CHAPTER 21

Back in the Blue Jade estate.

Jace sat with his phone in hand, his hands trembled slightly as he imagined what he had caused.

His thumbs hovered above the screen. He wanted more than anything to reach out to her, to hear her voice. To explain everything to her, make her know that he didn't mean it, didn't mean to stand her up.

The more he thought of it, the worse it sounded in his head. He had taken big efforts to get Clara to give him another chance, a real chance. He had advocated for this date as a real moment for them to get back together, and now, he's hearing that he stood her up because of a moment he couldn't remember at all.

The lit-up screen of his phone shone faintly on his face. Jace was so worried that he had deep creases around his eyes and a scowl across his lips. He scrolled slowly through the missed calls. All from Clara. One after another, she kept calling and calling and he didn't respond to a single one.

It felt like all he could see was her name, then he started hearing her voice, or at least he thought he did. He lowered his head to his palms as it all weighed down on him. It was not long before he attributed his throbbing headache of earlier to numerous failed attempts at mindlinking.

To him, she must have tried to reach out to him on the call, then tried to mindlink with him several times, leading to his headache, and now, he wasn't in the right frame of mind to try mindlinking with her. But really, he didn't want to try, he didn't know what to say and didn't know how the conversation would go.

Jace swallowed hard as something seemed to rest in his throat. He could almost see her: waiting at the restaurant as her eyes darted toward the door every time someone walked in.

All dressed up in that beautiful gown he had gotten for her. He was looking forward to seeing her in the gown. Too late. He clenched his jaw.

He looked back at his phone; it would be easy to call her now. To get the chance to explain everything to her in the best possible way he could, or at least to try. But what would he say? That he didn't show up because he got enticed by Luci's half-naked frame walking out of the shower? Or that he woke up confused, with no memory of the events of the previous night?

Would she believe that?

He knew that wasn't the rest question. The right question should be, would he believe that if the roles were reversed? The pain in his chest grew worse. If Luci was telling the truth... then what he had done was unforgivable.

He had betrayed Clara. And if that was true, if even a part of it was real, then he had no right to face her again. No right to ask for her forgiveness. No right to be in her world. This could also be the end.

He rubbed a hand down his face profusely. But despite everything—despite everything before him—he still missed her. More than he could actually hide.

He missed her smile, her sarcasm, her stubbornness. The way she made him feel like he was just another wolf, not like the rest who worshiped him as the Alpha.

“I should have gone to her,” he muttered to himself, staring at the phone like it would fix everything. “I should’ve just gone…”

But now? Now it was too late.

Back in Clara’s apartment…

Clara stood up straight as she heard her phone ring. She wondered who would call her, her mother’s last few words from their call came to mind but it couldn't be her. Clara was convinced her mom won't call again, especially after she told her she's fine. Her mother wasn't the kind to bother someone.

Then a thought ran through her mind. It could be him. It must be him. She felt he must have seen her missed calls and decided to call her and explain the reason behind his snub. But what could he possibly say that would make up for the terrible treatment he had put her through?

She tried to ignore the ringing and go back to the casserole but she couldn't. It rang again, the third time after the previous two had rung out. She couldn't hide the fact that she was excited to hear from him.

So before she could stop herself again, she dashed out of the kitchen, reaching where her phone lay and picking it up excitedly. Her expression immediately dropped as she stared down at the name displayed on the screen. It was her colleague from work; she had completely forgotten about work.

She had rushed down Jace. She had left everything—her messy counter, half-washed utensils, her casserole and hurried down her phone just because of him..

A frown soon formed across her features, and the pain in her chest returned as she realized that it wasn’t him. She nearly dropped the phone on the ground as the name flashing on her screen was far from who she wanted to speak with at this point in time.

His name swarmed into her thoughts again, this time, it wasn't what she wanted to hear. But she still gave it a hard thought.

What if he never finally comes around?

What if he never decides to call her back?

Her phone lit up again, reminding her that she was yet to answer the call. A part of her still stared down with hope, hope that it was him, but of course, it was her colleague from the gym.

"Arghhh," she groaned. She didn’t want to answer the call. Her mood had been squashed the moment she realized that it wasn't Jace calling her back.

"He didn’t call. He’s still ignoring me," she whined.

"Funny how I was foolish enough to hope."

She tossed the phone on the couch with a sigh. Her eyes shot up to the ceiling as she held in the tears. Her heart was too tired to be angry, and her eyes were too sore for another round of tears.

Before she could go any further, her phone buzzed again. She picked it up hesitantly, readying herself to lie to her colleague. But it wasn’t her colleague. The screen flashed another name, one she hadn’t expected at all. Someone who she wouldn't wish to speak to in this condition.