CHAPTER 73. IT HURTS
RYDER
“And that's a wrap,“ Tiffany declared exuberantly as the Frenchmen signed their part, sealing up this deal.
I was ecstatic, but the fuck, I had to pull myself together. This deal was worth trillions and just what I needed to kick off my estate project. I haven't felt this fulfilled in a while, the feeling was surreal.
The three Frenchmen stood to their feet and we shook hands with them.
“I look forward to working with you,” One of them said in a heavy French accent. It's kinda insensitive that I didn't even grab their first names. Tiffany took care of all that. She took care of everything, to be honest. All I did was attend this meeting and sign the papers.
”Me too. Have a safe trip tomorrow,” I beamed, stuffing back my hands into the pockets of my pants.
“Again, I love your tux. The designs are fabulous,“ The youngest of them commented, breaking off in between sentences. English wasn't his first language and he seemed to be having greater difficulty with it than the others. But he wouldn't cut down on the compliments. He's been doing that ever since I arrived and I can't fault him for it. I chose a black tux with an exquisite French design for a French meeting. You could say the tux came in handy after all, it was one of the reasons they gave me a warm reception.
”Thank you. I'll have Tiffany arrange of its kind for you first thing tomorrow. To commemorate our partnership,”
“Oh, Merci,” He shook hands with me again and excitedly left with the others, heading back to their suite.
They've been lodged in this hotel since they arrived yesterday. It's one of the best hotels in my pack and provides exceptional services. Tiffany had chosen it, and I had no objection.
With the Frenchmen gone, it was just Tiff, Darius, and I.
“To the woman who made all these possible, I can't thank you enough. Come here,“ I stretched out my arms for a hug but she rolled her eyes dramatically at me. It almost cracked me up badly. Almost.
“After treating me brashly the last time I asked what was wrong with you, now you want a hug?“ She reminded me of that day in the meeting hall when she kept asking random questions about my feelings, expressions, and whatnot. After I brushed her off that day, she quit asking. But I always knew she was still pained.
“God, are we still gonna discuss that?“
“Yes, we will. You were a complete ass,“
“Ouch,“ I gave a dramatic gasp, rubbing at my chest, ”That hurts,“
“Serves you right,“
“I know. I was a complete ass, and I'm sorry. I was just going through a thing and I didn't wanna talk about it,” I mused, going closer to her and taking her hands. I'll do whatever groveling it takes to appease her. She earned it after snagging up a hundred trillion dollars deal for me a while ago.
”You still don't wanna talk about it?”
“My issues are downers and might just leave us in awful moods if I tell you about them right now. I don't wanna ruin this ecstatic mood we all got going. But I'm sorry, Tiff. Forgive me?“
“Always,“ She beamed and came in for a hug. It was brief as I pulled out quickly. It was probably the shortest hug I ever shared with her. I just don't wanna be in a compromising situation, I don't want my wolf thinking I was cheating on Hara, or trying to replace her. Red will flip if he ever gets that impression.
“Let's have dinner later. Just the two of us. My treat,“ She glanced apologetically at Darius, and he shrugged, showing he didn't mind at all.
Dinner? Dinner dates…The last time I went on dinner dates was with Hara, and it was one of those nights I'll cherish for the rest of my life.
Right now, I don't feel like going out. All I wanna do is ride back to the palace and sulk in my room.
“Please, Ryder,“ Tiffany pouted, flashing me her kinda cute puppy eyes, “It's been a while since we went out together,“
I winced, rubbing my eyes tiredly with my fingers. With a puff, I nodded, ”Okay, we'll do it,”
She let out a piercing squeal, jumping on her toes like an excited schoolgirl.
“7 PM and you're gonna pick me up,“
“Yes, Ma'am,” I bowed in a fake etiquette and chuckled as she sprinted off to go attend to the Frenchmen.
The smile on my face faded instantly and was replaced by my usual, gloomy look. It was the only look I'd had for weeks now.
