Chapter 3

Aiden's POV

The restaurant was dimly lit, the kind of place couples came to when they wanted to pretend the world didn’t exist. I shouldn’t have brought her here. It was too intimate, too fake. But I was trying to be what I was supposed to be. A good mate. A good man. Whatever that meant anyway.

She sat across from me, smiling like she believed this night was real. Like she couldn’t tell I was barely holding it together. Her fingers curled around the stem of her wine glass, her eyes met mine, feeling hopeful.

"You’ve been...distant lately," she said gently, trying to create a conversation.

I let out a weak smile. "School has been insane. The semester just started, you know how it is."

She nodded, but something in her eyes told me she didn’t buy it.

Through the glass doors at the front of the restaurant, a car parked and Jake alighted from it. He stepped out, he ran a hand through his hair like he wasn’t casually walking into my facade. The universe had a very twisted sense of humor.

I didn't like it, he 2as the last person I expected to see. I leaned across the table and kissed her.

She froze. Her wine glass tilted slightly, her lips were still and unsure. And then, I pulled back.

"What...what was that for?" she asked, clearly stunned. Her voice was small. Shaken.

I stared down at my menu like it had the answers to every stupid decision I’d ever made. "I just wanted to."

Her silence said everything. I could tell she was shocked by it. Before she could say anything else, Jake walked in, and my whole body went still. His eyes scanned the restaurant briefly before landing right on us. On me.

Then, locked eyes. My breath hitched instantly. His gaze flicked to her, then quickly back to me. Something unreadable was etched on his face.

I dropped my gaze under the table, pressing my heel hard into the floor. My heart thudded in anxiety and anger.

And then, he walked over.

"Hey," Jake said with a calm voice. Too polite. "I’m Jake."

She smiled, ever the warm one. "Hi, I’m Lila. Aiden’s mate."

Jake nodded, but his eyes never fully left me. "Nice to meet you, Lila. Aiden... do you mind if I steal you for a minute? Just one."

I didn’t look at her. I couldn’t.

"Sure," I muttered, already pushing back my chair.

We stepped outside. The night air felt cool. It felt better than the heat building in my chest.

Jake shoved his hands into his pockets. "I wasn’t expecting to see you."

"Yeah, well, the city’s not that big."

"I wanted to say I’m sorry," Jake finally said. "For how I treated you. Back then."

I let out a bitter laugh. "You mean when I told you I liked you and you shut me down so hard I stopped talking for a week?"

He winced. "Yeah…That."

I shook my head, eyes staring out past the street. "Doesn’t matter. It was years ago. Ancient history. I’m happy now."

"Are you?" Jake asked softly.

I turned to him, jaw tight. "What do you want me to say, Jake? That I’ve been lying to myself for years? That I wake up every day and wonder what might have happened if I hadn’t said anything? If you hadn’t shut me down?"

Jake didn’t flinch. "Maybe. Or maybe I just want you to admit you’re not happy. Because you looked miserable in there."

I took a step back. "You don’t know anything about me anymore."

"No," he said, eyes steady, "but I knew the real you once. And the real you wouldn’t fake a kiss for my benefit."

I felt the lie burn in my throat. "It wasn’t fake."

Jake raised a brow. "Then why was she so surprised?"

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.

He exhaled, the tension in his shoulders softening. "You don’t have to explain anything to me. I just... needed to say sorry. And to tell you, I’m not running anymore."

I frowned. "What does that even mean?"

"It means if you ever stop pretending, you know where to find me."

He turned and walked away before I could find a response.

I stood outside the restaurant, heart in my throat, watching him disappear into the night.

And I hated how much I wanted to follow.

I walked back into the restaurant, feeling like the walls were closing in on me. The warm lighting and soft music suddenly felt fake, like background noise in a play I didn’t want to be part of. My legs carried me back to the table, but my mind was still outside—still with Jake.

Lila looked up as I approached, her smile faded the moment she saw my face. “Hey… everything okay?”

I nodded quickly and slid into my seat. “Yeah. Fine.”

She tilted her head, trying to read me. “You sure? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I gave a humorless chuckle. “Something like that.”

She reached across the table, her fingers brushing the back of my hand. “Aiden, you’ve been off all evening. And earlier, you kissed me. Out of nowhere. You’ve never kissed me before.” She searched my face. “What was that about?”

“I just felt like it,” I muttered, staring at the condensation on my glass. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

She didn’t buy it. Of course she didn’t. “You’re lying.”

I looked at her then, just long enough to see the hurt in her eyes before glancing away again. “I’m fine, Lila. Just… tired.”

She tried again. “Talk to me. Please. If something’s wrong—”

I cut her off, sharper than I meant to. “I said I’m fine.”

Her mouth opened, then closed again. She blinked, clearly taken aback. But she still didn’t let it go. “Aiden, I’m your mate. If something’s happening, I deserve to know.”

“You should go home, Lila.” I snapped.

“What?” she asked, barely above a whisper.

“Just go home,” I said again, slower this time. “Please.”

She stood up immediately, but slowly, her movements stiff like she didn’t fully understand what was happening. She grabbed her purse, looking at me one last time. “You kissed me,” she said quietly, as if saying it out loud might give her answers. But I gave her none.