CHAPTER THREE

JELENA

With my mind made up to spend the day with Aaron, I head straight to my closet, already scanning through my dresses as I try to decide what to wear.

I don’t know where this excitement is coming from.

Maybe it’s because it has been so long since I last saw him or maybe it’s because he has been increasingly busy with pack matters as he always calls them and we haven’t had the chance to properly talk in a while.

Either way, the feeling is there, bubbling quietly inside me, and I don’t try to fight it and right on cue, Sarah walks in, carrying freshly washed laundry in her arms.

“You seem excited, Miss. Something important happening?” she asks, her eyes already searching my face like she knows the answer.

“Not really,” I reply, even as I pull out a crimson-colored dress and lay it carefully on the bed.

It’s knee-length, simple, but elegant and very much good enough.

Aaron and I agreed not to rush things, not to cross certain lines until marriage. It was a decision we made together, and I try not to think too far ahead into what that means and I can’t afford to let my thoughts wander too much, I don’t want my subconscious ruining something good before it even has the chance to grow into something more.

“Going to see Sir Aaron?” she asks again, this time with a knowing glint in her eyes.

I turn to face her, unable to hold back the smile spreading across my face.

“Of course I am,” I say. “It’s been so long since we last had a proper moment, and I want to surprise him.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” she says, nodding slightly. “Considering you haven’t had a smile on your face in a while.”

She isn’t wrong, I enjoy my time with Aaron more than I ever admit out loud, he treats me differently like I matter, like my thoughts hold weight and my words matters, he asks for my opinion, he checks if I am comfortable.

He listens.

In short, he is the only person who cares enough to ask for my input something I never get, especially during dinner with my family.

My mind drifts back to that one dinner, the memory is still fresh, still vivid.

Vanessa, as usual, had taken charge, asking everyone for their orders before confidently placing them and then, like always, she skipped over me entirely, deciding on my behalf without a second thought.

It was normal and expected that I didn’t even react but Aaron did.

“My Lady,” he had said, his voice calm but firm, “I think you forgot to ask my woman for her order.”

The entire table had gone silent and for a moment, no one moved and no one and I mean, no one spoke a d Vanessa clearly unwilling to appear anything less than graceful called the waiter back and allowed me to order for myself.

It was such a small thing but it meant everything to me and under the table, Aaron had reached for my hand, squeezing it gently as if to remind me that I wasn’t alone.

That I had someone, I remember glancing at him, unsure of what pulled me to look and then I saw it.

That sly, almost mischievous look on his face, it made me want to laugh right there, at the dinner table and I barely managed to hold it in because if I hadn’t, it would have been a disaster but something shifted after that night.

My father started speaking to me more whenever he was around, not much, but more than before and somehow, that moment stayed with me, maybe because Aaron is a major Alpha in the pack and he is royalty in our pack being that he is the son to the our Alpha

We have been together for two blissful years now.

Two years, yet that single night had left a warmth in my chest that lasted for days.

“Are you going empty-handed, though?”

Sarah’s voice pulls me back to the present and I blink, refocusing.

“I don’t know what to do,” I admit. “I was thinking of getting some things from the market, making something for us and maybe spending the night.”

The words come out softer than I intend.

“I don’t know about spending the night,” she says carefully. “My Lady is still sensitive about this morning, you know.”

I sigh, she’s right.

“Alright, not spending the night,” I concede. “But at least I can stay with him for a while.”

“That sounds better,” she replies. “I was already heading to the market anyway, so we can go together.”

“Okay, give me a minute to take a shower, and I’ll meet you downstairs,” I say.

“Alright, Miss.”

No matter how many times I ask her to stop calling me that, Sarah never listens, even when I told her directly, she only smiled and continued as if I hadn’t said anything at all.

At this point, I’ve learned to live with it, she is the closest thing I have to a friend in this house and honestly, I don’t think I would have survived here this long without her, we grew up together and she knew my mother, she remembers her in ways I sometimes struggle to and for that alone, I am grateful.

I quickly head into the bathroom and take a shower, moving faster than usual so I don’t keep her waiting.

Soon enough, we are on our way to the market, the air outside feels lighter, freer, even the noise of the market, the chatter, the bargaining, the movement feels comforting, I love coming to the market even though my stepmom sees it as punishing me but i remember moment when I and my mom wound go on hunting sprees, looking for gems in at the pawn spot 

It’s different from the suffocating silence of the manor, and i really miss mom and whenver i’m at the market, i think about her more often 

After gathering everything I need to make a traditional lasagna, I ask the driver to take me to Aaron’s house, if it can even be called a house because “Mansion” feels more accurate.

“I’ll call you when I’m ready to leave,” I say as the car comes to a stop in front of the gates.

“Okay, Miss,” the driver replies.

I turn to Sarah, pulling her into a quick hug.

“Alright then, see you in a bit. Wish me luck.”

“Break a leg, Miss,” she says with a small chuckle.

I step out of the car, adjusting the bag in my hand and as always, I am greeted by the overwhelming display of wealth that surrounds Aaron’s home, everything about this place screams power.

Status and authority, it is exactly what you would expect from an Alpha and sometimes, I still don’t understand how I fit into his world, I make my way to the gate and punch in the passcode, the gates slide open smoothly, and I step inside, beginning the long walk toward the main door, the path is familiar, comforting, even, I can't find any guard around so I have to lift the heavy bags my self till I get to the door

When I finally reach the door, I press the bell and wait and a few seconds later, the door opens, the butler stands there, Mr. Conrad.

“Miss… I didn’t know you were coming today,” he says, clearly flustered.

His reaction makes me pause and that’s strange.

“Oh, I wanted to surprise him,” I say lightly. “Is he in?”

“Yes, my lady… he is,” he replies.

But something is off, his words are careful and his body remains firmly positioned in the doorway, blocking my view of the house.

“Alright then,” I say, lifting the bag slightly. “I brought some things I’d like to prepare.”

I step forward, already intending to walk past him but he moves.

Blocking me completely.

“I’m sorry, Miss… I… I don’t think you should be here right now,” he says, his voice tense, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

I freeze.

“What do you mean I shouldn’t be here right now?” I explode instantly.