Chapter 19 Let me die
Lira
“That’s a bloody lie!” I yelled but my voice was low due to all the coughing. My lungs burned as if the water still clung to them, and my throat felt raw. The cold air brushed against my soaked skin, making me shiver uncontrollably, but no one moved to hand me a towel. No one even looked at me with concern. My body trembled, my lips quivering, and I was too weak to stand.
“Oh really? Then, how come I’m the one with the scratch?” Alicia retorted, pointing at her injury like it was some kind of trophy. Hatred bloomed in my chest, I wish I had actually injured her. But here I was being blamed for something I couldn’t do, despite wanting to do it badly.
This girl was a liar, and the worst part? She was good at it, too good at it. Her tone dripped with fake innocence, her performance flawless enough to fool anyone who wasn’t looking close enough. And as expected, no one was.
“You know that’s not what happened. And your analogy makes no sense.” I tried to sound confident, but my teeth were chattering from the cold, and my soaked dress clung to me like a second skin.
Alicia started to fake cry. Her shoulders trembled in exaggerated sobs, and her body sank into Rowan’s hold. I watched her face transform from smug satisfaction to pitiful victimhood within seconds. If I didn’t know her better, I might’ve believed her too. She tilted her head slightly, just enough to make the light catch her tears, crocodile tears.
I scoffed. What the fuck was this? Was I seriously surrounded by fools who couldn’t see through her? Or did they just not care enough to?
“Just because you’re hurt that Rowan rejected you as his mate doesn’t mean you should hate me. It’s not my fault we’re in love. You don’t have to come between us all the time. And then, you went as far as pushing me into the pool. Even after I begged you and told you that I don’t know how to swim too well.”
The words had more effect on me than I expected. My heart twisted painfully, shame and despair taking over and shattering the confidence I had managed to build overnight.
Around us, people began whispering, low murmurs rippled through the crowd like a poisonous wave. Although they all seemed to share the same sediment. I couldn’t hear their thoughts, but their looks were condescending enough.
Rejected by Rowan.
Hurt.
Desperate.
I could already hear the words forming in their minds.
It was embarrassing, to say the least, but even more than that, it was ridiculous. None of it was true, and yet everyone’s eyes screamed pity or disgust.
“You fucking pushed me into the pool, Alicia. Stop lying!” My voice cracked. I was ready to bicker, to claw, to scream if I had to. I wasn’t backing down this time. I had almost drowned, and no one had come for me. Well, no one except him.
“Enough.”
Alpha Kael’s voice boomed through the air, cutting through the chaos like thunder. Everyone instantly went silent. I looked up at him, my chest rising and falling heavily. His gaze was cold, unreadable, and when it landed on me, my heart shattered into a million pieces.
Once again, no one believed me.
No one fought for me.
Not him. Not even my mother.
The weight of their silence crushed me. I felt small again, the way I always did. The girl nobody believed. The unwanted. The outcast. The urge to run clawed at my chest, but I couldn’t move. My body was too weak.
“Take them home, and make sure a doctor attends to them.” He said to two of the pack guards, his tone firm and detached. Then he turned to another guard. “Get me a change of clothes.”
I followed his voice, my eyes drawn to him despite my anger. His clothes clung to his broad chest and abs, wet and glistening under the moonlight. His hair was damp, sticking to his forehead. He looked powerful. Commanding. But he was also the same man who didn’t believe me. The one who saved me,and still managed to hurt me in the same breath.
It shouldn’t have mattered how good he looked, but it did. My stupid heart wouldn’t stop racing.
After I got home and the doctor attended to me, the house was quiet again. I stayed up in bed, waiting to see if anyone would come check on me. Maybe my mother would peek through the door, or Alpha Kael would come to make sure I was fine. I stared at the clock.
Ten. Eleven. Midnight.
Nothing.
Even when I heard Rowan’s footsteps pass my door, heading to his room, confirming they were all back, no one came. Not even my mother.
I didn’t know why she was so indifferent to me. I almost died, and she didn’t even send a maid to check on me, talk less of coming herself. A tear slid down my cheek, hot and bitter. The loneliness sat deep in my bones. Even my own mother was embarrassed by me.
I wiped off the tears that threatened to fall with my pinky finger, took in a deep breath and decided to call it a night. It didn’t matter what they all thought, I did nothing wrong. And with that I smiled and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, sunlight poured weakly through my curtains. I got up, changed into my usual t-shirt and panties, and sat on my bed. I wasn’t expecting visitors, and I had no plans to leave my room. Not after last night.
As soon as I settled down with the novel I planned to read, I heard a knock on my door. My heart lifted a little. That must be Lucy. Finally. Someone.
But when I opened the door, my breath hitched. Unless Lucy had suddenly changed into a tall, sexy man with streaks of gray in his hair and lips that made my insides tremble, this wasn’t her.It was Alpha Kael.
I immediately started to close the door, but he stopped it with his right foot. “Are you about to slam the door on your Alpha?”
His voice was low, velvet, carrying that dominance that sent unwanted heat curling in my stomach. I hated how my body reacted to him.
“What do you want?” I asked, trying to sound bored and tired.
“To see you.” His tone was simple, but his eyes said more. I scoffed and released the door. He stepped inside and shut it behind him. The air thickened instantly.
His gaze swept over me, slow and deliberate, not missing any spot. When it landed on my legs and lingered, my skin prickled. A blush crept up my neck, spreading across my face. I had forgotten I was only wearing a t-shirt.
I crossed my arms over my chest. His eyes followed every movement, and the way he looked at me , hungry, heavily restrained, frustrated, made me burn from the inside out.
“How are you?” he asked.
I scoffed again. “Stop acting like you care. I’d appreciate it if you just told me what you wanted so I can go about my day in peace.”
He took a step closer. “What makes you think I don’t care about you?”
Lots of things. Too many. “I know you don’t.”
“Lira, you—” he paused, took a step back, then exhaled. “You literally drive me crazy. I think about you all the time, and I don’t know how to stop it. I want you so bad. All the time. And not being able to have you, hold you, kiss you whenever I want is driving me mad.”
“I’m not a toy, Alpha Kael. You can’t just say these things to me and take them back another day.” My voice cracked, and tears stung my eyes. “And I’m definitely not something you can fuck and regret. I’m your fucking mate, Alpha Kael! I’ve begged you to reject me, but you’ve refused. If you don’t want me, why don’t you just do it?”
His jaw clenched. His eyes softened, but his voice remained stern. “You’re not a toy, Lira. I know I hurt you, but if you really wanted attention, you didn’t have to go to Rowan, and then push Alicia in the pool. And as for me rejecting you, I already told you that I can’t! It’ll kill you!”
The wound in my chest suddenly widened. Did he seriously just say that? He really thought I went to Rowan. That I pushed Alicia.
“What the fuck!?” I snapped. My anger, pain, and heartbreak all erupted at once. “Then let me die! It’s better than everything you’ve been putting me through!”