Chapter 5 Introduce A Boyfriend

Valerie's POV

The moment I saw them, my whole body went rigid. I hadn't expected Aaron and Lily to show up here, of all places.

From where I sat, I could hear the waiter apologizing at the entrance.

"I'm so sorry. We're fully booked at the moment."

Relief flickered through me. I thought they would simply leave.

But Lily, of course, refused to back down.

"A restaurant this big, and you can't find a single open table for us?"

The waiter looked embarrassed, still bowing slightly as he murmured, "Truly sorry, miss."

"I don't care," Lily insisted, her tone petulant. "I've been craving this restaurant's food for ages, and I am eating here today."

I could almost feel the waiter's headache from across the room. Every table was taken, yet she kept pressing him, unwilling to relent.

Finally, the poor man gestured awkwardly in my direction.

"Actually… the last available seat was just taken by that lady."

My scalp prickled, and instinctively I wanted to bolt before they noticed me.

But reality has a cruel sense of timing.

Lily's eyes swept the room and landed on me. Surprise flashed across her face, followed by a smile that chilled me to the bone.

"Valerie! What a coincidence, seeing you here all alone."

Then she turned to the waiter with false brightness.

"This lady's a friend of ours. We'll just sit with her."

I opened my mouth to refuse, but the words died in my throat. I couldn't speak. I could only watch as Lily slipped her arm through Aaron's and gracefully seated herself across from me, as if she owned the place.

The waiter looked relieved, utterly unaware that I was sitting there in silent agony.

I regretted coming here at all. If I'd just left last night after signing those bond severing papers, I wouldn't be stuck here now, forced to face the two of them like this.

I lowered my gaze, hiding my trembling hands beneath the table.

Lily, radiant and self-satisfied, smiled sweetly at me. But in her eyes lurked a glacial cruelty.

"Valerie, it's been years since we've seen each other. I've been wanting to catch up ever since I returned, but I've been so busy. Who would've thought we'd meet like this? Perfect timing. I can finally thank you properly."

I forced myself to look at her, my voice flat.

"I don't recall ever helping you."

She didn't miss a beat. A soft laugh slipped from her lips as she turned toward Aaron.

"Of course you did. You took such good care of Aaron for me all these years."

Her tone was light and teasing. Mine was a strangled silence.

I tried to hold my composure, refusing to give her the satisfaction of seeing me falter. But the truth was, I had no sharp retort — not when the man sitting beside her had once been my mate.

Three years of union, yet she spoke as though I'd merely been keeping her seat warm.

Back then, I never understood why I always felt like an outsider in my own relationship. Now I did. Everything — every word, every look — had always depended on him.

Aaron's heart had already chosen a side. And that made me the inevitable loser.

As I sat in silence, Lily tilted her head, studying me with feigned concern.

"Valerie, you look pale. Are you feeling unwell?"

Before I could respond, she turned her gaze on Aaron, her tone playful and accusatory.

"Aaron, did you bully her while I was gone?"

Aaron's face remained impassive, but his eyes — those same eyes that had always looked through me — softened for her.

It struck me then, painfully, how his gentleness was something I had never known.

I'd spent three years trying to earn what she received with a single glance.

And yet, as I watched them, I realized something unexpected — the ache that had once hollowed out my chest wasn't as sharp anymore. Maybe I'd already begun to let go.

"No," Aaron said evenly. "She's always been frail."

I lowered my gaze. Of course. To him, I was just a weak, insignificant she-wolf, unworthy of attention or respect.

Forcing a faint smile, I murmured, "I'm fine. Just didn't rest well."

Lily clearly wasn't concerned about my health. Her tone turned light, falsely cheerful.

"Then tell me, Valerie, what are you doing eating alone? Isn't it lonely to dine by yourself? How about I introduce you to someone? You deserve a nice guy to look after you. Aaron and I would feel much better knowing you're not all alone."

Her words — sugar-coated poison — made my brows knit.

"That won't be necessary," I said curtly.

But she talked right over me, still smiling.

"Oh, don't refuse so quickly. Aaron and I both want to see you happy."

My hands curled into fists under the table. I didn't look at Aaron, but every nerve in me burned with the urge to ask him — Is that what you think too?

At that moment, a familiar voice broke through the tension.

"Valerie, sorry, that call took longer than I thought."

I turned and saw Cassian striding toward our table, his expression soft with apology.

But the moment his eyes fell on the pair sitting opposite me, his expression hardened, brows knitting into a frown.

"What's going on here?"