Chapter 159

Carol’s POV

“So, I made a decision,” Fiona said, peeking over at me from across the table at the restaurant. I had successfully spent the last 24 hours in the penthouse with Aiden and we had sex like crazy the entire time. By the time we woke up this morning, neither of us wanted to part from one another. But he had work to do now that he was the pack, Alpha. My family was leaving today. My parents went to explore the city a bit and I decided to have lunch with Fiona while we waited for them to get back.

“A decision about what?” I asked, dipping my bread in the olive oil mixture the waitress set on the table.

“About what I wanted to do about the Oliver situation,” she said, biting her lower lip.

I raised my brows.

Just like I’ve been with Aiden nonstop for the last 24 hours, Fiona has been with Oliver. I was honestly surprised when she agreed to spend the night with him at his penthouse. Even though my parents were there too, and it was to give Aiden and me some after-wedding day privacy, it was still a huge step for her to take. I mean, they spent countless nights together at Aiden’s penthouse, but for her to actually go to his place… that was big for Fiona.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t proud of her, but I knew if I got too excited, it would scare her away. Fiona had always been terrified of serious relationships and the last thing I want to do is scare her even more than she already is.

She hadn’t touched the bread, so I knew she was nervous about what she was about to say, which made me nervous in return.

“It’s a situation?” I asked, eyeing her carefully. “Finding your mate is hardly an issue, Fi.”

She nodded, suddenly finding her glass of water the most interesting thing on the planet. I tried to meet her eyes, but she kept averting her gaze. She was really internally freaking out.

“I know… I guess I’m still getting used to it. But I really like him, and it scares me because he can be… indifferent.”

I raised my brows; I didn’t know Oliver to be indifferent.

“Indifferent how?” I asked, not sure I’m understanding.

“One minute he can’t seem to take his hands off me… the next, it’s like he’s avoiding me. Like right now for instance. Last night we went at it like animals and this morning he was gone. He won’t respond to my messages and when I called him, he told me he was busy and then hung up.”

“He hung up on you?” I asked, my jaw dropping.

She bit her lower lip and then nodded.

“It hurt my feelings. I don’t have a wolf, but if I did… she’d be crying. Isn’t that considered rejection?”

Yes, it was. But I wasn’t going to tell her that. It didn’t make sense though; Oliver straight up asked her to stay. He even got her an interview and pretty much a guaranteed job with the Capitols fashion industry. She’s already getting along with at least one of the fashion designers; the one who did her dress. Oliver was over the moon when he met Fiona and was very possessive.

“Maybe it’s because he’s going through a lot?” I suggested, knowing that Oliver probably had a lot on his mind at the moment. “I mean, his guardian and his father are about to face the death sentence. In a couple of weeks, they are both going to be dead…”

The King had postponed the death sentence because he wanted to question his beta a bit more. He wanted to find out all the information he could before his Beta lost his life. He also wanted his Beta and Mike to speak with one another, so they postponed Mike’s death sentence as well.

It can’t be easy for Oliver to have any of this happen. I couldn’t blame him for being distant… but from how own mate?

“I don’t know,” she murmured, sighing. “It’s hard to tell because he won’t talk to me about it.”

Before I could respond, the waitress returned to the table with a couple of glasses of white wine.

“Your meals will be here shortly,” she told me. “Is there anything else I can get you while you wait, Luna?”

“More Olive Oil?” I asked.

She nodded and left to retrieve the request.

“You really like Olive Oil, don’t you?”

I shrugged.

“I never used to, but this stuff is delicious,” I said, taking another bite of my bread. “You should try it.”

She shook her head and gazed at her empty plate.

“I’m not very hungry,” she muttered.

I froze.

“Then, why are we here?”

“Because you told me you were starving,” she said, raising her brows. “You insisted on that we got food, and I wasn’t going to deny you a couple of days after your wedding.”

“You could have said something, Fi,” said, sighing. “What’s wrong? Are you leaving? Is that what you want to tell me?”

When she didn’t say anything right away, I knew the answer. My heart fell deep into my stomach, and I dropped the bread that I was eating. I leaned back in my seat and searched for her sad face.

“Fiona…” I said in barely a whisper.

When she finally looked at me, tears were in her eyes.

“This whole thing was scary to begin with,” she said, on the verge of bursting into sobs. “And now Oliver is acting shady and I’m even more scared. I don’t know how to talk to him about it. This whole thing is new, and it feels like the honeymoon phase is already over….”

“That’s not true, Fi. You just have to talk to him and—”

“I’m scared, Carol,” she admitted, tears continuing to pool in her eyes. They were about to spill at any moment, so I passed her a napkin. “I want this with him… I want to stay and work at this incredible fashion industry. It would do wonders for my career. Not to mention I would get to see you whenever I want… but…”

I stared at her, waiting for her to continue. But when she I didn’t, I prompted.

“But what?”

“But I don’t want to be somewhere I’m not wanted…”

“You know you are wanted,” I protested. “I want you…”

Tears finally released from her eyes and poured down her cheeks.

“You know what I mean,” she said.

The waitress returned with the Olive Oil.

“Thanks,” I said with a beaming smile before she left. I turned back to Fiona and narrowed my eyes at her. “Since when do you give up?”

“Since my heart was on the line,” she said firmly, shocking me. “I don’t want to feel heartbroken…”

I knew she was right; if Oliver truly did regret meeting his mate and he didn’t want her… I couldn’t stop her. Just then, her phone went off. She glanced at the screen and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, staring around at her sad face. She clicked her screen closed and sighed.

“Oliver said he’s going to be late tonight and not to wait up,” she muttered. “He’s just assuming I’m staying and not returning with your parents.”

“But you want to go?” I asked her, my voice softening and more compassionate.

Her bottom lip trembled.

“No… but I think I have to,” she whispered.

I nodded, forcing a smile. I didn’t want my best friend to leave. But I didn’t want my best friend to leave. I loved having her around and now that I knew Aiden had to remain here and be the Alpha, and I was married to him, I wasn’t returning to the town we lived in for so long.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, reading my expression.

Now tears were pooling in my eyes just as the waitress returned with our food.

“I have lasagna for the Luna, and spaghetti with meatballs for the Luna’s friend,” she said politely.

We both ignored her, just staring at one another without speaking.

Sensing the tension, the waitress cleared her throat.

“Is there anything else I can get for you?”

“No,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “We are good.”

“Okay. I’ll return in a bit to check on you,” she said, hesitantly, before leaving.

“Don’t hate me,” Fiona pleaded.

I shook my head as tears left my eyes.

“I just wasn’t prepared to say goodbye to you today,” I told her honestly. “I thought you’d be staying.”

She nodded.

‘It’s not a goodbye,” she assured me. “Not really. I’ll still visit, and you’ll visit too, right?”

I nodded and smiled.

“Of course,” I whispered. “I love you, Fi.”

“I love you, Carol.”

I suddenly felt incredibly nauseous as I stared down at my food; I’m not sure if it was because my adrenaline was lowering, or because of the stress over everything these last few days… maybe it was the news that my best friend was leaving… but I felt utterly sick.

“Are you okay?” She asked softly. “You don’t look well.”

I swallowed it down, which was a huge mistake because it came back up quickly.

I covered my mouth with my hands and shot to my feet. Without saying a word, I ran to the bathroom to vomit.