I asked Sadia to meet me in the woods near the pack house. We walked to a field. âBeing engaged to someone you didnât date has been kind of weird right?â I started.
Sadia chuckled. âWe were best friends before, and I told you I always liked you. Itâs not so weird.â
I sighed. âItâs been weird for me Sadia, itâs been confusing.â
Sadia walked around a tree while staring at me. âWell, you like me now donât you? Weâve been going on dates and having sex. We didnât do those things before we were engaged.â
âI know Sadia.â
She stopped walking and stood in front of me. âDo you like me Lexus?â
âWhy do you expect me to Sadia? I didnât ask you to marry me because I liked you. I asked you to marry me, so youâd be happy. You were miserable with the idea that you had to stay in the pack house.â
A tear rolled down her cheek. âI thought you cared about me so much because you liked me. I always knew we werenât marrying for love, but I thought we were falling in loveâ¦â Her voice cracked.
âI donât think we should get married anymore.â
âWhat..?â She hugged herself. âWhy? Whatâs changed?â
I reached my arm out to comfort her, but she moved. âIf I get married, I think I want to get married for myself. Itâs not fair to you to marry someone who doesnât have feelings for you. Look at you, this is the proof. If we were marked, youâd know I wasnât feeling romantic love for you. This whole time I thought you felt the way I did. I thought this was only about getting you out of the pack house. I didnât think you had any feelings for me. I thought weâd eventually both get there after being married for a while.â I could have fell for my best friend but not now, not with Aqua around. âYou already being there and me not is just hurting you. I thought you were more interested in being queen and living in the castle.â
Sadia wiped the few tears rolling down her cheeks. âI was just being delusional, Cade was right.â I guess Cade was telling us both what we didnât want to hear. âI should have never told you I loved you.â
I hated seeing her so upset. âThis would have been inevitable, Sadia. Itâs better we end it now.â She turned her back to me and walked towards the pack house. âSadia,â I called out then followed her.
âJust leave Lexus. Iâll come over later to get my fucking stuff.â I really did ruin my friendship with her. âIâll just go back to living in a place I canât escape.â
I walked to the door and stopped because a wolf was growling at me. It wasnât Calvin or Tam. It was another member, and they were being protective of Sadia. They shifted into their human form and ran after Sadia. I had seen her around a few times, she was a little younger.
I flew back home, and I saw Aqua talking to Arma in the Garden while they worked. She always took on extra shifts to help her friends with their work. I walked and sat at one of the benches that they were near. âDonât forget to pull up the weeds.â I teased.
Aqua held back a smile and Arma rolled her eyes. âWhat are you doing here?â Aqua asked. âDo you need me? I might not be the most help right not Iâm feeling nauseous.
I shook my head. âIâm just bored.â I noticed Stewart and Vella were working too. Vella was working in the garden while Stewart was leaning the benches. I guess the garden was a nice spot for a lot of people to work and hangout today. Even Cade was hanging out in the garden with Gray and Konn.
Gray was sleep on Konnâs lap. The Guards all looked pretty cheerful. There were other workers spread out in different sections gardening. It was a nice day, but it was hard to enjoy after what I did to Sadia.
Arma was concerned. âAqua if youâre not feeling well you donât have to help.â
Aqua shook her head. âItâs a weird feeling, I think itâs a holder thing. I just feel like something really bad is going to happen, but I donât know what.â I was worried about her but if I showed too much concern itâd be suspicious. I trusted Arma to comfort her for me.
I looked down at my phone to see that Sadia sent a message that she was on her way to get her things. I got up. âNow Iâm not bored.â I needed to get all her things together, so we didnât have to see each other for long.
âWhere are you going?â Vella asked. âYour girlfriend is right there.â She looked like she hadnât got much sleep last night. I looked over to Aqua who was kneeling over now and Arma was rubbing her back.
Konn gave Gray who was still asleep to a Guard and walked over to Aqua.
âWhat are you talking about Vella? I donât have time for a story.â I walked past her.
She grabbed my arm and I stopped. âIâm talking about Aqua. You ghosted me to sleep with her instead?â She whispered. That really wasnât the case because I regretted sleeping with Vella immediately after. It was just poor timing.
I sighed. âNo Vella, I ghosted you because you were with my best friend. Nothing is going on with Aqua.â I said at a low volume so no one would hear but Arma was staring at us.
Vella scoffed. âI saw you both by the hiking trail last night. I couldnât really hear you, but I could see you two clearly making out.â She wasnât whispering anymore. âYou and Aqua.â She turned to Aqua. âYou think youâre lucky because youâre sleeping with him? Itâs not going to last, someone else will come along.â
She wanted to expose us, she said it loud enough for everyone in the garden to hear. Cade walked to us. âVella, this has nothing to do with you.â
Vella glared at Cade. âNo, it does. Itâs his fault weâre not together anymore.â
âWhat? Lexus had nothing to do with our breaking up.â
I glared at Vella. âYouâre making yourself look crazy Vella, do you really want to lose your job over this?
I looked down at my phone to see a message from Sadia that she was here.
Vella chuckled bitterly. âHe ruined our relationship because we slept together, Cade. I was so guilty about it that it ruined our relationship. Itâs not fair that he did the same thing as I did, and you guys still act like best fucking friends.â
At first, I thought anger was running up my spine, but it was fear. Cade looked at me in a way I never expected him to. âWhat? You slept with my girlfriend? And when I confronted you about it after Arma told me you lied.â
I couldnât lie anymore. âIt was only once, and it was a mistake Cade.â
I noticed Sadia walk out of one of the back doors of the castle from the corner of my eye. She was looking for me to get her things.