Rejected once, Accepted By His Rival

Chapter two

/-Ariana-/

The next few days voided every reassurance he gave me. He came home late, barely ate, and didn't even have time for me or his son anymore.

At first, I thought he might be indeed busy because the pack was beginning to get frequent attacks at the border. But how are you so busy that you can't even check up on your family?

Every night, he would fall asleep as soon as he hit the bed and leave before I even woke up the next morning.

But there was only so much a person could take. So that night, I blocked him as soon as he entered the bedroom.

“What is this, Ariana? I had a long day today, I need to rest,” he groaned, trying to sidestep.

Arianna, not baby. Not princess.

I blocked him again.

“We need to talk, Ray. What is going on? You've been distant for the past three weeks. I'm worried,” I said.

Something flickered in his eyes but then it was replaced by irritation.

“I told you I've been busy. How many times do I have to say it for you to get it into your head?” He snapped and I flinched. “Look, Ariana, I would really appreciate it if you let me rest. Please!”

I was stunned as he brushed past me to the bed. He didn't shower, but there was no stench of sweat on him. If anything, he smelled nice. Like he took a bath not long ago.

I tried not to jump to conclusions. He might have showered in the office. There was an inbuilt suite there, for when he wanted to spend the night.

The next day, I woke up quite early to make breakfast for him but just as I finished packing it up, Benita showed up.

“Something smells good in here,” she commented and I narrowed my eyes. What was she doing here?

Just then, Raymond descended the stairs fully dressed. He wasn't surprised at Benita's presence.

“Good morning, Alpha,” she bowed. “You look good today.”

Raymond gave her a breathtaking smile. “As do you, Nita.”

Nita? That was the name he fondly called her when they were still close. As if she could read my thoughts, she threw me a mocking smile.

“The Luna made something delicious for breakfast. I hope it won't be a bother if I join you,” she said.

The audacity of this woman!

“No, you can't…”

“Of course not! Although I'm not sure I will be joining you,” Raymond cut me short before I could finish the statement.

“Please do, Alpha. I can tell she put a lot of effort into this,” Benita said sweetly.

My blood boiled. He was seriously going to invite another woman to join us?

She made herself comfortable and Raymond joined her. It hurt my chest to know that for the first time in weeks, my mate was eating my food because of another woman.

Ignoring the pain in my heart, I proceeded to serve him and myself. I dropped the spoon and sat back down.

“Don't be rude, Ariana. Serve our guest,” he said and I looked at him in disbelief. Seriously? “You know what, never mind. I'll do it myself.”

I was even more stunned as he picked up the spoon, ready to serve another woman.

“You don't need to do that, