Chapter 71: SEVENTY-ONE

The argument “DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!!!!”

The words stung hurt worse than a bee sting. It reminded him of the way Amelia spoke to him on the night she and his son died, she neglected him, she revealed her hatred for him, and now Ava was doing the same thing too.

“Ava…”

“What Lucas? WHAT??? Haven’t you ruined my life enough already? Why couldn’t you just leave me alone in the first place? Everywhere I went, you kept on coming after me… Even after I rejected you…. You chose not to leave me alone, and now look at what’s happened… Because I wasn’t there to protect him…” SNIFFS, “he’s gone now because of me…” she whimpered, letting the tears run freely this time.

He tried reaching her again. “Ava … I know you don’t mean what you’re saying, I know it’s because you’re angry…”

“For the goddess’s sake, I am begging you Lucas De’ Clan, stay the hell away from me!!!!”

Lucas’s face that hardly held any expression began to show sadness and hurt, but this time around, Ava didn’t care. He’s right, she didn’t mean any of what she said, she knew it wasn’t his fault that she chose to stay, even though he played a bit part in it. The only one to blame for all that has happened is her and her alone.

“I have to return to my pack now.”

“Ava… please be rational, what’s the point of going back if he’s dead?”

Uh-oh, he probably shouldn’t have let those words slip out, maybe he didn’t think of how they would sound to her, because at that moment the sadness cleared from her eyes and was replaced by a fresh wave of anger.

“How could you be so selfish Lucas? It's all because of you I'm here, all because of you… I neglected my duties, I couldn't protect Ray and now he's dead, and that’s all you have to say, I shouldn’t go back, I should keep staying here with you because my betrothed is no more, I should keep staying here because I abandoned my duties, something you would never do as the alpha you are!”

“Ava, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to…”

“Save it Lucas… Even if I don’t end up with anyone else, I’ll never stay with you again because of all this. I have kept my promise to stay with you for a while, I have done all you asked, I have brought happiness into your dark life, I've fulfilled your desires, I stayed to make you happy for some time even though you told me to go away, and now I would like to go back to my home now.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that’s how you felt.”

“It is, and I’ve been more than a fool for all I’ve done with you these past weeks, I’ve been more than a fool to let you take me as your own, and now I regret it more than anything in the world.”

Her words sent another batch of daggers towards his heart. For the first time ever, a tear drop rolled down Lucas’s cheek. Seeing his reaction, she almost wanted to take back her words at that instant, but the anger, pain and hurt brought about by the news of Ray’s death blinded her completely.

Silence ensued between the two for some time, and nothing but sniffs were heard from both parties, until Lucas wiped his tears and asked a question, a question she didn’t expect.

“Did you love him?”

She closed her eyes, and breathed heavily.

“Yes.”

It’s true, she must love him so much, so much so that she blames herself for a death she didn’t even cause. She must love him so much for her to look her mate in the eye and reject him instantly not once but twice; she must love him so much.

“If so, then you must go back to your home, even if its to pay your last respects to him, even though you’ll never see him again, you must return to be with your family. I am sorry if I ever kept you here longer than I should have, I am sorry for kidnapping you Ava, and I am sorry for everything we have done together these past few weeks.”

He got up, and took slow steps, not bothering to spare a glance in her direction, either he didn’t want to look at her or he didn’t want her to see the hurt in his eyes, or even both reasons, it didn’t matter anyway, there’s nothing he could do to make her stay if she’s already made up her mind.