Chapter 78 78. Golden Wreath
Tabitha’s POV
Four sets of eyes bore into me like hot coals fresh from an oven. I feel like prey trapped beneath the paws of hungry predators—except I have four of them, all staring as if waiting for me to surrender. My chest tightens, but I square my shoulders, refusing to show how much their gaze rattles me.
“Fine,” I finally mutter, glaring at Evren. “But a hundred days is too long! Let’s make it sixty.”
“Ninety-five,” Evren replies without missing a beat.
“What?” I narrow my eyes. “Seventy!”
“Eighty-five,” Reed interjects, stepping forward.
“Eighty!” I shoot back.
“Ninety. And we won’t go any lower than that,” Reed fires back as if he’s bargaining in a thrift store.
He cocks his brows, and he doesn’t look like he’s willing to budge if I throw in another number. Evren crosses his arms over his chest while quietly waiting for my response. Jace chews on his lower lip as he anxiously studies my expression. Luca is leaning against the wall near the door, observing the situation with a slight amusement in his eyes.
“Fine. Ninety days then,” I concede.
Reed and Jace exchange a victorious high-five like they’ve just won something monumental. I groan under my breath.
“For ninety days, we call a ceasefire,” Evren declares in an authoritative voice. “That means you’ll stop trying to break the bond and stop ignoring or avoiding us. We’ll respect your space, and you’ll give this bond a fair chance.”
“A fair chance?”
“It means you’re gonna let us treat you as our mate without running for the hills,” Jace says.
“Are you crazy? I agreed to a ceasefire, but I don’t want the whole world to know about the mate thing! Alpha Emery is gonna explore! My mom would faint!”
“We’re not asking you to announce it to the world. Just let us treat you like one without pushing us away like we have a disease,” Jace explains.
“Fine. As long as all agree that we won’t let our parents or the public know about this whole arrangement.”
“You want to keep us as your dirty little secrets, got it,” Reed says and I can sense a bit of sarcasm there but I just ignore him.
I roll my eyes and turn to Evren. “So, when are you planning to tell me how to break the mate bond?”
“When the ninety days are over,” Evren replies.
I study him, trying to read his expression, but it’s as unreadable as always.
“How can I be sure this isn’t a trick? That you’re not just making something up to shut me up for a while? You’re telling me you actually know how to break the mate bond and I’m just supposed to believe you?”
“The Aldairs always keep their word,” Evren says firmly. “You’ll just have to trust ours.”
Trust. The word feels too heavy on my tongue, but I don’t argue. I’ve seen them be many things—insufferable, overbearing, reckless but not liars. That alone is enough to make me nod. Besides, it’s not like I have much of a choice, right? If there is even a little chance that they know a way to break the bond, I’d rather trust them than to find a solution from scratch. It’s not like I’ve been successful with my previous attempts, anyway.
Luca claps his hands once, breaking the tension. “Now that’s settled, why don’t you go finish your dessert? It’s starting to melt.” He motions at the bowl of ice cream I left behind.
“Seriously?”
“What? Are you still planning to march away and return to the estate on foot?” Luca shakes his head. “Not gonna happen. Sit back down and finish that before it turns into soup.”
“Yeah, come on. We’re all heading back together anyway. Might as well eat first.” Jace gestures to the table.
“You two sound like overbearing babysitters.”
“Good,” Luca says. “Now sit.”
I sigh, muttering under my breath, but drag myself back to my seat anyway.
My appetite hasn’t exactly come back, but I scoop a small bite of melting ice cream just to occupy my hands. The silence that follows is thick and almost awkward, especially when all of them are staring at me quietly as if watching me eat ice cream is the most interesting thing in the world.
Later that night, I sit on the edge of my bed while staring blankly at the reflection in the mirror. The deal plays in my head like a loop I can’t turn off. Ninety days. Ninety days of ceasefire. On the surface, it looks like a good deal.
But it’s the Aldair brothers I’m talking about, they may not be liars, but they’re certainly sly individuals. I wonder if they have something up their sleeves this time. It’s hard to predict what they’re thinking, honestly. One moment they’re driving me up the wall, and the next they’re offering some truce that sounds almost ridiculous.
But maybe it isn’t. If they mean what they said, I’ll be free from the bond ninety days from now. Free from them.
I’m not sure if the thought consoled or terrified me.
My phone vibrates on the bedside table. I frown when I see Evelyn’s name flash across the screen. I answer.
“Tabi!” she greets enthusiastically. “Please tell me you managed to have lunch after your killjoy stepbrothers dragged you away earlier.”
I let out an awkward laugh. Oh crap, I almost forgot about that.
“Yeah. We ended up eating at that Italian restaurant in the town square.”
“Ooh, fancy,” she says, clapping her hands. “But next time, I’m not letting those buzzkillers tag along. Girl time means girl time.”
I chuckle softly. “I’ll hold you to that.”
“So,” Evelyn says, moving her phone back to reveal the pile of clothes spread across her bed. “I need your help. I’m trying to decide what to wear for the Tropical Thunder Circuit this Saturday. Well, I know what I’ll wear on day two but I still can’t decide what to wear on the first day.”
I tilt my head, trying to get a better look through the screen. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
I’m not really an expert when it comes to fashion and stuff, but I might as well just help her if she called me just for this. Evelyn holds up a bright yellow sundress first, then switches to a cropped halter top paired with white denim shorts.
“What do you think is better?” she asks.