Chapter 15 – Her memory persists
Aiden’s POV
Pain made me wake up before even the sun had risen. Initially, I thought it was one of my usual migraines, the kind that pressed behind my ears and lingered after too much liquor or stress. But this one was different. It was much stronger.Sharper.
Something shifted under my skin, and for one terrifying moment, I felt like my wolf had completely disappeared from our connection.
I turned to my side, pressing my hand against my temple. Out of instinct, immediate and unthinking, Rue, I almost called out her name.
She had always been the one who took care of me whenever I felt unwell, knew where the pills were, and who always managed my migraines better than I knew how to handle them myself.
And then I remembered.
Rue wasn’t here. She hadn’t been mine for a long time. It has been a long while since we divorced. The reality was even more crushing than my headache itself.
“Damn it,” I muttered, forcing myself upright.
I stumbled into the bathroom, searching the shelves out of habit. Empty. A dry laugh escaped me, it was almost funny, the way I still expected her influence in my life, expected her to anticipate my needs. Truly, old habits died hard.
“Alpha?” Vicky’s voice carried through the crack of the door. She must have been cleaning somewhere nearby. “If you are looking for your medicine, they are in your bedroom closet drawer. Rue always kept them there if your headaches ever came by.”
Her words were like salt on an open wound. Even now, when she had every right to abandon me, Rue had still thought ahead, still prepared for my pain. My throat tightened, but I said nothing. Just forced myself towards my closet.
With a soft click, I opened my drawer revealing a row of familiar boxes- packs of pain medicine for my irregular headaches. I opened one box after another, looking for any pills but I found none. No one knew to refill them.
In my irritation, something else caught my eye. The empty space in my closet where Rue kept her suitcase now looked like a giant vacant room.
For a moment, my vision tunneled. Frustration rose inside me like a raging fire. I slammed the closet’s door with a violent crack.
By noon, my temper had only dampened. I tried burying myself in company affairs, signing documents, approving plans, lashing out on tiny mistakes. But escaping from my own thoughts proved to be the toughest fight of my life.
It took my sister’s snappy entrance into my office to snap me out of my thoughts. She seemed overly excited about something. Something about her smirk unnerved me.
“Mother asked me to check on you,” she said smoothly, settling into the chair opposite my desk without waiting for permission. “You weren’t at dinner last night, and with your health…” She let her words trail, feigning
concern.
I rubbed my temple. “You can go tell her I don’t need a babysitter. I’m fine.”
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“If you say so.” Her smile sharpened. “But I did see something interesting at the hospital yesterday. Rue” The name hit harder than the headache. My body stilled, every nerve straining. “What?”
“I saw her in the corridor. She looked… well, better than I expected, considering.” Sora tilted her head.
I clenched my jaw so tightly my teeth ached. Rue at the hospital? For who? For what? I wanted to demand answers, but Sora’s expression told me she had none.
“You know,” she added softly, almost mockingly, “sometimes I think there’s no one in your life but you, Aiden. You burn bridges faster than anyone can cross them.”
The headache roared back with finality as my patience snapped.
“Get out.”
Her smirk did falter, but her eyes glimmered with something darker. She rose gracefully, brushing imaginary dust off her dress. “As you wish, brother. But Rue has a way of haunting you in a way that she doesn’t have to try.”
I didn’t watch her leave. Couldn’t. The air reeked of Rue’s name, of her memory now irritating.
It was towards the late afternoon that I recalled I needed to eat. Reluctantly, I dialed Haven’s number. She answered almost immediately in a cheerful voice.
“I’m out buying stuff. Do you need anything?”
I regretted calling her and with a simple ‘no’ I hung up the phone.
One thing I had learnt about Haven was that she was persistent. By evening she managed to trace me at our Pack House. I let her in – purely because I felt the need to distract myself from the headcaches and my thoughts.
“Why didn’t you answer my calls?” she complained the moment she stepped inside. “Do you know how humiliating it is to chase after you?”
I slumped back against the couch, eyes half-lidded. “Do you know how to give a head massage?”
She blinked at the odd request, then laughed. “No. But I could learn. For you.”
“Nevermind then.” My tone was final.
Her lips pursed, but she stayed close. Too close. When it became unbearable, I offered to drive her home.
In the car, she fiddled with her phone, then glanced at me slyly. “Can you imagine that Rue blocked me, you know. Deleted my number. So petty, isn’t it?”
I pulled out my own phone with my free arm, curiosity driving me to seek clarity. Opening the app, I typed a quick message to Rue.
The screen mocked me: Friend verification required. Not in your contacts.
She had cut me off completely.
Haven noticed the way my knuckles whitened around the steering wheel. She smirked, cruel, almost satisfied. “ Imagine. Rue thinking she has the right to block you. She probably found some wealthy man and decided you weren’t enough anymore.”
Something inside me snapped. I slammed the car to a halt, unbuckled her seatbelt with one swift motion, and growled, “Get out.”
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She stared at me, stunned. “What-?”
“Out.” My voice was sharp, dangerous.
“We are not even home yet-”
“I said. Out.” I said coldly and sternly
Her lips curled, mockery still dripping from her tongue. “So you do still care about her. That’s why you’re angry.”
I didn’t answer. Couldn’t.
At last, with a scoff, Haven climbed out, slamming the door behind her. I watched her disappear into the night, but my thoughts weren’t with her.
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