Chapter 39: Chapter 39

I let out a heavy sigh. Gray hadn't returned to me all day, and I found myself sitting in his room, doing nothing. I could only take in the scent of the room around me. As Miss Brenda had explained, he was currently in the Neutral Dimension, calming himself down. I wondered what he was enduring and pressed Miss Brenda to tell me everything without leaving any questions in my mind.

However, Miss Brenda refused, saying that it wasn't her place to do so, and Gray himself would explain everything to me in due time. I then glanced at my phone. A few minutes ago, I had informed Rex that I would be staying at Miss Brenda's house. I didn't know if he would be angry or not, but one thing was certain: he would come to see me and probably drag me back home. My thoughts were interrupted when a knock came at the door. I quickly got up and walked towards it, hoping to find the person I was waiting for. However, my hopes were dashed when I saw Rex on the other side, looking at me silently. After the conversation with Miss Brenda, it seemed I now had something to say to Rex.

"You didn't reply to my message," I said, causing Rex to remain silent.

"It would be too long to explain through text. We can talk in person," Rex replied, making me nod.

"Should we talk outside?" I suggested, to which Rex nodded. We walked side by side along the corridors of the house.

"Where's Miss Brenda?" I asked.

"She's on the first floor," Rex answered. Afterward, we took a seat on one of the chairs on the second floor. I fell into silence, unsure of what to say to him at the moment. However, it seemed Rex had already heard all the stories from Miss Brenda.

"I've heard everything," he said, confirming my suspicion.

"I've heard everything too," I replied, which seemed to make Rex tense up.

"I actually wanted to tell you myself. I was afraid you might feel disappointed that I hid something this significant," Rex said, causing me to shake my head.

"To be honest, it's more of a surprise than disappointment. I'm not upset, just genuinely shocked to hear your story with Miss Brenda. But I have one question," I said, causing Rex to look at me with raised eyebrows. Did he expect me to be furious?

"Why did your relationship with Miss Brenda turn into a mess like this, and why did you reject your fate?" I asked, causing Rex to look at me with an incredulous expression. Did he expect a different question from me? He then let out a rough exhale.

"Questioning someone else's relationship when you're going through the same thing yourself," Rex retorted, causing me to shrug nonchalantly.

"What's wrong with me? I can accept my fate," I replied.

"By accepting that you're the Soulmate of a werewolf?" Rex continued, his gaze showing his astonishment.

"What's wrong with that? I understand that our fate is unfolding as it should. I thought this might be the path I'm meant to take. Even though it startled me at first, it felt like being drawn into a fantasy novel. But after witnessing Gray's transformation in front of me, I don't think I can resist it anymore. I just have to follow my heart. And what about you? Are you still resisting or have you come to terms with your situation?" I asked, making Rex fall silent.

"What's easy about everything we're facing now, Lia? Suddenly, you go from being a human to half-animal. Do you think that's easy?" Rex questioned, clenching his fists. I knew my position was vastly different from Rex's. If I hadn't undergone any changes, Rex probably wouldn't have felt this way. He still seemed to struggle with accepting his half-werewolf nature. I let out a frustrated breath, moving closer to him and then holding his hand.

"I know how difficult it is for you to accept all of this. I'm not pretending to be all mature about facing this new reality. I just didn't want to make it look harder for you. I know you still love Brenda, which is probably why you two haven't rejected each other. At least, that's what I heard from her," I said, causing Rex to remain silent, staring at his hand within mine.

"If you resist this bond, you'll end up resisting each other. But I don't think that's happening. You're just confused about what to do or perhaps burdened by the thought of leaving Aunt Ana and returning to your homeland, where you're supposed to be," I added, making Rex meet my gaze.

"There are too many questions I need to answer right now, and too much to think about, besides Mom," Rex replied, causing me to smile.

