Chapter 22 Chapter 22
Violet
“Guys, guys relax!” I intervened before they would poke each other with their forks.
Mom instantly plastered a smile on her face.
“Oh you are up! Come sit with us. You must be hungry.”
Mom fussed over me while dad gave me a wry smile. “Did you sleep well?”
I nodded.
“You don't need to worry about the pack’s safety. I have offered a deal to Elijah and hopefully he will take it.”
I managed to say as I bit into the soft chicken. My stomach rumbled and reminded me of how hungry I was.
My parents’ expression perked up.
“Pray tell us what exactly happened between you and Elijah. We have been waiting to know for the past few days.”
I coughed and Mom immediately patted my back.
“N-nothing happened between us.” I said, still coughing delicately, hoping my cheeks weren’t red like a tomato.
“Are you sure sweetie? You mentioned some deal.”
My stupid brain caught up a little late but I nodded.
“Of…Of course, I told him I could work on the Emerald project that his company had bid on as well and help him win it.”
Dad leaned forward, looking hopeful.
“Did he accept it?”
I shrugged. “He said he will think about it. But I will find a way to offer something else if he doesn’t.”
I continued chewing as Mom and Dad exchanged glances with each other.
“Another project or something work related, I mean.”
Dad furrowed his brows and leaned back on his chair.
“That bastard of a man has made a lot of us lose money and is simply too cold of a businessman.” Dad threw the napkin on the table.
“Pointed a finger at me and told me my pack needed him.”
Mom’s eyes went wide.
“He pointed a finger at you? I mean, I have always heard tales of him being shrewd but now we are experiencing it.”
Dad nodded and demonstrated, putting on a serious expression.
“Like this, he looked me in the eye and threatened that my time was running short.”
“How dare he point a finger at you?”
Meanwhile, my brain heard the word finger a bunch of times and then began replaying the scene from last night, reminding me just how his fingers had rubbed inside me, how I had come over them.
The memory of him licking his fingers was seared into my brain.
I slammed both my hands on the table.
“Can you stop talking about Elijah’s fingers?” I asked aloud.
Mom and dad both turned to look at me.
“Do you have a problem with Elijah’s fingers?” Dad asked.
I opened my mouth to reply but couldn’t come up with anything so closed it.
Mom hissed at Dad who raised his hands in surrender and went back to the chicken on his plate.
“No talks about Elijah under this roof.” Mom promised and scooted over to me, pulling her chair closer.
“Perhaps you need some fresh air. Maybe you need to meet other people instead of caging yourself in your room. No alpha or beta, just regular guys. I have this perfect guy in mind..”
I couldn’t find the courage to tell her I had not been holed up in my room but in fact had sex with the man who had yet to give me a clear answer on the Emerald project. He was just keeping me dangling in hopes.
He really was a cruel person.
“I don't want to meet anyone. I will go work on the project” I said, losing my appetite for chicken and heading back to my room.
On my way out, I heard Dad whisper to Mom.
“Maybe she hated that Elijah raised a finger at me. She is my girl after all.”
I turned around to look at my parents talking to each other. They had always been like this.
Soft and loving towards each other.
Mom found Dad’s goofiness endearing and Dad found Mom to be the most beautiful woman to ever have his eyes laid on.
They were funny and acted a little weird at times but the truth was that they never had eyes for another.
Growing up, I always suspected the phrase ‘love you to the moon and back’ originated because of my parents.
They would argue and bicker but they always hovered around each other, made each other smile and were just the perfect definition of mates.
I stared at them for a bit longer, seeing Mom try to force him to eat something and Dad shaking his head before finally relenting to her.
It made me smile. It also made me cry.
Sighing, I retraced my steps back to my room. Nate had left a gaping hole in my life as if somebody had pulled out my still thumping heart and then Cassie and her brother had taken me by storm.
I had temporarily forgotten all my worries and issues while I was with them. But now, in the quiet of my room, I suddenly realized how lonely I was once again.
Work. I needed to keep myself busy, keep myself engaged and distracted from trying to untangle the jumbled thoughts.
Thus, I pulled my chair back and opened my laptop. or a long moment, I just stared at the laptop on my desk, the black screen reflecting my own blank face.
My mail box would be flooded with office mails and I would take on more work than necessary to fill the void Nate left when he was out of home.
But now there were no mails to reply, no calls to answer. I checked my inbox for any notification from Elijah, just in case, but there was none.
Wanting to give myself something to do, I pulled up the Emerald project folder. Elijah had said he would think about it.
So I was going to do what I told Cassie- work on the questions Elijah might throw at me.
But my brain refused to cooperate.
I scrolled through proposal drafts, budget sheets, and strategy notes. I read through every bit of effort I had poured into that damned project yet nothing sparked.
I stared at the words so long they became meaningless black lines.
The document blurred before my eyes and the cursor blinked like it was mocking me.
I slumped back and rubbed my temples, wondering how to kill time that I never had before.
My phone was dead silent, no teammates following up for approvals, no reminders of meetings, nothing to skip my meals for.
There were no project updates, no calls, no messages, and no one asking where I was.
Except Mom.
“Hey sweetie, can we talk?” Mom’s gentle voice reached my ears. I opened the door to see her staring at me worriedly.