Chapter 51

Chapter 51

I wasn’t sure how to respond, but I knew I had to do so quickly.

“A friend gave it to me.” I said

“Afriend gave you a ring?” Andrew asked skeptically. He fl*pped the box open. “A very nice engagement ring, at that.

Heat flooded my checks.

“1. the friend proposed to me, I murmured.

“The friend proposed to you? Which friend?”

The tone in Andrew’s voice made me hesitant to answer. I doubted that Andrew would do anything directly to Noah as he still had his own reputation to protect, but I wasn’t sure what he could-or would-do to him as Alpha King out of anger. Still, I knew that not answering him would only make things worse than they already were.

“Noah”

“The one that we picked up the rest of your stuff from?”

“Yes, but I told him no.”

“Then why do you have the ring?”

“He asked me to keep it-”

“But why did you say that you would?”

I cringed.

The truth was that I didn’t know why I had agreed to keep the ring. Was it just because I didn’t want to hurt Noah? Or was there some other reason?

I couldn’t even answer those questions for myself.

After a minute of me not responding, Andrew put his member away, zipped himself up, and charged for the door, his shirt

in his hand. At the door, he turned around and tossed the ring back to me, which I barely caught.

“Andrew, wait, 1-

He slammed the door before I could finish my sentence.

I gave Andrew the rest of the night before I tried contacting him again. I figured that he needed the time to cool off, and I needed the time to think about what I was going to say to him.

The first thing I did when I woke up the next morning was to try calling him.

No answer

Then I tried texting him multiple times as I ate breakfast and got ready for work.

No response.

Finally, I messaged him on social media before I got in the car and again after I arrived at Ever After Weddings.

Nothing

I knew I couldn’t pine for him like a lovestruck teenaged girl during work hours, so I tried one more call and one more message via text and social media before I went into work. It looked desperate, but I was. I didn’t want to ruin my relationship with Andrew-personal or professional-over something as st upid as a ring that didn’t mean anything to me.

At least, I didn’t think it meant anything to me.

At lunch. I nearly leapt for joy when I saw a video chat calling in. I immediately deflated when I saw that it was Lily.

“Hello?” I grumbled.

“Well, hello, grumpy puss.” Lily responded. “What’s gotten into you today?”

“I had a bit of a rough night.”

“What happened?”

I contemplated how to put it. Lily was my best friend, but she was also my boss. I decided to treat her as something in between.

“I c-blocked myself.”

Lily laughed.

“NSFW, Crystal.”

I shrugged.

“I’m on my lunch break.”

I guess I’ll give you that. What did you do?”

“The guy saw someone else’s engagement ring.”

Lily’s eyes widened.

“You mean Noah’s ring?”

“You know about that?”

“He’s my cousin, and you’re my best friend. Of course, he tells me everything that happens between you two.”

I groaned and put my head in my hand.

“I guess I should have expected that.” I ran my hand down my face and let it fall to the table. After all, I go to you for advice on everything

“Yes, apparently everyone does eventually. It’s a blessing and a curse.”

“Well, oh wise one, what do you suggest I do now? The other guy isn’t even responding to my calls or messages now.”

“Have you tried going to his house?”

“No, but that is my next step.”

Lily groaned.

“Crystal, that was my joke suggestion!”

“Maybe, but it’s what I’m going to do.”

She shook her head.

“You know how desperate that sounds, right?”

“Yes, but-

“But you really like this guy-

“And I really don’t want to ruin this relationship.”

“And what about Noah?”

I sighed. Of course, she’d want to know what I would do about her cousin.

“I don’t know.”

“If you aren’t serious about him, I don’t think you should string him along like this.”

“I already told him no.”

“Then you need to give him back the ring. Tell him that you can’t keep it, even if he says that he understands that you told him no already. You don’t want to give him false hope.”

I nodded

“You’re right.”

But why did it hurt my heart to think about it?

have

After work, I drove out to Andrew’s mansion. The closer I got, the more tightly my stomach knotted itself. He still hadn’t returned any of my calls or messages, and I could only manage the kind of mood he would be in when I arrived.

I took a deep breath as my car approached the mansion’s looming gates. When I drove up to the sprawling estate alone, it seemed more lonely and eerie than magnificent and opulent.

I rolled down my window and pressed the buzzer.

“Hello, welcome to the Alpha King’s estate,” the voice of the Head Guard, Alfred, gargled over the speaker.

“Hi, Alfred. It’s me, Crystal Blanchard. Can I see His Highness?”

There was a pause before Alfred responded.

“Let me check. I’ll be back in just a moment.”

Five minutes passed before I heard a voice on the speaker again. It was not Alfred’s.

“What do you want?” Lisa asked.

I flinched.

“Hello, Lisa,” I said. “Can I talk to your father, please?”

“He doesn’t want to speak to you.”

“What do you mean?”

mean that he no longer wants anything to do with the likes of you. He’s done with your little games and is no longer under your enchantment,”

“He’s no longer under my enchantment? Lisa, I don’t know what you think I’ve been doing with Andrew, but I can assure you that he’s never done anything against his will. In fact, he’s instigated much of our relationship.”

“Well, whatever ‘relationship’ you had is over. You’ll be lucky if Bob and I continue to use you as our wedding planner. Now, I recommend that you leave before I send security after you.”

I hesitated, unsure of how to respond. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that Andrew could be so angry over this misunderstanding that he would end our entire relationship over it.

“Are you still here?” Lisa asked over the speaker.

“I’m going. I’m going. I responded.

Before I rolled my window back up, I could hear Alfred say, “I’m sorry, Ms. Blanchard.”

I backed away from the gates and drove down the road as fast as I could. Tears started to pr ick the edges of my eyes. When I was certain that it was safe, I pulled onto the side of the road and parked, letting the tears flow freely.

I had ruined everything, absolutely everything.