And that did it. His body stiffened as his grip on me tightened. I pulled away from him and captured his eyes. He was frowning.
“Hey…” I smiled at him as my thumbs ran over his eyebrows, trying to flatten the curve. “I just want to know what happened. I can tell you about mine too, if you like.”
“There’s really not much to tell. She left when I was a baby, so I knew nothing about her.”
“Did you bother to ask your father why she left?”
“For another man.”
“Are you angry that she left with another man, or that she left you?”
“It’s the same thing.”
“No, it is not.”
“Nadia, please...”
“Did you ask your father why she didn’t take you along with her?”
“I would probably just get in her way with her lover, so she disposed of me.”
“It’s so unfair that you were judging her without hearing her side.”
“Twenty-three years, Nadia. If she wanted me to hear her side, she could have done that within the last twenty-three years. But there was nothing.”
“Did you try looking for her?”
“No.”
“Can we look for her?”
“No.”
“I want to look for my father. But I don’t even have a name. My mother carried his name to her grave. So I will never know him. But you, you have a chance to get to know her. Maybe it will make you feel better if...”
He stood up abruptly, carrying me with him before he placed me on my feet and began walking towards a tree. When he reached the place, he leaned his palms on it and let out a deep breath. “Enough, Nadia. I’m done with her.”
RILEY.
“Enough, Nadia. I’m done with her.”
“I just thought it would be nice to meet her. Riley, I didn’t have a mother, and you too. Maybe if we can get to meet her, who knows, maybe we’ll both end up having a mother…”
“Fuck, Nadia! I said stop! Can we move on from this?”
I was starting to get annoyed with this topic already, and if she kept insisting, I would end up walking away from here, which was the last thing I wanted to do.
I know I should have told her about Andrea. That was my bigger problem, not my fucking mother.
I had a big opening already, but the moment she thought that it was only the mate bond that made Andrea leave me, I lost the courage to tell her the truth.
She thought I was the victim, the one left alone. And that she–my mate—was my saving grace. She was indeed my saving grace. But she had everything else wrong.
“It’s enough for today. Let’s return to the packhouse.” I turned around and started walking towards her.
“You’re not being fair.”
“I am. I don’t need a mother.”
