Chapter 78: Chapter Twenty-Five
**Amina’s POV**
Grace Miller kept us busy the entire day. Between moving furniture around, tiling, and decorating the backyard as a whole, she unknowingly managed to help me keep my mind distracted. Without her long lists of daunting tasks and the many girl chats happening all around me, my thoughts would have indeed buried themselves in the eternal black hole that was my rocky relationship with Benjamin.
It always felt like he and I were standing on the smallest boat known to man and that the slightest gust of wind or the tiniest splash of water constantly threatened to knock us over. I hated that feeling, and I hated the fact that, unlike all the other mated couples around, nothing came easy for us.
'*It's probably my fault*.' I believed. Everywhere I’d been, I had brought darkness to all those who were unlucky enough to fall in love with me. My mother, Travis, even Micheal, and now Benjamin: they all suffered because of me.
I looked into the box of string lights I had carried with me to the trees and as I glanced between its empty floor and the last set of lights hung on the branches, I realized why my thoughts had suddenly gone dark. I had reached the end of my tasks, and there was nothing left to distract me.
‘*Zero texts, zero missed calls*.’ I sighed, a little frustrated, putting my phone back in my jeans' pocket. It had been five hours since Benjamin's last message, and while for others, it couldn't have seemed that significant, the fact remained that since my return, we rarely went this long without speaking.
I pulled my focus back from Benjamin and bent down to pick up my paper box when, suddenly, the one noise I feared most than any came within earshot. My breath hitched at the sound of twigs breaking and my blood curdled when the faint noise turned into a deafening flight of galloping footsteps, coming from beyond the trees and darting straight toward me. Its loud and menacing thumping was anything but subtle; the footsteps were running, sprinting, rushing to me, and whatever was gunning my way was about to jump out.
I turned around, eyes half-closed, bracing myself for the worst demons to appear with only the thin, empty paper box stretched against my chest as armor.
But the incoming stomping stopped abruptly, and as I let out the painful breath I held, my mind relapsed into the memory of yesterday, where utter fear mingled with sweet relief.
I scanned the entire line of trees in front of me, but, like yesterday, there was nothing and no one in sight. My heart pounded in my chest as I pulled back, staggering, unable to keep my eyes off of the lush greenery.
I wanted so desperately to see something, anything.
I knew I couldn't have been imagining any of this. Whatever laid behind this wall of firs was real, and it wanted me.
“It’s her.” I mumbled to myself as I ran back toward the house.
My state of complete panic made it impossible to pay attention to anything other than the terrifying idea of her return. As I pushed through a crowd of innocent waiters setting up for the evening, I finally had to admit what I feared most. Gisele, the ghost of my past, was hunting me again.
“Mina! There you are, it’s almost seven, sweetie.” An elegantly dressed Grace appeared in front of me, startling me back into reality. “Honey, are you okay?” She asked, slight worry replacing her smile, and I did what I did best, not wanting to trouble her, especially tonight.
“I’m fine, Grace. I just need a shower.” I lied, putting on my best smile as I wiped the cold sweat off my eyebrows.
“Well, then, go and join the girls upstairs to get ready." She replied, buying into my fib and nudging me toward the hallway. "The guests will be arriving soon.”
I froze at the bottom of the stairs as I watched her walk away, her beautiful red dress waltzing between each step. I had a choice: go upstairs and pretend I wasn’t scared half to death or call Benjamin and deal with what was to come.
But I never made a choice. I didn’t get a chance to for someone else did for me. My phone dinged in my hands, flashing the same unknown number again and again while it flooded my inbox with over a dozen pictures. One after the other, images of my mate with his ex-girlfriend swept over my screen.
Photos of Benjamin and Karlie having a passionate conversation.
Photos of Benjamin and Karlie entwined in a soft embrace.
And lastly, a captioned picture of Benjamin and Karlie sharing a kiss.
-**Is this your mate**?-
“How could he? How dare he?” I screamed violently as anger surprisingly emerged victorious in the intense struggle my emotions were waging. “I’m done! I’m fucking done with him.” I hissed, storming up the stairs and into the spare room hosting the girls' doll-up session.
“Mina?” Roxanne cautiously spoke up as she and the rest of the girls stiffened in place.
I couldn’t believe Benjamin was cheating on me, and yet, I had no other choice but to believe. The proof laid in my hands. I felt the need to vomit, scream and cry all together. Gisele was already wreaking havoc in my mind, and now, Karlie, with her long blond hair and her devious smirk, was laying waste to what was left. I couldn’t handle this much, not after everything I’d been through with him. I was seething, fuming, and all I wanted was to rip the two kissing lovers apart.
“He fights Travis and then does this? How does that make any sense? I’m going to throw up! How dare he? Oh, my God!” I screamed, pacing around as my thoughts rolled off my tongue like an incoherent mess.
“What’s going on?” Roxanne asked me, her face twisted in bafflement.
“This!” I yelled out, showing her the pictures of her brother and the blonde skank kissing. “What is wrong with him? How could he do that to me?” I asked her with tears spilling down my cheeks.
She looked at the photos without saying a word for a moment. "Who sent you this?" She asked after a minute or two.
“What?”
“Who sent you these pictures, Mina. I don’t recognize the number.” She asked again sternly, her eyes locked on the phone.
“Who cares, Roxy? Look at what your brother, no, look at what my MATE is doing!”
“Please try to breathe, Mina. I linked him; he’s already on his way. He says that it’s not what you think and that he can explain everything. Just try to calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down, Roxy. I’ve been trying to reach him for hours, and he answers your mind-link in two seconds?”
“Babe-”
“No! Since he only talks to you now, tell him to stay away from me tonight. Tell him that he’s not to come anywhere near me. Better yet, tell him to go to fucking hell.” I screamed, furious as I stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind me.