Chapter 25 I Think I Have Feelings
I looked at my phone screen as I scrolled through all the messages I’d sent Layla, the same blue bubbles, the same “delivered” sign, no reply. I didn’t even know what to think anymore.
My mind kept going to the fact that she was ignoring me, but I didn’t want to believe that… even though it was starting to show. I stared at the messages once more, as if expecting them to change, before dropping the phone beside me on the couch.
“You okay? You look worried,” Cora asked as she walked into the living room with a bowl of chips and two cold bottles of beer. She dropped them on the small table in front of me and went back to the kitchen like she suddenly remembered she left something there.
“Yes, I’m fine,” I replied, my voice sounding tired even to me. “I’m just worried that my sister has been distant lately.”
Cora came back, this time with popcorn, chocolate, and another bowl of chips. Soon the whole table was filled with snacks, enough to take me through a whole week. She threw herself on the couch beside me and grabbed the remote.
As she turned on the TV, I looked around her apartment again. It was small, a single room self-contained, but it looked better than most big houses I’d seen. Soft grey walls, a fluffy white rug, golden lamps, and a massive TV that didn’t fit the room but somehow looked perfect there. Everything was neat. Everything looked… taken care of.
Unlike my place.
"Trust me, I'm sure your sister is doing just fine," Cora said as she picked up another remote and turned the lights off. The room went dim, the only glow coming from the TV screen as the Netflix logo appeared. "Don't worry too much about her, sometimes people tend to be distant because they want to."
I gave her a warm smile, if only she knew how worried I am for Layla would she had said that.
She let out a dramatic sigh. “Now this,” she said, lifting a chip like she was giving a speech, “is a hundred times better than attending a Luna Ball where my boss’s mate is about to be crowned queen even though she doesn’t deserve it.”
I snorted, almost choking on laughter. “Cora, stop.”
“I’m just saying the truth!” she said, throwing popcorn into her mouth. “Why should I go and watch a fake queen smile and wave when I can sit here in my paradise, eat snacks, and watch people fall hopelessly in love?”
I smiled, grabbed some chips, and leaned back into the couch.
But even with the TV lighting up the room and Cora’s playful voice filling my ears, my thoughts drifted… straight to Warren.
How he’d barely spoken to me since that day. How strict he suddenly became. How he avoided the front desk like it had thorns. And how each time I saw him, he looked… distant. Cold.
It had to be because I refused his offer to drop me home.
Maybe I shouldn’t have refused.
Maybe I made things weird.
Maybe… I hurt him.
“Are you hearing me?” Cora asked.
“Sorry,” I muttered. “Just thinking.”
“About work,” she teased. “Or about a certain handsome Alpha who keeps staring at you like you stole something from him?”
I hit her with a pillow, and she laughed.
The movie started, a romantic one she said I’d love. Two people bumping into each other in the rain, silly banter, slow burn tension. Typical Cora taste.
She kept explaining who the characters were, even though the movie literally just started.
“They met at a bookstore,” she said proudly. “Then he saved her from falling into a puddle. Look at that chemistry. I want someone to hold me like that.”
“You’re too dramatic,” I laughed.
“And you’re too dry,” she shot back.
We ate chips, drank the beer, and talked about the characters. Then at some point Cora stood up and returned with a small bottle of whiskey.
“I think we need this,” she said.
“No, we don’t—”
But she had already poured it.
A little sip turned into a bigger sip, then another, and next thing I knew, everything felt lighter, my shoulders, my head, even my tongue.
“Coraaa,” I giggled, pointing at the screen. “I can’t believe I’m drinking alcohol again. I hate it. I hate how being high reminds me, I’m mate-less.”
“What?” She blinked, confused.
I rubbed my eyes, feeling warmth climb up my cheeks. “How can someone have hot sex with a hot guy in a party,” I said, my voice wobbling, “and then get marked because he’s her mate… and then in the morning he’s gone?”
Cora froze. Her whole body stilled.
“Diana…” she whispered. “What are you saying?”
I laughed, but it came out broken. “I got marked that night, Cora. He marked me. My mate. And he’s never… never looked for me.”
My eyes stung, and tears filled them faster than I could blink.
Cora quickly collected the bottle from my hand. “Diana, stop. Don’t drink anymore.”
“I want it,” I said, reaching for it.
“No.” She pulled it away gently. “Just talk to me.”
I swallowed a shaky breath, wiping my face. “My mate didn’t bother to look for me. Not once. And now I’m losing my mind, Cora. Whenever I see Warren, I can’t get myself together. And he has a mate, he is my boss for fuck sake. And my sister is acting weird. And I don’t know why my life can’t be normal.”
Cora stared at me like she had just been slapped. All her usual jokes disappeared. Her face softened.
“Diana…” she whispered. “I didn’t know.”
I looked down at my hands. “I’m so unfortunate when it comes to love.”
“Don’t say that.” Cora scooted closer and held my shoulder. “You’re going to be fine. You’ll find your mate. And whoever he is, he better crawl to your feet and beg.”
I snorted a laugh, tears still clinging to my eyelashes.
Cora brushed them away gently. “And as for the Alpha”—she rolled her eyes—“even though I would have loved the gist, I think you should stop beating yourself up over it.”
We kept talking, about the movie, about my mate, about life. I didn’t know when my eyes started drooping. The room felt warm, soft, safe. Cora stood up to get a blanket, but by the time she returned…
…I was already asleep on the couch, hugging the pillow like a child.
She sighed, smiled, and covered me gently.
“Goodnight, Diana,” she whispered. “You deserve better.”
And the movie kept playing as my breathing softened into sleep.