Chapter 50
Celine remained quiet during the entirety of the tour, they first got a tour of the hotel and after they got in the car, every other place was pointed to them from the car. She never took her shades off, even inside the car, her eyes spaced out as she looked out the windows; she had no fond memories of Moonstone so there was nothing she wanted to reminisce back on.
Asher didn’t pay attention either so Noah spent most of the tour trip talking to himself. He did finally get Celine’s attention when the car slowed to a stop, making her focus on the view outside, her blood freezing over at the sight of the familiar building.
*Her previous pack house*
Celine couldn’t remember how things used to be when her parents were alive but one thing she did know was that she had always lived in the pack house although her parents could easily get a house in town. Maybe if she had lived in the town, she would have been spared from the hell that was her life growing up, and she would have had somewhere to run to when she found out that mating the Alpha of her pack didn’t elevate her status or improve her living conditions.
Rather, she was forced to endure that embarrassment right in front of the people who made her childhood a struggle… Celine felt her eyes sting with tears, she really should have told Asher all about this, she didn’t want to be here anymore, she couldn’t stand to be.
Before she could reach her trembling fingers to him, her door was pulled open by none other than Noah, who offered his hand with a formal bow. Celine looked to Asher to find him already out of the car and coming around, she waited for him to show up and then took his hand. She didn’t grace Noah with even a look, determined to have this end quickly and without issues.
She stuck to Asher’s side and let him handle all the talking, a chill washing over her as they stepped back into the pack house she thought she had left for good. This time though, she was by Asher’s side, and he protected her from everything so she didn’t need to be worried.
To make things better, not one person recognized her with her carefully crafted disguise, and although she got stares, they were all stares of open curiosity from the same women who made sure she hated every day of her life. If she was even a little bit vengeful, she would have to Asher about it right then but she didn’t want revenge, she just wanted her freedom, and she had gotten that.
Midway through the tour, Celine wanted to make sure that her disguise was in place, so she asked to be pointed to a restroom although she knew the building like the back of her palm. Noah was quick to offer to walk her there but she was just as quick to turn him down, ignoring the stares she got from the pack members as she went by herself.
She stepped into the guest bathroom to find an Omega washing her hands, a nervous expression on her face. “S-Sorry! I’ll be out of here soon.”
Celine would have gaped if she wasn’t still in shock, she watched the Omega scurry out. *That had been Esme! Esme never apologized*, she didn’t even know that the evil Omega had it in her vocabulary.
After her initial shock, she burst out laughing, it was so ironic that it was funny. She took off her shades to wipe the tears out of her eyes, putting it back on and adjusting her scarf before stepping out. She had been worried about the wrong person, the Celine Mendez who used to belong to Moonstone Pack died the moment she stepped out the doors of the pack house for good. She was no longer that person.
She easily found Asher and at that point, he was done playing the accommodating guest, she quickly found out that he had already arranged for them to be picked up. She left the pack house for the final time unceremoniously, and she couldn’t wait to leave the entire town. When she got back to the city she would be level-headed enough to tell Asher everything, and if things went sour, she could pick up her life again.
They returned to the hotel and had lunch together, spending the entire afternoon together. This was the best part of the business trip for Celine just getting to spend time alone with Asher without his position intruding. Although they were very familiar with each other now, Celine still had no idea how to hold a conversation with Asher so she had to put on the television to provide background noise.
As the day went by, Celine had to force herself to leave the comfort of Asher’s arms to prepare for the night. One last event, just one last event and they would return to what they used to have, and this time there would be no more secrets between them.
She didn’t have to try too hard to hide her identity this time, she expected the main event to go how the welcome party had gone, and if Noah hadn’t recognized her by then, he wouldn’t magically do so tonight.
Celine usually went for softer brighter colors but she had also taken some darker-toned dinner gowns, and tonight, she decided to do something different. She wore a dark red dress, unintentionally matching with Asher who was a dark red dress shirt and a much tamer, less extravagant black mink coat.
She left her hair down, her long hair barely covering her exposed back from her low-back dress. She usually wore jewelry sparingly, not because she had a lack for them but because a little was usually enough for what she often wore, but this time, she made sure to cover herself in emeralds, wearing enough rings on her fingers to rival Asher.
*Author’s Note: You can message me your thoughts at hecate_anystories*