Chapter 49 Maybe it's a goodbye
Jeremy's POV
The next day, I couldn't take it anymore.
I needed to see her. To talk to Margaret. To explain.
Even though I didn't know what I'd say. How I'd explain being trapped like this.
I went to the Inn. Hoping to find her.
And I did.
She was there. Her hand clinging to the cup of coffee she won't even put in her mouth. Her dark hair catching the light in the room.
My wolf stirred. Hopeful.
MATE. GO TO MATE.
I walked toward her. My heart pounding.
She saw me. Her face went cold. Closed off.
"Margaret." I said when I reached her.
"Alpha Jeremy." Her voice was ice.
Just hearing her call me that... Alpha Jeremy... not just Jeremy... it hurt.
"Please. Can we talk?"
"About what?" She didn't look at me. Kept examining the fabric in her hands.
"About everything. About Mia. About the baby. About us."
"There is no us." The words were sharp. Final. "There never was."
"That's not true..."
"Congratulations, by the way." She finally looked at me. Smiled. But it was empty. Cold. "On becoming a father. How wonderful for you."
The words felt like a slap.
"Margaret..."
"You must be so happy. An heir. A family. Everything you wanted."
"I didn't want this..." I stepped closer. Desperate to make her understand.
"Didn't you?" She tilted her head. "You got Mia pregnant. You're marrying her. You're building a future together. Sounds like exactly what you wanted."
"It's not like that." My voice rose. Then I controlled it. "That night... I don't remember any of it. I was drunk. I don't know what happened."
"You don't remember getting your fiancée pregnant?" She laughed. But it wasn't a happy sound. "How convenient."
"I'm telling you the truth..."
"The truth?" Her green eyes bore into mine. "The truth is you made a choice. You chose her. You chose that life. And now you have to live with it."
"I didn't choose anything! I was drunk. Unconscious." I looked around. Made sure no one was close enough to hear. Lowered my voice. "I don't even know if..."
I stopped. Couldn't say it out loud.
"If what?" She asked. Quieter now.
"If the baby is really mine." The confession came out as a whisper. Raw. Painful. "My body... it doesn't work. Not for her. It never has."
Something flickered in her eyes. Surprise? Understanding? I couldn't tell.
"Then how is she pregnant?"
"I don't know!" Frustration made my voice rise. I controlled it again. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. But I can't question it publicly. Can't deny it without explaining about my curse. Without revealing everything."
She stared at me. Long. Hard.
And I saw something change in her face. Like she was deciding something. Weighing something.
"That sounds like a you problem." She finally said. Cold again. Distant. "Not mine."
"Margaret, please..." I reached for her hand. Desperate to touch her. To feel that connection.
She pulled back. Fast. Like I'd burned her.
"Don't."
The rejection hurt worse than anything.
"I need you to understand..."
"Understand what? That you slept with your fiancée? That she's having your baby? That you're going to marry her?" She shook her head. "I understand perfectly."
"But I don't want that. I want..."
"What do you want, Jeremy?"
Hearing my name from her lips... it made me brave. Made me honest.
"I want you." The words came out raw. True. Everything I felt. "I want you, Margaret. Not her. Not this situation. You."
For a moment... just a moment... I saw something in her eyes.
Pain. Longing. The same thing I felt.
But then it was gone. Replaced by ice.
"Well, you can't have me." She said firmly. "You're engaged. She's pregnant. You have responsibilities."
"I know, but..."
"But nothing." She stepped back. "This is goodbye, Jeremy. Whatever we had... whatever we were... it's over."
"No." My voice came out desperate. Broken. "No, it's not over..."
"Yes, it is." She looked at me. Really looked at me. And I saw the finality in her eyes. "You need to focus on your family now. On being a father. On doing the right thing."
"The right thing?" I laughed. But it came out bitter. Hollow. "How is this the right thing? How is being trapped with someone I don't love the right thing?"
"Because you made a choice. Even if you don't remember making it." She turned to leave. "Now you have to live with the consequences."
"Margaret, wait..." I grabbed her arm gently.
She looked at my hand. Then at my face.
"Let go."
"Please. Don't leave like this."
"There's nothing left to say." She pulled her arm free. "Goodbye, Jeremy."
She walked away.
And I stood there. Frozen. Watching her go.
"Please!" I called after her. Not caring who heard. Not caring about anything. "Please don't go!"
But she didn't stop. Didn't turn around. Didn't look back.
Just kept walking.
Away from me. Away from us. Away from everything.
And I felt my heart break. Actually break.
Like a physical pain in my chest.
My wolf howled inside. Anguished. Desperate.
MATE! DON'T LET MATE GO!
But what could I do?
Run after her? Beg? Abandon my responsibilities?
Abandon a child that might be mine?
I couldn't. No matter how much I wanted to.
I was trapped. Completely trapped.
By duty. By obligation. By a situation I didn't understand and couldn't control.
And I'd just lost the one person who made me feel alive.
The one person my wolf recognized as mate.
My second chance.
Gone.
Because of one night I couldn't remember. One pregnancy I couldn't verify. One lie that trapped me completely.
I stood there in the market.
Alone.
While the woman I wanted walked away.
And there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. I could do to stop her.