Chapter 34

Aria’s POV

“Hello, Jasper,” I said. “What are you doing here?”

Jasper grinned as he walked closer to my bedside. “What, a guy can’t just visit a friend?”

I narrowed my eyes, immediately suspicious. Jasper had proven to be a decent friend to me, keeping my secret and helping me with Caleb’s family, but I had no reason to believe that his kindness was something that would sustain long-term.

He was a rich playboy with a lot of money and free time. The minute he grew bored with whatever it was he saw in me, he would be gone.

For now, though, I supposed it wasn’t terrible having him around.

“She let you into the room,” Cathy told Jasper. Her scrunched up face showed she felt even more skepticism than I did. “Don’t push your luck.”

Jasper raised his hands briefly in defeat. “Alright, alright. Though I was just checking on you. You’ve been out a few days.”

If he was genuinely worried about me, that was very kind and considerate of him. I still figured he had some angle to this, but until it revealed itself, I guessed I could accept what he had to say at face value.

“Thanks, Jasper,” I said.

Cathy continued to glare at him, but he ignored her, focusing mostly on me.

“Have you decided what you’re going to tell the news?” he asked.

“She doesn’t need to tell them anything,” Cathy said.

“Should I say something?” I asked. I hadn’t considered this. With all the bad press flying around about me, maybe it was in my best interest to try to defend myself. I wasn’t sure though. I didn’t go into medicine so that I could spend all my time speaking to reporters.

“You do know what’s going on, right?” Jasper asked me. “Sheila’s running an entire smear campaign against you.”

“I told her,” Cathy said.

“Good. Then you know you have to say something in your defense. Or at the very least talk to Lucian about this,” Jasper said. “He won’t listen to me, but maybe if you are the one who tells him. Or if Aria is. Lucian has indulged Sheila too much, and she’s out of control now. And it doesn’t make any sense.”

It made sense to me. Lucian was truly in love with Sheila. Even as she publically spoke against him, he would never do the same. Where she was concerned, he had a massive blind spot.

“In the past, he’s expelled werewolves from the pack who have acted out like this, stirring up so much needless drama and trouble,” Jasper continued. “He needs to do the same with Sheila before things get worse.”

“He’ll never expel Sheila,” I said.

“Why?” Jasper asked.

I looked away from him, towards Cathy instead, who gave me a soft, pitying glance.

She knew as I did that Lucian loved Sheila. He loved her so much that he stopped being a wise king for her. The entire pack could be in a state of civil war caused by Sheila’s words, and he would still wouldn’t expel Sheila.

Now I was being dramatic. Sheila’s troublemaking wasn’t going to start a war. It was only ever going to make my life more difficult. Unless I gave her what she wanted and administered the life-extending medicine to Caleb, she wouldn’t stop. Though, even then, she’d surely just find some other reason to hate me.

Did she truly believe that I wasn’t working hard to cure her? Or was she just jealous that I spent so much time with Lucian as we worked on this project together?

I suspected the latter was nearest the truth.

“He just won’t,” I said.

What made everything worse was how this all still affected me so very much. I should have been used to being hurt by now. Sheila had always been an asterisk in Lucian and my marriage. He’d always made time for her. I tried to be supportive – a good doting housewife – but I never earned the same attention from my husband that Sheila had.

After all this time, my heart should have been numb. Nothing had changed from then to now. It was always the same pain, again and again.

Lucian loved Sheila. He didn’t love me.

It still hurt. My foolish little heart still longed for a day when Lucian would want me instead.

Distance was going to be my only saving grace. Once I left the pack and moved somewhere far away from Lucian, then maybe, finally, I could start to heal.

For now though, I pressed my hand over my heart on my chest and waited for the stabbing pain to ease somewhat.

“You need rest,” Cathy said. “You’ve only just woken up.”

“I’m alright,” I told her, even knowing she was correct.

“This conversation isn’t helping with the stress,” Cathy pressed.

If it had been only my health to consider, I would have pressed back, but with a baby growing inside of me. I was already taking too many liberties, pushing myself hard to gain enough money to leave the pack before the baby would be born.

I needed to choose my battles and take my rest where I could.

“I’m sorry, Jasper,” I said. Looking at him, I gave him a sad sort of smile. “I’m very tired.”

He likely could see that this was a dismissal, as he took a step back. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll be back another time?” There was a question in his voice, as if he was asking for permission to return. It was a sweet gesture, but entirely phony. We both knew he’d be back when if his boredom became too strong.

“Sure,” I said.

Nodding, he turned away and headed to the door. Vincent let him back out into the hallway.

As soon as he was gone, Cathy sighed. “I’m sorry. I know you said it was fine, but I shouldn’t have let him in here. At the very least, I should have stopped that conversation before it got to be too much.”

“It’s not your fault,” I said. “It’s not Jasper’s fault either.”

“It’s Sheila’s,” Cathy said. “And Lucian for indulging her.”

I hummed, not really wanting to think about it anymore.

Slowly, I lowered myself back onto the pillow. Once she realized what I was doing, Cathy moved in to help me. Once I was comfortable, Cathy leaned back again.

“I’m still sorry,” Cathy said, frowning. “I hate to see you upset. Even with your mask on, your bottom lip does this tiny little tremble. It’s heartbreaking.”

I tried to smile instead, but it didn’t last. I hadn’t realized I did the lip thing, but I could feel it happening now. To stop it, I bit gently onto my bottom lip with my teeth.

“Get some rest,” Cathy said and returned to her chair. “I’ll be here if anything happens. And Vincent will protect us both at the door.”

I wasn’t worried about my protection at that moment. I trusted Cathy, and trusted Vincent enough, to know that I was going to be physically safe.

What concerned me now was the lingering ache in my chest. How could my heart still have room left to break?

“Cathy,” I asked, staring up at the ceiling.

“Yeah?” she replied from the chair.

“When will I finally be over Lucian?” It was a rhetorical question with no real answer.

Cathy really couldn’t say anything but, “I don’t know.”

“I just…” I exhaled slowly, and my bottom lip trembled. “I want it to stop hurting…”