Chapter 59: Friendship Break-up
Chapter 59: Friendship Break-up
“Babe, I forgive you for everything. We can start over, I will divorce Lucy.” He walks towards me and Leo follows behind, his sharp gaze on him and his fists clenched. If looks could kill.
“Forgive me? You were trying to use my grief to settle your score with Leo.”
“You also stabbed me in the back and got me arrested, we can forgive each other and move on. Our relationship is special...”
“Liam, we broke up.”
“Broke up with who? You are mine, Willow!”
“Dude, do you want me to throw you out?” Leo glowers at him.
He glares at Leo, and then his gaze focuses on me. “I’m not going anywhere without her!”
“If anyone who passes by takes a video of you saying you love Willow, how do you think your father would react?” He points at the open door.
“I’m leaving, but I will be back. Willow and I didn’t break up, we just rejected each other.”
He glances at me before turning and walking toward the door.
“You insulted me and then you want to get back together? Your nerve...” I chuckle in disbelief.
Liam turns back around, eliciting a sigh out of Leo.
“I didn’t mean it, I swear. It’s just that seeing Leo always ticks me off.”
“I don’t care about your explanations, it’s over.”
“But you are the love of my life,” he says in a whiny voice. I look around to check if there is anyone else in the room. Or maybe he has a twin. He is supposed to still be in jail after all. This isn't Liam.
“I think I should give you two some privacy.” Leo walks towards the door, his face unreadable.
Liam abd and I respond at the same time. I say "No!" and he says "Yes!"
“Liam, I need you to leave.” I ensure that my face is stern so that be can see that I'm not kidding.
He clenches his fists. “I will be back,” he whispers.
He glares at Leo before walking out. “She is mine!” He growls.
Leo just raises his eyebrows, a faint smile on his lips. He closes the door and faces me, shaking his head.
“I can’t believe I got involved in students’ romance!” He grins.
“Post-graduate students," I say defensively. "Don’t act as if you are old simply because you have two PhDs and you are a professor. You are only 28 years old.”
He rolls his eyes. “That’s five years older than you.”
“I don’t know what came over me, I should’ve kept quiet and let him leave. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” he says with a suppressed smile, and we both end up filling the room with roars of laughter. “It was funny!” He says as he laughs.
“Why did he come?” I mumble to no one in particular.
“He is in pain.”
“But I thought Professor Malino...”
“Not that kind of pain. Right now, he feels emotional pain. He feels incomplete, empty, so he’s trying to get you back to fill the void.”
“I feel the emotional pain too, but I don’t walk around harassing him,” I fold my arms and I lean against the kitchen cabinet.
“It’s different for us. What you feel, we feel it a hundred times more. It’s one of the worst pains. The pain of rejection is nothing compared to the emptiness we feel after the rejection.”
"Poor thing, he'll live."
He nods with a smile.
“Do you mind telling me what you meant by his dad?”
“I was talking about my father, Alpha Hunter.” His jaw tightens. “He has a superiority complex. He thinks anyone who is not a pure wolf should never marry a werewolf. This includes hybrids.”
“You said vampires don’t exist...”
“I meant half witches and half werewolves,” he says with a faint smile.
“But you seem calm, you are not running to the hospital to harass my sister… Wait a minute, did you secretly beg her for an actual relationship? That’s why you were at the hospital.”
“You...” The rumble of his laughter fills the room. “No, I didn’t. I’ve been through this before, several times. And when it happened for the first time. I was probably worse than Liam.” He grimaces.
My eyes widen. “Who rejected you?”
“You sound surprised.”
“Because everyone on campus who knows you has a crush on you.”
“Really?” He raises a brow.
“Yes, you are smart, your opinion holds so much power, you are withdrawn and antisocial. So whoever you pay attention to or you have a conversation with, feels honored. Like me, I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”
“Don’t lie,” his cheeks turn bright red.
“A blushing alpha.”
He stiffens.
"Sorry, I know the alpha thing is a touchy subject."
He nods.
"But seriously, who rejected you?"
"I did the rejecting.”
“Makes sense,” I nod. “Why?”
“I would rather not talk about it.”
“That’s okay.”
“So, Liam was right when he said you would never be in a relationship?”
“I never thought I would say this,” he sighs. “But Liam was right.”
“Why?” I try to keep my face neutral.
“I don’t know,” he shrugs. “I don’t think I have found someone I want to be with yet.”
The words prick me like a thousand thorns in my heart.
“You will find the person you are looking for one day,” I swallow.
He shakes his head. “I don’t think I deserve to be with anyone, I rejected four mates so far and you know I’m not a good person.”
“You should forgive yourself,” I whisper. “I forgave you.”
A single tear trickles down his cheek. I stand on my tiptoes and I cup his cheek, wiping the tear with my thumb. My hand lingers on his warm cheek, taking it all in. I am probably witnessing this kind of vulnerability for the first and last time.
His eyes bore into mine, the shade of grey almost blue or probably a mixture of both. He stays rooted on the spot and I try but struggle to move my trembling hand from his cheek.
Time stops as I lose myself in his bewitching eyes.
I close my eyes and our lips get drawn to each other like magnets. He wraps his arms around my waist, slightly lifting me and kissing me with so much hunger. I completely lose myself in the kiss, every part of me feeling awakened but my knees feeling weak.
“I’m sorry,” he breathes after breaking off the kiss.
“There’s no need to apologize. I shouldn’t have done that,” I exhale. “You know we can’t... I can’t keep you close, not even as a friend. The guilt... I feel too bad for not telling my mom and Chloe as it is, and I feel guilty for not hating you. If I was the one who died, I think my brother would have hunted down and killed the person. This whole time, I thought I would do the same thing, but I can’t and...”
“Willow,” he interjects. “I get it, and you don’t have to explain.”
“But thank you, anyway.”
“For what?”
“For being there for me. I know how busy you are, and yet when I was a mess, you were always here. From the time I was at the airport to when I went to THC club, and then you had to date my sister for my sake.”
“But you were kidnapped because of me, and your life turned messy because of me,” he winces.
“So, everything you did for me was because you felt responsible?”
He nods and I feel that pang again in my heart.
“Thank you for your honesty,” I exhale. “I guess we did things for each other to get what we need. You did things for me because you felt responsible and I did one thing for you to spite Liam.”
“But I don’t think you were there for my wolf to spite Liam.”
I nod. “So, this is it? Our friendship is over?”
“I guess, but you weren’t that bad, Miss Gordon.”
“You either, Professor Brown.”
“I’ll cook for you and Chloe.”
“Thank you,” I try to smile, but I feel my lip quivering and my heart shattering.
“The offer to stay with me for a few days still stands.”
“Thank you, but I think I can manage right here.”