Chapter 100
‘I’m home.”
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“Good. And congratulations, by the way. Heard what you did to that narcissist at our mating ceremony. I’ve never been more proud of you. The weight Id been carrying on my shoulders seemed to lift a little.
We talked for what felt like minutes but turned into hours. I told him about rejecting Daxon, about losing the baby, about everything that had happened
since I’d shut him out of my life.
He told me about his mate, someone he described as “a complete surprise but the best kind.”
“You’re invited to our mating ceremony,” he said near the end of our conversation And here’s the good news, it’s not happening in London. We’re doing it
here, actually. I’m planning to relocate to my family’s house with my mate.”
‘Really? That’s amazing, Drake.”
“I know, right? Oh, and before I forget, Amelia’s been asking about you constantly Want her number?”
I did want it. I wanted to rebuild all the connections I’d let Daxon tear apart.
When we finally hung up, I realized we’d been talking for three hours. Drake, whold claimed to be busy, had spent his entire afternoon listening to me process my life. That was friendship.
Tristan still wasn’t back.
I tried to tell myself I didn’t care. He had his own life, his own problems to deal with. Just because we’d slept together didn’t mean I owned his time.
I called Leah instead, and she agreed to meet me for an impromptu training session.
We found a secluded spot away from her usual gym, and she put me through two hours of the most intense workout I’d ever experienced.
My muscles screamed and my lungs burned, but it felt good to push my body, to focus on something other than where Tristan might be.
Afterward, she invited me to her place, and I stayed until evening, helping her plan wedding details and pretending I wasn’t checking my phone every few
minutes.
I thought about going to Orion’s, but he’d ask where Tristan was,
and I didn’t have an answer.
I didn’t want to admit that the man who’d sworn to protect me had disappeared ithout a word the morning after we’d done something we couldn’t say.
When I got home at nine that night, the house felt eerily quiet. Tristan’s bike wasn’t in the driveway. It was like he’d never existed at all.
I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, trying not to think about how empty the space beside me felt. Tomorrow was Monday, and I’d have to face Orion at work.
He’d be back from his family emergency, and we’d all be together again. I needed to look like I had my life together, not like I’d spent the day wondering if I’d imagined the connection I thought I’d felt with Tristan.
At exactly six in the morning, I heard the familiar rumble of his motorcycle pull into the driveway. Something inside my chest loosened with relief, even though I was still hurt that he’d left without saying anything.
I told myself I wasn’t going downstairs. I told myself I’d let him come to me, letim explain where he’d been for almost twenty–four hours.
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19:40 Tue, Jan 6 =
Chapter 100
But my feet carried me down the stairs anyway, drawn by something I didn’t want to name.
I found him in the entryway, he was swaying slightly, like he couldn’t quite find his balance, and I knew immediately that he was drunk.
“Tristan?” I said softly, reaching out to steady him.
He jerked away from my touch like it burned him. ‘Get the fuck away from me.”
Everything inside me froze, my blood turning to ice in my veins.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
