Chapter 36: CHAPTER THIRTY SIX - A DISAPPOINTING DAY

MONA’S POV

“Aster please, I…” 

“She is clearly dancing with me,” Luka replied, cutting me off.

“I didn’t ask you anything, let the lady answer for herself,” Aster insisted, looking at me intently.

“Aster, don’t put me in the middle of this, I beg of you.”

“Then dance with me Mona, just one dance,” he insisted.

“Aster you can’t just show up here and expect me to do that,” I whispered to him, trying not to make a scene, even as eyes shifted to us.

“Then dance with me then,” he said, like he didn’t hear me.

“I… can’t,” I said, not wanting to disrespect Luka anymore.

“Mona…I,” he said, grabbing my arm

“Leave us alone!!!” Luka yelled, yanking his arm away.

Immediately Aster turned to him, shoving him out of the way and a gasp rippled through the crowd as students scrambled back, forming a small circle around the two guys.

This could not be seriously happening again.

“Can you guys not do this right now?” I asked, as they circled each other. But my plea fell on deaf ears.

Here they were, about to ruin prom for the rest of us.

About to ruin prom for me.

Why did I think that after the Sophia showdown, they could actually go back to being friends

Luka’s face was twisted in anger, his usual calm demeanor shattered. Aster looked just as pissed as Luka shoved him back with a force that made him stumble.

The music had stopped again by now.

The entire prom had turned into an audience.

For a split second, I stood there frozen— as they stared at each other, wondering how to react. As Aster and Luka lunged at each other.    

“Stop it!” I screamed at them.

But neither of them listened, they never listened to me anyway.

Aster lunged at Luka, aiming a fist at Luka’s face,  Luka barely dodged, but Aster was relentless. His knuckles connected with Luka’s jaw, sending him staggering.

The impact sent a crack through the air, sounding like Luka’s jaw was broken.

I stared at Luka, expecting him to groan out in pain. Instead he wiped the blood from his lip and smirked at him, “That's all you got?”

Aster scoffed, like he was about to respond when I stepped in between them.

“That is enough!!” I shouted, feeling my chest rising and falling rapidly.

Aster’s hands were clenched into fists, his shoulders heaving and his eyes still locked on Luka, while Luka wiped his mouth again, refusing to step back.

The silence that followed felt  suffocating.

I turned to Aster first. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I told you that I don’t want to dance and this is your response? Why do you always disregard me like this? Why do you both keep fighting over me like I am some trophy to be won? What about me? What about what I want?” I asked them, feeling tears drop from my eyes.

I was so fucking frustrated. 

“Why must you guys always be so petty making me choose each fucking time?” I asked, looking between their faces. Luka gave me a hurt look, seeming genuinely regretful but Aster stared into the distance, refusing to meet my eyes.

“Since you both want me to make a choice so badly, then I am making it right now.” I said, bluntly.

“I reject both of you as my mate,” I said, hearing my voice echo through the hall.

Immediately, Aster and Luka paused, looking at me like they couldn’t believe what they had heard.

“Mona? You can’t be serious I—”

“Do I look like I’m cracking a joke?” I asked Luka.

I turned around furiously, pulling my dress up as I stomped out of the hall in anger. Vera rushed to my side, seeming as shocked as everyone else.

“Did you really mean that?” she asked, coming up to my side.

“Of course I did!!!” I yelled at her as I rushed down the hallways, wanting to be outside, under the night sky, receiving fresh air. 

“Just last week, Sophia was threatening me because of Aster. More than half of the people at this school hate me because of them. All I wanted was to continue my high school education and not get thrust into a crazy love triangle!!!” I ranted and she reached for my arm, giving me a considerate look.

“Most times, I don’t even believe that they genuinely like me, they just see me as some prize to be won, something to boost their ego, that is why they are obsessed with beating each other and not proving to me that they sincerely care about me,” I felt my heart sink as I said it.

For the first time in my life, I was made to feel special, but the more I thought about how much they valued getting back at each other rather than me, the more it undervalued everything they had done for me so far.

This was my first prom, and with the way things were going, it was probably going to be my last prom in this school and I couldn’t even enjoy it.

“I feel like shit!!” I said, as tears blurred my vision. “I feel like no matter what I do, I am doomed to be miserable, and I know that since I came to this school, that is all I have been doing, I have been making things miserable for everyone,” Vera stroked my shoulder.

“Don’t blame yourself, I can’t imagine how overwhelming it must all be for you,” Vera consoled me.

“I am just done, with all of this mate stuff,” I sighed, as I got outside the school, sitting down on the steps.

“Mona?!” Luka called out from behind me, from his expression. I could tell what he was about to say, and I did not want to hear any of it right now.

“I am calling my driver Luka, just forget whatever it is you want to say. I am done listening to you and Aster,” I told him, bringing out my phone.

Luka waited silently, until after I had dialed the driver’s number and then he stepped closer to me.

“I am sincerely sorry for how things turned out tonight Mona, but you can look, prom isn’t ruined, we can still have fun together,” he said, reaching for my hand.

I shifted away, moving closer to Vera, “I don’t care about that stuff anymore, besides, this is the last time you and Aster would stress me out like this.”

Just then, the black limo came out from the parking lot, stopping directly in front of me.

“I am done with this Luka,” I said as I stepped into the car. “For good.”