Chapter 27
984 Words
Brielle's POV
The bookstore swallowed Wren so quickly that Brielle wasn't even surprised.
One moment her cousin was standing beside them staring through the front windows like she'd discovered buried treasure. The next, she was gone, disappearing between shelves and book displays without so much as a backward glance.
Brielle watched the doors swing shut behind her before shaking her head.
"She's going to be in there forever."
Beside her, Thaddeus glanced toward the storefront.
"Probably."
The certainty in his voice made her laugh.
The sound surprised her enough that she immediately looked away, pretending to be interested in the traffic moving through the intersection ahead. The capital felt completely different at night than it had during the drive in. The city seemed brighter somehow. More alive. Music drifted from open patios while people crowded the sidewalks carrying shopping bags and coffee cups. Every direction held something happening. Conversations. Laughter. Headlights moving between buildings.
Nobody looked at them twice.
Nobody cared who they were.
The realization settled quietly inside her chest.
Back home, she couldn't walk through town without wondering who had heard about the rejection. Here, she was just another face in a crowd.
"Want to keep walking?"
The question pulled her from her thoughts.
She glanced over and found Thaddeus watching her, one hand tucked into the pocket of his jacket while people flowed around them on the sidewalk.
Brielle hesitated for half a second before nodding.
"She'll never notice we're gone."
"Not until she finishes buying books."
"Exactly."
They started walking again, falling naturally into step beside each other. The crowd carried them farther down the street while the bookstore disappeared behind them. For a while neither of them spoke.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable.
That bothered her.
It should have been uncomfortable.
This was Thaddeus.
The man who had rejected her.
The man she had spent days trying not to think about.
And yet walking beside him felt strangely normal.
A little too normal.
She shoved her hands deeper into her jacket pockets and focused on the city around them instead. A violinist played near a fountain up ahead, drawing a small crowd of listeners. Across the street, lights glowed warmly through the windows of a bakery while people filled tables outside a café despite the late hour.
The capital had always fascinated her when she was younger.
Every visit felt too short.
Every trip home felt disappointing.
Now that she was finally old enough to explore it on her own, she found herself wishing the circumstances had been different.
"You've been quiet."
His voice pulled her attention back.
Brielle glanced sideways.
"So have you."
"Fair."
A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
The conversation faded again, but this time the silence felt heavier.
Not awkward.
Just full of things neither of them seemed sure how to say.
Eventually curiosity won.
It had been winning a lot lately.
"You really meant what you said at dinner?"
Thaddeus didn't pretend not to understand the question.
His gaze stayed on the street ahead while they waited for a group of tourists to pass.
"Yeah."
Just that.
No dramatic speech.
No explanation.
The simple answer felt more honest than anything else could have.
Brielle looked away first.
The city lights reflected across the glass windows beside them as they continued walking.
"You know everyone back home probably thinks you've lost your mind."
A laugh escaped him.
Not a loud one.
Just enough to make her glance over.
"They're probably right."
"That doesn't exactly help your case."
"No."
The answer came with another small smile.
For some reason that made it harder to stay serious.
"You rejected your mate and then drove seven hours to bring her to the capital."
"I know."
"When you say it out loud, it sounds ridiculous."
"It was ridiculous."
The honesty caught her off guard.
Again.
She wasn't sure why.
Maybe because she'd spent so much time expecting excuses that she didn't know what to do with simple truth anymore.
They crossed another intersection and continued down a quieter street lined with small shops and restaurants. The crowds thinned slightly here, leaving more space between them and everyone else.
For a few minutes neither of them spoke.
Then Thaddeus surprised her.
"You should hate me."
Brielle stopped walking.
The statement was so unexpected that she actually turned to stare at him.
"What?"
He stopped too.
Streetlights cast soft shadows across the sidewalk while people moved past them in both directions.
"You should."
"That's a weird thing to say."
"It's true."
Brielle shook her head immediately.
"No, it isn't."
His expression didn't change.
"You don't have to pretend."
"I'm not pretending."
The words came out sharper than she intended.
For a second neither of them moved.
Then Brielle sighed and looked away.
The frustration wasn't really directed at him.
Or maybe it was.
She wasn't sure anymore.
"If I hated you," she said finally, "I wouldn't be standing here having this conversation."
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
Not because they weren't true.
Because they were.
Thaddeus didn't say anything right away.
When she finally looked back at him, something had softened in his expression.
Not enough to be obvious.
Just enough that she noticed.
And somehow that made everything worse.
"Oh, don't do that."
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
"Do what?"
"Look happy about it."
That earned an actual laugh.
A real one.
The sound caught her off guard enough that she found herself smiling too.
Unfortunately, that was exactly when Wren's voice cut through the evening.
"There you are."
Both of them turned.
Wren stood several feet away carrying an alarming number of books and looking entirely too pleased with herself.
Her gaze moved from Brielle to Thaddeus and then back again.
Slowly.
Suspiciously.
"Oh," she said.
Brielle immediately knew that tone.
"No."
Wren's smile widened.
"Oh, this is going to be fun."
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