Her secret mate

Hushed conversations I

"It's normal that you feel hurt by what you did. Sure they hurt you a bunch of times, but it's in our nature to still hope for them to be better. To hope that inside they love you like you crave to be loved and there is no point in scolding yourself for that, it's only in your nature to feel like that."

He said as his lips softly pressed to the top of my head and all I could do was relax into that touch.

"I know... but it's still frustrating."

After another moment of standing like that, I lifted my head from his chest and made a small step back.

"Okay, enough of this sulking."

He smiled at my fake enthusiasm and chuckled.

"Ah, yes, I think that you are right, we have a special day today, don't we?"

I did not answer him, just smiled at the adorable look on his face.

"I was excited when I saw you. I missed you so much, that when I saw you it slipped my mind. I have an early birthday gift for my girlfriend."

His hand disappeared into the inner pocket of his jacket and he pulled out a long box with a delicate light pink bow on it.

Slowly he lifted the lid, and it had the loveliest pearl necklace in it.

"It was my mothers..."

My heart skipped a beat.

Darcy loved his mother so dearly even when it had been almost a decade since she passed. Each year on her anniversary, he takes lilies to her grave and last year I accompanied him. At first, I was against the idea, it felt like I would be intruding into a very private movement, but Darcu insisted, claiming that he wasted to introduce me. I was skeptical at first, not sure what he meant by that. How can one be introduced to a dead person?

But he was quite literal.

Next to her grave he talked to her and told her about me. The whole time I felt a bit out of place and like I was stepping into a private moment that was not meant for me, but I endured the akwardness of it for him... because of the smile on his face. Hell I would do it a hundred times more just to see him smile like that.

On the ride home he told me that his mother would have loved me. I was not so sure about that, but I let him speak. Because he rarely speaks about her and I know that her death still hurts him daily. So I let him talk it out as much as he needed to, while I just encouraged him and asked a few general questions just to keep him going.

"Darcy... you shouldn't have..."

He just shook his head with a kind smile.

"No, she would have wanted you to wear it."

My heart shivered again, and I pulled my hair to the side, letting him fasten it onto my neck.

"It's so beautiful..."

I whispered as my fingers lightly traced the heavy beads.

"It looks even more beautiful on you."

With those words, he laid a soft kiss on the top of my neck and carefully turned me around. As I was spinning around. When I turned around, his eyes lingered on the pearls on my neck for a moment as a sad smile lingered on his face, alongside something even sadder in his eyes, but before I could ask what it was, he pushed his neutral smile in place and pulled me in for a kiss. I was hopping for a kiss on the lips, but I only got one on my forehead.

A bit surprised by his choice, I froze for a moment, so I did not have time to react as he pulled away.

"Okay, we should get going, before the guests arrive."

I could not help but release a very unlady like chuckle.

"Yeah... I guess you are right. Even though none of them are here for me... even if this is my brithday party..."

He looked at me for a moment, like he was going to say something, but then he just shook his head and extended his hands to me.

"Come on birthday girl, let's go to your not-so party. We have duties to attend to today."

With a deep sight I took his hand. I guess the moment of just us was over and now it's once again duty time.

Hand in hand we walked through the halls. They were full of staff preparing for a party.

All of them showed their respects to Darcy and me by making a little bow as we walked by. My eyes lingered on a couple, dressed in our servant's uniform, but something about them was off. I did no recognize them as one of our pack members, but it was nothing new that my parents employed someone to work at parties like this. They had an image to uphold. So I did not pay them any more attention, but something about them having that hushed conversation and how abruptly it ended the moment they saw us. Something about them was off, but I did not have time to think more about it, because we stepped into the ballroom, and we were met by my parents, who came to greet Darcy.

I could concentrate on what my parents were talking about for long enough to understand what they were saying, because my eyes kept lingering on the couple. When they finally left the room I tired to shake off the uneasy feeling and concentrate on the conversation that Darcy was having with my parents, but then Colin walked in and once again I was unable to care what my parents had to say.

For a moment our eyes met, and he sent me a kind smile, but then his eyes traveled to my neck and then to Darcy's hand wrapped around mine. The smile disappeared from his face and he just walked out of the room the same way he came in.