Chapter 89: Chapter 89

As I felt his watchful eyes on me, my cheeks heated up. Why was he staring at me so intently? For a second, I thought that there might be something on the side of my face but quickly brushed that thought away. Whirling around, I turned to face him, to which the Alpha pointed towards the little arrangement, my eyes falling on a brown picnic basket.

Slumping down, I brushed at the edges of my pants, legs pressed together. We were a lot closer than I anticipated, almost feeling the heat of Aiden's body blending through the space between us.

"So," He started, and from underneath my lashes, I noticed his lips twitch.

"So," I echoed, saying nothing else. I was not quite sure what to say if I was being honest. It still felt odd, this desire to talk to my Alpha without knowing how to articulate the confused thoughts in my brain. There's something off with his sudden change of behaviour, and I might have an inkling what it was, but I didn't want to assume and certainly did not want to be proven wrong. Once again.

"I hope you like pulled chicken sandwiches, potato skins and white wine." Aiden grinned as he indulged himself for a minute by sorting through everything in the basket, getting out some wrapped sandwiches and handing a bottle of wine to me.

"I do", I trailed off, tilting my head slightly as my eyes focused on Aiden with acute interest. The Alpha unwrapped the foil and handed me the sandwich, the gesture making me freeze. I thought that he was doing that for himself.

"Umm...thank you."

I waited for him, watching as he placed the potato skins on table and poured wine in two glasses. My experience with alcohol has not been so great so far, and that's why I decided not to touch it. He raised his glass in the air, forcing me to pick mine before clinking them together.

"Cheers!"

Taking a bite of the sandwich, I rolled my eyes, my mouth flooded with thick sauce, cheese and chunks of chicken. I made a soft moan like sound in the back of my throat, almost alarming myself.

"I take it you liked the sandwich?" The Alpha teased, leaning forward and swiping his thumb on the corner of my lip. I jerked at his sudden touch, heat warming my cheeks as he took his time to pull away.

"You had some sauce there."

I awkwardly cleared my throat, wiping a hand over my mouth, suddenly out of breath. My toes curled in my shoes, chest heaving as I nodded at him. "T-Thank you."

He beamed at me as if I had said something unbelievable, eyes crinkled by the sides and gleaming under the light. After that, we continued eating in silence, for the most part, until Aiden placed his folded hands on the table. The Alpha was done with the sandwich, tossing the wrapper in the picnic basket.

"Can I ask you something?"

Swiping my tongue over the bottom lip, I arched my brow at him. "Um...you've already been asking me lots of things today."

The Alpha shook his head, teeth sinking on his lip. "No, it is something important."

Dread quickly spread through my belly, gripping my insides with icy fingers. I managed to nod at him. "S-Sure." The uneasiness started creeping inside. "Ask away."

Crumbling the sandwich wrapper in his hands, Aiden keeps kneading the foil to relieve the obvious tension that has suddenly settled over us. The Alpha looked down at his fingers for a beat, letting his gaze flicker up briefly before dropping it to his lap again. What was going on with him? It’s so unlike Aiden to hesitate before talking to the person in front of him.

“Umm…I’ll wait until you are done with your meal.”

“Now you have got me intrigued.” I said, straightening my back, heart thudding loudly in my chest.

“I would rather you finish your food.”

With a sigh, I realised that the stubborn Alpha would not let it go unless I finished every last bite of the sandwich. My nerves were all over the place, thinking of almost impossible scenarios while gobbling in an unattractive way.

“Okay, I am done! Tell me!”

Aiden took a sharp breath, his hands joining together as he looked at me. “Do you…” He started but paused to clear his throat, worry his lips and stare at his lap for a moment before looking up and meeting my gaze again. “Do you still have feelings for me?”

At that, I felt the breath knock out of my throat, barely swallowing the curse back down, making it sit heavily in the pit of my stomach. Why would he ask me that? After he humiliated me and made it clear that we won’t be anything else, what was the point of asking?

For a long time, I did not say anything, just folded my lips together and looked at Aiden. I could feel how the air around us shifted, how something that was very much skewed before tilted into place now.

My heart was throbbing, thumping against my ribcage so hard that I could feel it reverberating through my chest. I breathed in through my nose, smelling damp grass and soil and doughy bread, and let the air out through my parted mouth, trying to stay calm.

It's just not fair. It's not fair that the Alpha had so much hold over despite of all those things he said, acting open and sincere.

Standing on my feet, I gritted my teeth together, not caring how rude it appeared. “I was such a fool to come here. Thanks for the meal.” With that, I turned on the balls of my feet, ready to bolt back to my room and get away from him.

“Rose!”

I stopped and whipped around, but my pulse kept racing ahead. "What do you want from me?" I yelled it out, not caring that my voice would be audible to people passing by. Besides, there was no one around us. “What do you want me to say or do? How could you ask me that?!”

The Alpha had the audacity to recoil at my harsh words, appearing as if he had been slapped. Stopping in his spot, he dropped the basket to the ground and spread his arms. “I just want you to give us a chance!” Aiden visibly deflated at that, and he looked like he wanted to say something, but I did not give him the chance to finish.

I could feel as if my floodgates had been opened, and I couldn’t keep them in anymore.

“A chance?!” I spat, the word ringing in my ear. With my fingers curled into fists, I met his eyes. “Why should I? Do you not remember the way you treated me all this time? You may have selective memory, but I don’t. Aiden, you shut me out, treated me like crap after we slept together and completely humiliated me despite knowing my feelings for you.”

My vision was blurry with tears, but I blinked them back, tired of crying over him. Not again.

Taking a step forward, he timidly reached out, his head cast down, shoulders sagging in defeat. “I know I acted like a bastard, and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but I will try harder for you….” His eyes were red, which might be down to the wind. “Please do not stop liking me. I will prove you that I am worthy of your affection and make up for all the shitty things. Just give me some time, Rose.”

Wrapping my hands firmly around my chest, I narrowed my eyes at him. “What changed? Why now?”

“Because I realised my mistake.” He ran a hand down his locks, tugging at them a little too harshly. “Tell me you will give us a chance.”

Before I could open my mouth to answer, we heard footsteps approaching us. My head slowly turned around only to see a familiar figure standing there.

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