and
Looking conflicted, he finally says, “My mother wants me to marry Jada. She believes she would be the ideal match for me. She’s been pushing me to take her and Jada to dinner for a while now, but I’ve been avoiding it. That’s why she showed up that night at the house–she wanted to make sure followed through. Once I spend time with Jada and get to know her, I know my mother will start arranging our marriage.
I gasped in disbelief. I couldn’t fathom that she would force him to have dinner with someone simply to push for marriage,
How could she be so selfish? If she cared about Apollo at all, would she not want him to be happy?
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“My mother believes she’s protecting me from making the same mistakes she did,” he continues. “It is clear that our father’s betrayal has left her scarred, and she is still hurting because of it. That is why she wants to pick my partner for me. She believes that it will save me from the heartache that she experienced.”
It felt like he was defending her actions, yet all I could see was a mother trying to control her son.
“Why couldn’t you just be honest with me since the start?” I whisper.
“I told you I was protecting you, Lana,” he insists. “What was the point in telling you the truth if there’s no chance for us to be together? Why would I want to hurt you?”
My heart shatters even further. He practically admitted that there wasn’t a future for us. Did that mean he would choose to marry Jada to please his mother while pretending I didn’t exist?
I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
Why was I even standing here, engaging in this conversation if Apollo wasn’t going to fight for us?
“If you’ve already made up your mind that we won’t be together, why are you even here, Apollo?” I confront him. “Let me go back to my date. You can’t keep interrupting my life when you have no intention of standing up for whatever it is between us.”
His jaw tightens as he watches me walk away.
The tears flowed freely now, and it felt like I was ending something with someone I had loved for years.
“Wait!” Apollo calls after me.
I do not stop, and he grabs me by my waist and pulls my body back against his. He is breathing hard. I can feel the rise and fall of his chest behind me.
“I cannot see you with him.” He whispers as he buries his mouth against my ear. “You asked me why I showed up here to stop your date. It drives me insane just thinking about you here with him.”
I gasp. I couldn’t believe he’d just admitted that to me.
“I can’t control these emotions, Lana.” He says in a frustrated tone. “You can go back in there, but I promise you that it will not end well.”
My eyes are wide at his obvious threat, “Why the hell would you say something like that?”
“I do not want to sabotage your date.” He defends his actions. “But this bond between us is something that I have had a hard time with. I won’t be able to stop myself. I will lose my mind if he touches you with even a finger.”
What exactly was he trying to say?
Did he expect me to spend the rest of my life not dating anyone while he married this Jada girl? Did he not realize how sech that sounded?
“I can’t believe you would behave this way while I try to move on from you but expect me to be normal at the fact that your mother wants you to marry someone that you barely even know!” I say in disbelief./
He doesn’t respond.
“Let go of me, Apollo,” I warn him.
He tightens his hold on me and instead of letting go, does something that I am not prepared for at all
I cannot breathe. Not when his mouth is on my neck as he begins to nibble on it.
“What are you doing?” I gasp as I feel his teeth graze my skin.
“I will not let another man’s scent be on my woman’s body.” He growls. “My scent is the only one allowed on you.”
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My eyes widen, surprised that this bothered him that much.
Wait.
Did he just call me his woman?
