CHAPTER TWENTY: TRAUMA'S AND REGRETS

SAGE'S POV

My eyes narrowed as I took her in, something was definitely wrong. She hardly ever looked like that and it made my heart race. I could barely hear the music from the ball.

My legs trembled, and it felt like I had forgotten how to walk but I pulled myself together, running as fast as my heels would let me.

“Crystal?” My voice came out breathless as I sat beside her. "Did something happen? You don't look good?"

My eyes scanned her for any clue and when I found none I turned back to her waiting for an answer but she just stared at the floor. Her purple hair fell forward, covering most of her face.

"Hey, talk to me. What happened?"

No words followed and just when I was about to shake the hell out of her she finally looked up. The first thing I noticed was how glassy the eyes were.

She looked seconds away from a sob session. "Can we go home? I'm not enjoying any of this,"

Her words were barely louder than a whisper and I leaned in, my brows knitted with confusion. "I don't think that's possible. There's still a lot to do and we've barely been here for two hours."

The last thing I needed was a lecture from Dante especially after what just happened. There was no doubt I was going to lose it.

"I don't think they'd notice. Please?" she called out again a year sliding down her cheek. Panic grew in me and I had to stop myself from throwing more questions.

It was more than obvious she didn't want an interview. I didn't want to stay either, not after everything that I just did and she needed me more.

"Okay then. I guess no one would notice if we left," I nodded, stretching out my hand. She gave me a small smile while taking it and it made everything seem a bit better.

"I'll text the chauffeur," she whispered, turning on her phone. Not wanting to attract any attention we took the staff door and by the time we were out, the car was already waiting.

The car ride had to be one of the longest I had ever taken even though the pack house was barely thirty minutes from Dante's mansion.

Crystal didn't utter a word, her body turned towards the window, her gloomy reflection staying back at me.

I didn't want to push her so I focused on myself trying to calm the throbbing between my thighs or how fast my heart was racing but nothing seemed to work.

Accepting defeat, I crossed my legs watching the trees thin out. When we got back to the mansion, I followed Crystal straight to her room, hoping she would finally open up. But just as we reached her door, she turned to me with a small, tired smile.

“Could we go watch a movie instead? I don't feel like going to bed." She said with her brown eyes pleading.

"Where would we even watch a movie?" My brow raised in confusion.

“Dante has a theater room in the mansion,” she said, like it was the most normal thing in the world. Somehow she happened to know more about this insanely large house than I did.

As expected.

"Lead the way, I'll get someone to prepare the snacks."

After the maid brought her picks we settled in and Crystal picked a romantic comedy. If I wasn't sure something was wrong before I was now.

Crystal seldom watched rom-coms unless she was upset. Everything yelled at me to ask her what the matter was but I pushed down the voices with a large bowl of popcorn.

Slowly, the wine began to play its part and the pent-up tension slowly faded. Our words grew slurry and I found myself laughing over the smallest things.

By the time the second movie came to an end, I could barely keep my eyes open. I pushed myself off the cashmere couch about to ask Crystal if we could head to bed when she spoke.

“I’ve been talking to Cade,” she said. “He’s the one who took me to the ball tonight. That’s why I didn’t ride with you.”

I turned to her, exhaustion turning into shock. “Cade? As in Dante's beta Cade?”

She nodded, eyes half-closed. “You know he got me that job at the bakery?" I nodded even though I knew she couldn't see me. "Well, we exchanged numbers after that and he was really fun to talk to. Not like Mr. Frozen."

I rolled my eyes at the jab she threw, at least I tried to. “Then why do you look so sad?”

Crystal shifted closer, her words becoming even more slurry as sleep pulled at her. “Because… at the ball… he asked me to go for a walk and then he asked me on a date."

My eyes widened in shock and I crawled towards her. "Wait really? And you said no?"

She nodded slowly. “I froze. Then I told him no. The look on his face… I hated it.”

Her voice came out heavy and without another thought, I moved closer pulling her into a tight hug. “Why did you say no?”

“Because of Adrian,” she whispered. “I can’t go through that again. Even if Cade seems different… I’m scared.”

I knew Cade wasn’t like Adrian. He seemed genuinely kind. But I didn’t try to convince her. I just hugged her tighter, remembering how hard it had been for Crystal to heal after her ex — all the therapy, the nightmares, the months she barely left the house.

We sat like that for about thirty minutes, the credits rolling on the screen. Finally, Crystal broke the silence. “I think I want to go to bed now.”

I helped her up and we stumbled down the hallway together, drunk and laughing at nothing.

Crystal made some joke that didn’t even register in my foggy mind, but we both ended up laughing so hard we had to hold onto the wall to stay upright.

Crystal went straight to her bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

I took time, my hands lazy as I took the pins out of her hair. “Sleep well,” I whispered as I closed her door quietly.

With some strength still left in me, I headed back toward the theater room to clean up. I put away the snacks, turned off the big TV, and gathered the empty wine glasses.

Just as I did the last of it, Dante's voice crept into my mind and instead of going straight to my room, I grabbed one more glass of wine, telling myself it would help me calm down.

If anything it made it worse, a chuckle left my lips as I grabbed the wine bottle heading for my room.

I couldn't remember how long I had been walking but by the time I reached my room, I was a mess. I pushed the knob but it didn't budge, no matter how hard I tried.

"What the fuck?" I cursed under my breath, positive that I had left my door open.

I was so focused I didn't even hear footsteps behind me until there was a shadow blocking the already dim light behind me.

I turned slowly, the world tilting a bit and Dante stood there, looking at me with a mix of surprise and something darker in his eyes.

“What the hell are you doing?”