Chapter 287

Chapter 287 ~CARTER~

I threw the ball into the hoop, and Apollo groans. “f**k you!”

I chuckle. “Don’t be such a sour p***y because you lost.”

He chuckles as he grabs the ball and aims it at me. He pauses for a second like something just crossed his mind.

“Do you mind telling me what’s been bothering you?” He asks me. “I’ve been noticing some changes in you recently. You don’t behave as the wild as you did in the past.”

“Changes?” I quirk my brow. “I’m the same way I’ve been since I learned to talk brother. Nothing has changed.”

I’m unsure what he’s referring to, but he must be wrong.

He sighs. “I’m being serious. Alaric pointed it out to me, and I’ve been noticing your strange behavior ever since. . .”

“Ever since what?” I ask him. I knew what he wanted to say, but I needed to confirm it.

He exhales loudly, “ever since you intentionally ruined your relationship with Clara.”

Clara.

My family hasn’t missed the opportunity to remind me about our breakup ever since the day it happened for everyone to see.

My jaw clenches at the mention of her name. I still felt f*****g guilty after making her cry. I didn’t like speaking about our breakup.

He throws the ball into my hand, and I catch it.

“Everyone at home knows why I ended things with her.” I remind him. “It was the best thing I could do for her. Mates, serious relationships, those things aren’t for us. You know as well as I do that I did the f*****g right thing for her.”

He nods, “Mom misses her, you know. Our sister does, too. They were becoming good friends.”

I take a deep breath. He didn’t need to remind me. She spoke about Clara any chance that she got. They both did.

“Let’s face it, Clara’s the best girl I ever brought home to meet the family,” I admit. “Of course, mother was very fond of her. And, of course, Violet loved her also. But there’s nothing I can do about that now. Clara wants nothing to do with me, and even though I’m selfish, I won’t force my way into her life again after what I did to her.”

He nods but then chuckles, “Remember that girl that walked outside naked for breakfast?”

I inwardly groan. I didn’t need a reminder of that morning.

“I’ve made some dumb decisions in the past.” I chuckle. “Rest assured, after the trouble that incident got me into with Mom, I’m never doing something like that again. I think I shouldn’t bring anyone home anymore.”

I was tired of the mistakes.

And I was bound to make ten times worse decisions in the future.

I threw the ball back at him.

“Clara was a nice girl. She loved you.”

Why wasn’t he letting this conversation go?

“She loved me too much,” I growl as he threw the ball into the net. “That’s why I had to make her hate me. I was bound to hurt her one way or the other. Our family is f*****g cursed. We aren’t lucky like the rest.”

“I know.” He says. “I know you did the right thing for her, but I’m worried about you. Everyone thinks you’re a big asshole. They don’t realize you sacrificed your happiness so she wouldn’t get hurt.”

“I’m not such a saint,” I say. “I never loved Clara. To me, she was always more of a friend. I never should have gotten into a serious relationship with her. I saw something in her; unlike all the other girls, she was the only one who loved me and didn’t want me for s*x. I saw in her what my life could have been like if I was allowed to have a mate. That was unfair to her. I was selfish.”

“That’s right.” He says as he remembers something I’ve told him in the past. “You never slept with her even though she wanted you to.”

“She was too nice.” I sigh. “I knew I had to end the relationship eventually. I didn’t want to sleep with her and then leave her.

Everyone thinks I’m a complete asshole and even though I am, I couldn’t do it to her.”

My family had a dark secret that we kept from the entire world. No one knew about it. We couldn’t let anyone find out. If they did, our lives could be ruined for good.

It was a sickness that we couldn’t get rid of, something that came with the curse. It’s one of the reasons that none of my siblings had a serious relationship with anyone. Even Alaric, at twenty-six, had only gotten married a year ago, and already their marriage was failing. His wife discovered our secret, and she’s hated him ever since. He’s been trying to save his marriage, but so far, he has failed. She saw him as a freak.

No one blamed her. He should have told her before marrying her. He shouldn’t have waited until now for her to find out.

I felt sorry for my brother. He took a risk when he married her and didn’t tell her about our sickness. Now, he was left to pick up the broken pieces of his marriage.

He’d wanted to have a child with Nicole so desperately, but now that seemed like an impossible dream.

His failed marriage was one of the main reasons I ended things with Clara. I saw what would happen to us if I took things further.

I did the right thing.

I knew I did.

Now, I had to fight to do the right thing about her sister.

I couldn’t get carried away even though her taste still lingered in my mouth from just one kiss. I had to fight it. I had to forget about Scarlett before it was too late.