Chapter 67: Chapter 67

~ NYSSA

He walked away after, leaving me to ponder over his words in the silence of the garden.

I wasn’t sure how long I sat there, staring at the flowers and wondering if I’d made up the last few minutes.

It seemed unbelievable that the same person who asked me to leave was now willing to try.

“You look like you ate something sour,” a voice drawled and I turned to find Aria walking over to me.

I hadn’t taken the time to fully look at her in the dining room, I was so focused on yelling at Rowan.

She wore simple black pants and a plain white tank top. She seemed a bit tense as she walked around the garden, her eyes taking in the surroundings as if it were too much for her to handle.

“I haven’t been here since my mother died,” she whispered softly, taking a spot next to me on the bench. “I never really visited while she was alive either. I hate gardening.”

I took in her clothes and the roguish way with which she leaned against the bench. “You don’t say.”

Her lips curled into a smile. “She found it comforting, I just couldn’t understand how moving dirt under the hot sun could be anything but a chore. After she died, it was just a stark reminder of everything we didn’t have in common.”

“I didn’t have a lot in common with my parents either,” I admitted softly.

I wasn’t sure why I was telling her about my family. I didn’t talk about them much, mostly because there was no one I could share the information with.

To my pack, they were the Beta’s and everyone regarded them with a form of awe and respect that I could never see because to me, they were merely mum and dad.

“They were workaholics. They would lock themselves up for weeks, heads bent over documents I never understood. After they died, I realized how much time I missed out with them.”

I sighed sadly, trying to push away the bubble of emotion that was growing in my chest. They’d been dead over eight years now and it still felt like yesterday when they died.

“How long ago did your mother pass?” I asked. “Was it recent?”

She snorted. “My parents have been dead over three decades.”

A shocked breath escaped me.

A part of me hadn’t fully accepted Rowan’s age, but hearing this had forced me to come to terms with the reality.

He was far older than I was… far older than Henry as well. It only made me more curious about the rivalry between them. How would they even have met? What could possibly have brought those two together?

I opened my mouth to speak but before I could, Aria cut me off. “I think we’ve had enough of depressing parent talk, don’t you?”

She stood to her feet, hands clasped in front of her with a smile. “I’m heading to work. Would you like to come with me?”

My brows furrowed in confusion as I took her in. “Why?”

She looked at me like I’d grown a second head. “Why not? Would you rather stay in?”

“No, but…”

“Great, it’s settled. You’re going to be here and I can’t imagine that you want to sit around the palace all day for the rest of your life. It gets incredibly fucking boring after a—”

“Stop, please,” I cut her off, my voice barely a whisper.

I hadn’t expected her to hear me but she did. She paused in her tracks and turned to me, a soft and comforting look in her eyes as she waited for me to explain.

“It’s… too much is going on. I don’t know how to deal with all of this.” I ran my fingers through my hair with a sigh. “I barely just accepted… whatever the fuck I accepted with Rowan. You’re coming off a bit too strong right now and it’s a lot.”

She was quiet for a moment, the wheels in her eyes turning as she stared at me. Her expression was soft and sad, but not pitiful.

After what felt like hours, she lowered herself back into the bench, her hands crossed over her chest with a sigh.

“Honestly? It’ll never get easier.”

A short laugh burst out of me. “Great pep talk.”

“If you wanted a pep talk, you would have asked for one. You want the truth, and maybe I’m not the best person to give you the truth because I’ve never had a mate, but I know Rowan and I know that he is an idiot, but he wants you.”

“Then why did he push me away?”

“Because he’s an idiot who doesn’t believe he deserves love… and don’t ask me why, please. It’s a conversation you need to have with him.”

I clamped my lips shut tightly, swallowing the question that was at the tip of my tongue.

“This isn’t an ideal situation… I get it, but you can either mope about it or make the best of it. We’re stuck with each other for the foreseeable future. I for one would really like a friend who doesn’t give a shit about me being the princess.”

Despite my reservations, she was right. It was the same thing I’d gleaned from my conversation with Rowan. I had a choice to make and avoiding the issue wouldn’t make it disappear.

I had a mate now and I owed it to myself to at least try to make this work one more time before making a decision.

Besides, it wasn’t as if I had anywhere else to go.

“I’ll come with you, but only on a trial period. If I hate it…”

“I’ll personally help you find a job you’ll love,” she assured me. “Deal?”

I nodded. “Deal, but only if we stop at the café first. I haven’t taken coffee as good as hers since.”

Aria laughed. “There is no coffee as good as hers, trust me.”

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