5 His Ex

Faye's POV

So, I let go of the frustration and followed Layla to the beach.

The beach here was just like the one that appeared in my dreams. The waves lapped the soft white sand, and in the distance, there were vast palm trees and coconut groves. The sun was already halfway below the sea, casting the sky in dreamy shades of pink and orange.

A wooden boardwalk connected the beach to a restaurant, where we would be having dinner. Layla pointed to the hotel not far away and said, "This is all part of our pack's property."

"Our pack," I silently repeated in my mind, grateful that Layla had welcomed me into the Silver Moon Pack as one of their own.

I admired the beach view, excitedly kicked off my sandals, and walked barefoot on the sand. The white sand still held the warmth of the day, and it wasn't as soft as I had imagined. It had a slight coarseness to it, but it was comfortable.

Layla also removed her shoes and walked barefoot with me. Both of us held our shoes and made our way to the restaurant.

The twin brothers, our mother, and Louis were already seated. Mom spotted Layla and me from a distance and waved happily.

We went to the terrace of the restaurant, which was more comfortable and casual than a formal dinner place.

I couldn't help but smile and pulled Layla along as we jogged over to the table. But as we reached the table, my smile froze like it had turned to ice. There were two empty seats in front of me, and one of them was right next to Liam.

I wanted to forget about what had happened earlier, but I couldn't.

I noticed Liam casting a fleeting glance at me, and then his gaze settled on the sandals in my hand. I couldn't quite decipher the expression on his face. It seemed as though he was judging me as a wild and uncouth girl. My toes curled instinctively, and I playfully shuffled my feet in the sand.

Perhaps Louis sensed my discomfort because he gestured to Layla, "Layla, my dear, how about you sitting next to your big brother Liam, and letting Faye sit next to you? Please take care of her."

Layla nodded with a smile. "Of course, dad."

I breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "Thank you, Louis."

Layla and I took our seats. The waiter began serving our meal.

"Would you like to try this bottle of white wine? It pairs wonderfully with seafood," Mom said, signaling the waiter to open the bottle and serve us.

I eagerly watched as the waiter presented the wine. It looked expensive and delicious.

"Except for these two underage ladies," Liam suddenly spoke, his tone as icy as ever.

I hadn't even had a chance to respond when Layla sighed dramatically. She and I exchanged glances and made a face in unison.

When I looked up again, mom was watching the two of us with a contented smile on her face. I also responded with a sweet smile, forcing myself to ignore the fact that Liam disliked me.

Every dish at the upscale restaurant was delicious. I tried to maintain a certain level of elegance, carefully cutting my seafood rather than pouncing on it like a starving animal, even though I was really hungry, and I rarely got to eat such delicious seafood. But in front of Liam, I couldn't afford to lose face. I needed to maintain my composure.

Mom started talking about my college plans. "Faye, I heard from Annie that you've been accepted by a university?"

"Yes," I quickly swallowed a piece of shrimp and wiped my mouth with a napkin. "It's a State University."

Louis chimed in, "That's very nice."

"It's alright," I said hesitantly, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear with the sea breeze. I couldn't bring myself to tell mom that I had torn up my college offer letter. I have no university to attend now. If only I had known about mom's situation earlier, things might have been different.

"But... Faye, are you planning to go to that college?" Louis continued, "Or would you like to stay here? I can arrange for you to go to Liam's university."

"What?" I put down my fork and knife, and in my confusion, they clattered against the plate, creating a loud noise. Everyone at the table stared at me, and in my panic, I blurted out, "Liam's university? What does that mean?"

Mom smiled gently. "Oh, Faye, it seems you don't know yet. Liam is a college professor."

I widened my eyes in astonishment. Is Liam a professor? And he might be a professor at the university I could potentially attend? What should I do? Should I accept Louis's offer? God, I didn't want to be at the same college as Liam, especially if he turned out to be one of my instructors.

I glanced at Liam, who was still calmly enjoying his meal. I couldn't imagine him as a college professor, although his icy demeanor might not be out of place in that role. But I had no other option. I didn't have any other universities to go to. And I don't want to leave the city. I had just arrived here and stayed with my family, and I wanted to spend every day with them.

In the blink of an eye, my mind was flooded with countless thoughts, but in the end, the thought of "I want to live with mom" won out.

"Um, I... I think I would be willing to attend Liam's university."

"Yes! That's great!" Layla cheered, giving me a big hug.

Louis and mom also smiled in relief. "Liam, please take good care of Faye at college," Mom said.

"Of course," Liam said, raising his head, "But... Faye seems quite capable. She probably won't need my help."

Mom continued to say to Liam, "She still needs it, even if Faye has been used to being independent since she was little."

I managed to force a pale and distorted smile, took a deep breath to steady my wildly fluctuating emotions, and replied, "Thank you, brother. Yes, please take care of me."

I emphasized "brother" in my address to him. God, this was the first time I had called him "brother," even though it felt somewhat insincere. It was my way of pushing back against his remarks earlier.

Liam raised an eyebrow. "You're welcome, Faye."

Of course, this brother-sister dialog made mom smile and almost faint in delight. Well, as long as mom was happy, I didn't mind doing whatever it took.

Just then, a waiter approached us with empty hands, bowing to Leander. "Mr. Sheffield, there's a lady waiting for you at the restaurant entrance."

I perked up. A lady? Was it Leander's girlfriend?

It made sense. A well-known football player wouldn't be lacking in female companionship.

Everyone, including me, turned their curious gaze to Leander. But he seemed flustered, even to the point of knocking over his chair as he stood up.

Louis helped Leander back into his seat, and his sharp eyes scrutinized his son up and down. "What's going on?"

Leander had taken a couple of steps towards the exit but turned back when he heard Louis's question, pacing in place. "Dad... She..."

"Who is she?" Louis's tone grew sterner.

Leander sighed in frustration, hanging his head. "Taylor, my girlfriend. Oh, wait, my ex-girlfriend."

"You broke up?!" Layla exclaimed.

"What? When?" Mom joined in astonishment.

I was so surprised that I put down my fork and even lost interest in the king crab that had just been served. I didn't want to miss any juicy details about the new family members.

I leaned over to Layla and whispered, "What's going on?"

Layla seemed to be in a good mood as she fired off her words like rapid-fire bullets. "Taylor was Leander's 12th girlfriend, oh, no, it might be the 13th, no, no, it could be the 14th, whatever! She was the least annoying of all his exes, but I still didn't like her much. She's so dramatic, always coming to our house, drenched in overpowering perfume. Oh, and she loves to brag about Leander being a football player to everyone, even my classmates know Taylor is Leander's girlfriend!"

I nodded knowingly. It was such a common story for athletes and their girlfriends.

"So why did they break up?" I asked.

Layla shrugged and held out her hands. "I don't know. How could Taylor let go of a star athlete boyfriend like Leander?"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the table, mom and Louis were questioning Leander about the reason for the breakup.

"...She invited a bunch of random girls to her place and treated me like an exhibit at the zoo!" Leander complained, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "I couldn't take it anymore, so I broke up with her yesterday..."

"Exhibit?" mom asked, bewildered.

Leander continued, still ruffled, "Yeah, she made me demonstrate my abs and run around in the living room!"

"Hahaha..." I couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you making fun of me too, Faye?" Leander looked even more frustrated.

I chuckled, "Just imagining a werewolf being showcased like a zoo animal by a group of girls is pretty amusing..."

"Hahaha..." Everyone laughed.

Leander looked exasperated. "Okay, that's enough. I'm going to find Taylor and get her to leave."

At the same time, my phone vibrated. I picked it up and saw a call from Headmistress Annie.