I sat back on my chair and picked up my glass, chugging my drink till the glass was empty.
”Uh, Ryder, are you really gonna go to the dinner date with Tiffany?“ Darius asked, taking the glass from me and refilling it with the bottle of scotch on the table.
“I plan on. Why?”
“You've been moody as fuck lately. Not the best time for a dinner date,”
”But I already agreed to it, didn't I?“
“Yeah, but I just can't shake off the feeling that you might bail out on her,” He handed me the glass and I emptied it in three chugs.
”I might be in a beastly mood lately, but
Tiff just snagged up a huge deal for me with the Frenchmen. She deserves a night out,“
I stood to my feet, refusing to indulge myself in another glass. It was still noon and too damn early to get wasted.
“I'm gonna go have some rest. Stay here and help Tiff with the Frenchmen. Make sure they don't miss their flight tomorrow,”
”Sure. Hold on, man. Are you gonna leave without Hara?“
I turned around with my brows creased in confusion. “Hara?“ I repeated, just to be sure I heard him correctly the first time.
”Yeah, I saw her in the lobby a while ago. I thought you sent for her,“
The fuck I did! What the heck was she doing here? The last time I checked, she had no business being here, and I didn't send for her either.
”Yeah, just recalled. She was with the man from the party at Silver Pack,“
“Roland?“ My voice broke as I said the name. Darius nodded. My jaw twitched in immense fury and my fingers went through spasms. I was shaking from the overwhelming fury building up inside me.
”Did you see which way they went?”
“Not, really. But I could go ask the front desk…”
For a minute, I thought there was no need for that. If Hara was here, I should be able to pick up her scent. But I couldn't. It was becoming harder to pick up her scent lately. And it hurts.
”Go,” I ordered Darius after I failed at my attempt in picking up her scent. The few minutes I waited for his feedback felt like an eternity.
Soon, he mind-linked me the room number. ”Room 247. Third floor.”
I stormed off to the elevator and pressed the third-floor button. The rumbling sounds inside of me spoke volumes about my anger. I didn't try to tone it down. This was as far as I could endure. This was as far as my patience could go. I've had enough.
For the past week, I've been hurting and dying in silence. Since the talk at the dining table, I've never been okay. When she lied about where she met him, I shut down completely. Even without reading her mind, I knew she was lying. And my heart broke at that, and that's why I avoided her. I didn't wanna be tempted into tapping into her mind or worse, lashing out at her.
But I noticed it all – her lies, her hesitation, her indecision. The day I met her in the hallway and asked if she was crying, I knew she was. And I knew it was because she just met that jerk. His stench was all over her. But she lied, and it felt like a jab to my heart.
Last night, I couldn't stay away anymore. I missed her so much that I was willing to forgive her for everything even without getting any apology from her. I just needed her warm embrace, I needed a whiff of her lavender scent. But when I got to her door, she was on the call with him, with that jerk. I left immediately, I didn't wanna eavesdrop. It would only shatter whatever crumbs of inner peace of mind I had going.
I spent the night on my balcony again, mourning my defeat and my loss. I was mourning my love for her that was being kicked into the ditch.
But in all these, I was willing to wait till she was ready to come clean about everything she lied about. I thought she just needed more time, but right now, I'm not so sure anymore.
The elevator door opened and I headed to room 247. I got to the door and my shaky hand gave an abrupt knock on it.
The door opened and the jerk stepped out. We both had a stare-down, but mine was more of a spiteful stare. Anger wrenched my nerves and all I wanted to do was gouge his eyes out and feed them to the dogs. For all the pains he caused Hara and all the pains he was causing me right now, he deserved more than that.
”Looking for someone?” He asked.
There was a hidden mockery in his tone but I ignored that. I was only here to confirm what I heard. I'll deal with his ass later.
Like on cue, Hara came into sight, and our eyes met. But what killed me was the fact that she was dressed in a bloody bathrobe in her ex-mate's suite. What the fuck?