"Everything is in your hands, but follow your heart. I'm also thinking about what I can do to help Gray. Miss Brenda just mentioned the Mark and mate bond not happening between me and Gray yet, and how Gray is restraining himself from doing anything," I explained, causing Rex to visibly startle. I saw his surprise and how he turned his face away when I recounted what I had heard from Brenda.

"What's all that?" I asked again, making Rex still avoid looking at me.

"Is it something very important?" I asked once more, which seemed to make Rex even more uncomfortable.

"You can ask your Soulmate. Don't tell me," Rex replied, making me more eager to tease him.

"Come on, we've been together since we were kids. I don't need to be embarrassed to tell you anything," I persisted, prompting Rex to stand up from his seat.

"Brenda didn't tell you either. I'm sure she has her reasons for it. I should do the same. So stop whining to me about it, and you can ask Gray directly later," Rex responded as he walked away, but he stopped and turned back to me.

"Are you staying here or coming back with me?" Rex asked, leaving me speechless.

"I haven't seen Gray yet, and I'm worried about him," I said.

"We don't know how long he'll seclude himself in that Neutral Dimension again. We should head back home. Besides, you can't keep wearing that attire forever, right? You have to go to school and do other activities until he's back with you when he's calm. Trust me," Rex said, making me ponder. He had disappeared for a week before, and I had no idea when he would return this time. Finally, I nodded.

"Alright, I'll change my clothes first. You can wait for me downstairs," I said, and Rex nodded before heading down to the first floor. Meanwhile, I returned to my room, found my clean clothes, and packed my school bag. I then joined Rex downstairs and saw him in conversation with Miss Brenda. I didn't know what they were discussing, but it looked quite serious.

Seeing Miss Brenda's anger towards Rex, I hesitated to approach and instead chose to stay quietly on the last step of the staircase, waiting for them to notice my presence. After a few moments, Miss Brenda glanced in my direction and then roughly wiped her face. She headed back to her office while Rex came closer to me.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, making Rex briefly look towards Miss Brenda's office door.

"No, it's nothing. You don't need to worry about it. I should just take you home. " Rex replied, and I eventually followed his lead. I glanced at Gray's house for a moment before getting into the car. During the drive, we stayed silent, and I was sure there must have been a conversation that caused their conflict, judging by how tightly Rex was gripping the steering wheel. I didn't feel like asking; I didn't want to get too involved in their issues.

Rex parked the car in front of our house. As I walked inside, I met Aunt Ana sitting in the living room. She then stood up and approached me.

"What's going on with you two? Why do you keep disappearing from this house lately?" Aunt Ana asked, making me look at her guiltily.

"I'm sorry, Aunt..." I hadn't even finished my sentence when Rex intervened.

"Aurel was just having fun with her friends. You know, making new friends has given her new stories. So, just let me assure you that she won't encounter any problems out there," Rex said, providing a different explanation to Aunt Ana, who then sighed in relief.

"I was just worried about you. I apologize for being preoccupied with the bakery lately and not thinking about you," Aunt Ana said, and I shook my head.

"It's okay, Aunt. I'm fine. I'm actually glad that your business is thriving," I said, making Aunt Ana smile.

"You must be tired. Rest up or maybe you need dinner. I'll prepare it," Aunt Ana offered, but I shook my head.

"I'm full, Aunt. You should rest too. I'm sure you've been busy with the bakery all day," I replied, and Aunt Ana gently stroked my arm.

"If that's the case, have a good rest," Aunt Ana said, kissing my left cheek before heading into her room on the first floor. I followed Rex as he ascended the stairs to the second floor and stopped him from entering his room.

"Are you both okay?" I asked Rex, finally voicing my concerns. He looked at me and nodded.

"Yes, don't worry. You'll experience this with Gray when you become a couple, and it's happened before. So, it's a normal thing," Rex said, and for some reason, he sounded as if he was just trying to reassure me, even though his expression suggested otherwise. I was sure he was lying.