Chapter 34 Chapter 34

Chapter 34 Chapter 34
“I want to see a picture of Adrianna.”

“Haven’t you seen her before?”

“I haven’t, but I know she passed her looks on to Javier.” I try to remember the rest. She was seen as one of the most beautiful Lunas of all time. There aren’t even many pictures of her back at the house. “There’s no picture of her that I can find.”

“I think I have a picture somewhere around here.” Dakota leaves the library, and I make myself comfortable.

“Aha,” I hear her say.

She finds a stack of pictures and brings them to me. I peer down at the first photo, and it captures a smiling Adrianna side by side with Casper, who is gazing down at her adoringly. My heart squeezes. I’m sure he really loved her. Maybe he still does.

“He looked so young here,” I say, choking down my jealousy.

“I forget he’s only thirty. He acts like he’s fifty or something.” I laugh at Dakota’s words.

“Dakota,” I try to warn while laughing.

“What? With the way he’s been acting these past few years, you’d think he was older than me.”

I look down at another picture. They weren’t kidding when they said she was one of the most beautiful Lunas of all time. How could I compete with this? How could Casper still look at me after being mated to this goddess?

She looks so beautiful with her black hair loose, her head thrown back, and the prettiest laugh ever captured. But my heart squeezes when I see Casper looking down at her. I go through the stack of pictures Dakota brought.

There are photos of a young Adrianna, a teenage Adrianna, and even baby Adrianna, but the ones with Casper in them all have him gazing at her with love and affection. Would he be better off with her? I suddenly feel a weird emotion - something like a mix between sadness and jealousy.

Dakota snatches the stack of pictures from me. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought these.”

She makes a move to stand up, but I put out a hand and stop her.

“It’s okay. I’m alright. It’s not a big deal.” I try to reassure her, but she gives me a very sad smile.

“He loves you very much. Don’t let these pictures tell you otherwise.”

I wave her comment aside. “I’m not bothered,” I lie.

“Tell me more about Casper and Adrianna.”

“No. I know what you’re doing.”

I pout. “I just want to know what they were like.”

“I said no, Odetta.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to talk about your daughter? I’m sure she was kind and brave.”

A smile slowly makes its way onto her face. “You have no idea. She was the -”

She starts to speak, and very soon she begins talking about Adrianna’s life with Casper.

I laugh at some parts because Casper and Adrianna had the best relationship. Cute, funny, romantic - need I go on? It sounds like she brought him so much happiness after the death of his parents.

Would I be able to give Casper all this? What if I’m not as perfect as her? Maybe I could be Adrianna for him.

When I’m sure Dakota is fast asleep, I leave and formulate my plan on the long walk back home.

“Where’s Casper?”

“He’s in town.”

“How was Anne?” I tease.

Sebastian hides his blush and gulps down his bottle of water. “She’s okay,” he murmurs.

I resist the urge to smile at him and decide to ask him to take me somewhere.

“You’ve been going out to town these past few weeks, right?”

“Do you want me to drive you to Casper?” He raises a brow at me.

I shake my head abruptly. “No, I just want you to take me to a salon.”

“There’s a salon close to the apartment where Anne lives. I could take you there.”

“Great. Take me there. Just give me a minute to change,” I tell him and sprint up the stairs.

I enter my room and quickly change into a pair of dark jeans and a tank top. I slip on a pair of Vans and dab lip gloss on my lips before jogging down the stairs.

Sebastian is already waiting for me at the bottom of the staircase. He leads me to the BMW that Casper let him drive to see Anne. My eyes go wide when I see the extra-busy streets of the capital. I’ve never been to this part before. I watch the people walking about to get to their destinations on time and all the beautiful boutiques and hotels. The capital has always been lively, but this part seems like a whole different city.

It takes twenty minutes for us to arrive at the salon. Sebastian and I enter to see different people working and being worked on. A brunette walks over to us as we stand around.

“Hello, I’m Diane, the owner of this salon. How may I help you?”

“I was wondering if I could dye my hair here.”

She nods. “Yes, you can. Come this way.”

“How about you come back after four hours?” I tell Sebastian and follow the woman.

It takes almost five hours to dye all my hair black. I pay and walk out of the salon to see Sebastian leaning on the car while eating ice cream. He throws the cup into a garbage can and gives me a weird look.

I spin around. “So, how do I look?”

“You look nice, but I prefer your brown hair.”

“Do you think Casper will like it?”

“What are you doing, Odetta?” Sebastian frowns.

I feel defensive. “I’m just trying to make Casper happy.”

I enter the car, and Sebastian follows suit. He puts the key in the ignition, and we start driving.

“Do you think green contacts would be overkill?”

My head almost slams into the headrest when he stops without warning, but thank God I had my seat belt on.

“I know what you’re trying to do, Odetta, and you need to stop it.”

“What am I trying to do?”

“I know how Luna Adrianna looked, and I’m telling you that Casper will not appreciate you changing your appearance to fit hers.”

I sigh. “I’m just trying to make him happy. He really loved her, you know. Maybe it’ll make him feel better.”

“This is a dumb idea. I’m driving you home now.”

“I’ll jump out of this car.”

He scoffs. “I’d like to see you try.”

Casper is already home when we get back, and he gives me a confused look when I walk over to him.

“What did you do with your hair?” he asks as I give him a quick kiss.

“Do you like it?”

He looks confused. “I don’t know what to say. If you like it, I like it.”

“Don’t I look as pretty as Adrianna now?”

He tenses up, and I step back out of his arms. “Don’t you like it?”

“Are you trying to look like Adrianna?”

I nod. “Just a bit. I thought you’d like it.”

He sighs and rubs his face. “How did you think I’d like this, Odetta? Are you crazy?”

I don’t say anything. I stay silent as he keeps ranting.

“What is this about, Odetta?”

“I saw the pictures, Casper. You loved her so much.”

“Of course I did, Odetta. She was my mate,” he almost screams. “But that doesn’t matter because I’m with you now, and I love you. Not Adrianna. You.”

“I’m nothing special compared to her, Casper.”

He looks bewildered. “Did I say something? Did I say something to make you feel like you had to do this?”

“What was I thinking when I agreed to this?” I murmur to myself.

He frowns at me. “What’s wrong, Odetta? Talk to me.”

“I’m sorry.” I start to back away with tears in my eyes. “I don’t know why I did this. This feels wrong and stupid.”

“Yes, it does.”

He takes my hands, but I pull them away.

“God, you deserve better than this. There are other women out there for you. Prettier and better women who would be happy to be with you.”

What was I saying?

“I don’t want anyone else. Just you. Get that into your thick fucking skull, Odetta,” he says.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure about all this right now. This feels wrong. I’m sorry, I have to go.”