Chapter 195 Bound to lose.

Chapter 195 Bound to lose.
ADRIANA
“Eat with me,” Jared cajoled. Not Adriana—Eve.
I nodded, pulling a plate from the stand. His house was already beginning to feel like home. Today, I wore simple polyester shorts rather than leather; they were comfortable and loose, but my favorite part of the outfit was the crop top that stopped two inches beneath my breasts, revealing my perfectly flat stomach. I had come to learn that a tiny waist was a highly prized standard for humans and fairies—beings obsessed with superficial beauty. For werewolves, a perfectly flat stomach and a tiny waist just meant you’ve never had kids. That’s what I thought, anyway.
I handed the plate to Jared, but instead of serving the food, he pulled me into a hug. It was entirely unexpected, and my back went stiff.
He pulled back, searching my face. “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. I had too much on my mind. “Nothing,” I lied, trying to slip out of his embrace.
“Eve.” Jared pulled me back in. “Talk to me.”
“It’s nothing,” I mumbled, clearing my throat and trying to push him away.
To be honest, my plan hadn’t been to come to Jared’s today. I was supposed to see Alan. I had too many questions; I wanted to know the truth of that story. Instead, I ran into Jared. To top it all off, he was now insisting that I eat with him for the first time. Why did it have to happen right after Adriana had strictly refused to do the exact same thing?
“I found out something,” Jared informed me, finally letting me go to fix my plate before serving his own.
I took mine and hurried after him. “Tell me. Tell me!”
Jared raised a brow. “How about you? You haven’t found out anything?”
I shook my head, but I could tell he didn’t believe me. Too bad.
“Tell me what you’ve learned,” I pushed.
“I will, but only after you tell me what’s bothering you, or after you share something you've found out.”
I snorted, unable to resist. “Really?”
He shrugged and began to eat in silence.
We both ate without a word, but a war was raging inside of me, and I didn’t know how to contain it. I was trying to be quiet and respectful, but it was hard to maintain the facade, especially after the way he had snapped at me back at the palace.
“You’re quiet.” Jared looked… flustered. He looked like a man facing a task he had absolutely no idea how to handle. I realized then that whenever we were together, I was always excited, bubbly, and chatty. Now that I wasn't, he was entirely out of his depth.
Jared opened his wardrobe, pulled out a coat, and walked over to drape it over my shoulders.
I stepped away from him. “What? You don’t like my clothes?” The words slipped out, sharper and angrier than I intended.
Jared shook his head. “No, I want to take you somewhere, but I’m worried you’ll be cold,” he confessed.
I stared at the coat as if it were a viper. “Hold onto it. I’ll tell you if I’m cold.”
Jared took me to a part of the High City I had never been to before. It was far from the palace, making the excursion risky, but my blood felt cold and I desperately needed the distraction of an adventure.
“Winter is ebbing out. This is the only frozen lake I consider safe,” he warned.
The place was packed, likely because it was the weekend. Families moved together across the ice, some being pulled by dogs, others by wolves. It was a breathtaking sight.
“Woah,” I breathed.
“Can you snow surf?” he asked.
I stared at the ice. Years ago, Louisa had made it snow in the High City, and that was the first time I had ever attempted to snow surf. I had learned how to do it well, but it had been a long time.
“No,” I lied.
Besides, I used a specific method that made it easier for me to balance—a trick Louisa had taught me. Jared might recognize it. I stretched out a hand to him. “Care to teach me?”
Jared nodded.
At first, I was intentionally clumsy, letting myself wipe out onto the freezing ground. Jared was incredibly sweet and caring, helping me up every single time and asking if I was ready to wear the coat yet. Surprisingly, I wasn’t cold at all.
But when I finally decided to let his hard work pay off, I discovered I had absolutely no muscle memory left for snow surfing. I landed hard on my backside every single time, each fall more awkward than the last.
“Don’t you dare laugh!” I threatened after a particularly brutal fall, forcing myself up because I refused to accept his help this time.
Jared laughed anyway, unable to hold it in. He laughed aloud—a warm, hearty sound.
And I felt a physical blow to my chest.
Jared liked Eve. He liked her as a person. But Adriana was just a niece. The daughter of a brother he hadn't even liked. Jared was never going to like Adriana, even if he found out she was Eve. Instead, he would hate me. He would hate me for making him fall in love with a lie—with an illusion.
No matter how this ended, I was going to lose. And not only would I lose, but I would ruin Jared.