Chapter 100
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~LANA-
“Well?” Ms. Reign asks, redirecting her attention to me now that her son is no longer with us. “We’re all eager to hear more about this mystery man.”
“Yes.” Jada adds. “I find it a little strange that no one has ever mentioned you dating before. I distinctly remember it came up in a conversation before but we were told you don’t have anyone currently.”
I bite my lip, searching my mind for something to say quickly.
Suddenly, Isabella makes a noise, and without warning, drops the glass she’s holding, just like Apollo did moments ago.
Red wine spills over Jada’s dress, splattering her mother’s outfit too.
“What’s wrong with you?” Ms. Reign snaps, glancing at Jada’s ruined dress. “Do you have any idea how much this costs?”
“I’m so sorry!” Isabella gasps, feigning concern, though I know her act is a ploy to shift the focus away from me.
“Let me help,” she offers, grabbing a napkin and attempting to scrub at the white dress.
“Stop it! You’re only making it worse!” Jada exclaims, clearly frustrated.
Isabella clutches her chest dramatically, “I just wanted to help!”
As they become engrossed in the mess my sister created, Isabella turns toward me and winks, mouthing the words ‘hurry up‘ when they aren’t looking. I take that as my cue to slip away.
They don’t even notice as I make my exit, thankful that my sister’s plan worked so seamlessly.
While she continues to divert their attention, I quickly head after Apollo, hoping to catch up with him.
After a few moments of searching, I finally spot him in the distance. My heart races as I pursue him, feeling as if my whole life hinges on this moment.
He was moving quickly, and although he claimed he was just stepping away to get the stuff to clean up the broken glass, he seemed to be heading in the wrong direction.
I pushed myself even more to keep up with him. It was important that I found out what was happening. I felt like I was in the dark and I didn’t want to be anymore. He doesn’t seem to realise that I’m behind him and I wanted to use that to my advantage.
“Wait,” call out, finally compelling him to stop.
I was surprised he even halted, considering he had been avoiding me ever since that talk with his mother.
He doesn’t bother turning to face me. However, I could see the tension radiating from his back. He knew that I wanted to have a heated discussion and he couldn’t keep avoiding me, not while we were living in the same house together.
“Are you really not going to turn around and at least look me in the eye?” I ask, the pain in my voice unavoidable.
Slowly, he complies, and we stand directly facing each other. Silence envelops us, thickening the atmosphere like a heavy fog as we stand in the brightly lit room, both of us getting a clear view of the other but still somehow Apollo’s eyes are avoiding mine. Each unspoken word hangs in the air, charged with unacknowledged emotions.
The faint ticking of the clock amplifies the observable tension. Neither of us dares to break this quiet spell, our thoughts swirling in a chaotic mix of anticipation.
I had to say something but for some reason, I can’t seem to remember how to form the correct words.
1/2
17.20 Sun, 20 Jul
Chapter 100
He eventually drags his gaze to mine, and once again, I can’t recognize my mate. The way he looks at me feels like he is wearing a mask, hiding his true feelings.
“What do you want to say?” he finally breaks the silence, urgency lacing his voice, as if he has somewhere important to be and I am holding him back.
A lump formed in my throat as I struggled to find the right words.
Come on Lana, you were preparing for this opportunity the whole of last night. This is your chance to tell him how you really feel.
I take a deep breath before I whisper, “We need to talk. You can’t just walk away like nothing happened and get married to Jada as if what we shared meant nothing to you. It doesn’t work that way, Apollo. I deserve answers for your sudden coldness towards me,” I say, striving to remain calm even though I was screaming inside.
“Lana-”
“I’m not done.”
A muscle twitched in his jaw as he stood there, waiting for me to continue.
“Why are you treating me like this? Why are you acting as if our time together meant nothing to you? Why are you treating me like one of those other girls from the past?” I question. “What did I do to deserve this? After that talk we had, I thought things had changed between us. However, why do you seem further away than ever?”
He locked eyes with me, and my heart quickened its pace as I hung onto any last hope, yearning for the answers that weighed heavily on my mind. For what felt like an eternity, he remained silent, his brow slightly furrowed as if he were wrestling with the carefully chosen words that danced on the tip of
his tongue.
“It was a mistake,” he finally says tersely, his voice void of emotion. I’m shocked, surprised that this was all he had to say. “That is all.”
I gasp, unable to believe that this could be the same man who couldn’t bear to see me his words inflicted on me.
pain just days ago. This side of him was indifferent to the hurt
Who was this man? He wasn’t the step–brother I had grown close to; this version of him felt utterly disconnected from my feelings.
“Who are you?” I whisper, tears brimming in my eyes as I speak my mind. “You can’t possibly be the same Apollo who held me in his arms countless times. You can’t be the same man who protected me from that psychopath who tried to hurt me. You can’t be the one who sent your pack members to watch over me while you were away. How am I supposed to believe this side of you is the real Apollo?”
He shrugs and turns away as he says, “I tried to warn you from the/start, Lana. You didn’t listen before but you need to listen now. You have to stop this. If you don’t, you’ll only end up more hurt.”
More hurt?
His actions were the ones causing me pain, not mine! The only person hurting me was him.
Couldn’t he see that?
