The Mate I Never Knew: Tied By Fate And Fur

Chapter 2

It's been a week since I found out that Cole was cheating on me, and that led to our breakup, but the pain doesn't feel any less.

I still have nightmares about that day, the words that Cole had said to me that I was delusional, convenient, and that he was just with me for the fun of it. Remembering all this intensified the ache in my heart.

The feeling of my phone vibrating in my pocket pulled me out of my thoughts so I brought it out to check and after seeing the caller ID I sighed and put the phone on mute it was my mom I hadn't spoken to her or anyone from my family since the fight I had with them six years ago.

My mom started sending me money about three months ago but I never spent a penny. I found it odd that, after six years without contact, she suddenly started calling and trying to get in touch with me.

She was the only one in my family who had tried to contact me all these years, but I never picked up her calls, and I couldn't bear to block her either.

The phone kept ringing, but I just ignored it. I went back to what I was doing. I was currently wiping the tables at the cafe where I worked, but then I paused, a voice from the TV had caught my attention.

“In business and society news, Cole Hart, heir to the prestigious Hart family, is now officially engaged to Amber Harrison of the Harrison conglomerate. The pair...”

I froze. My grip on the cloth tightened.

Amber Harrison.

That was her. The woman I saw in his bed. The one who didn’t even bother to cover herself as she mocked me.

The Cafe TV showed a picture of Cole and Amber, they looked so close. Cole had his hand wrapped around Amber's waist and he was looking at her with something I felt was love in his eyes.

But that wasn't the only thing that shocked me the fact that Cole was the heir to the Hart family was surprising. I had always known that Cole owned a company, but I thought that it was just a small one that wasn't popular. But now that I think about it, Cole always wore designer brands and looked expensive, but I thought they were just high imitations of the original.

I stared blankly at the flickering screen, the words barely registering anymore. My stomach twisted.

Then suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder from behind me, followed by concerned words, "Are you okay?" Mira asked

At that moment, the tears I had been holding ever since the breakup with Cole came flowing freely. It was like a dam had broken.

Mira suddenly pulled me into a hug. "It's going to be alright, Jeremy, you'll be fine," she whispered in an attempt to comfort me.

Mira knew that Cole and I were dating she was the only one I had told, and that was even one of the main reasons she had agreed to cover my shift that day

I pulled away from Mira when I heard the bell on the cafe door chime signaling a customer had just come in, and I wiped my face quickly. "I'm sorry," I murmured, sniffing while swallowing the lump in my throat.

"Don’t apologize," she said softly. "I understand how you feel. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"

I gave her a forced smile. "Thank you, Mira, but I'm fine now. Today is going to be busy, so I don't think I should go home yet."

"Alright, let's head back to work," Mira responded, giving me a pat on my shoulder.

I nodded and went behind the counter.

I think the news I just discovered about Cole was messing with my head because I kept messing up the orders I received.

"Excuse me" a lady with blond hair and brown eyes called out to me her hand holding a cup of coffee outstretched towards me "This isn't what I ordered, I asked for a vanilla-flavored latte"

I forced a smile while collecting the cup from her "I'm really sorry about that, I'll make you a new one."

After that incident, I tried my best to focus, but I still kept on messing up a few more orders and even broke a plate once but luckily, no one got hurt.

I left work about two hours before my shift was over because I still couldn't focus, and I wanted to avoid causing as much damage as possible, and luckily for me, the cafe manager was not around today, else I would have gotten into much trouble or even lost my job.

The walk home was quiet, just a few people passing by. The sky was a bit cloudy, and the cold wind blew against my skin, making me shiver a little. The phone in my pocket kept buzzing but I ignored it already knowing who was calling.

It's been three months since my mom started trying to keep in touch with me, but I have always ignored her. She tried calling and texting, but I never responded. I felt guilty because she was my mother, and I never had any issues with her. She had tried to convince my father to let me stay, but he was a traditional person and was very homophobic, so he refused.

I also felt scared because it's been six years since I was kicked out of my home, but it was only recently that she started contacting me.

After a ten-minute walk, I arrived at my apartment building the walk did nothing to clear my head of the thoughts I kept thinking about Cole's engagement and my mom

I climbed up the stairs, heading to my apartment, using my key to open the, door, and I stepped inside. The apartment was quiet and modest. It contained a living room, which was connected to a small kitchen. It also had a bedroom with a bathroom in it.

The apartment was a bit costly, but I was able to afford it because, other than the cafe where I worked, I also sold the paintings I had made during my free time, and also had to donate my blood a few times when I was short on money.

Clothes were scattered around my bedroom, and plates were left unwashed in the kitchen sink, which was unlike me because I always hated it when a place was messy, but I guess my breakup with Cole affected me more than I hate to admit, and sometimes my apartment felt suffocating because almost everything inside reminded me of Cole.

During our time together, we had purchased many couple items like pyjama sets, toothbrush sets, couple mugs, couple slippers, and a lot more, but I couldn't bring myself to throw away any of it. I just couldn't.

I sat down on the two-seater couch in the living room with a sigh, my shoulders hunched and my mind swirling when I heard a soft knock on the door which startled me a bit because I was not expecting anyone to visit me especially at this time I decided to wait thinking that maybe my mind was just playing tricks on me but then I heard the knock again it was firmer this time

I got up and slowly walked towards the door. My heart was racing. I held the door handle for a while, hesitant to open it, but then I unlocked the door, opening it. I stood there frozen in shock, not expecting it to be her.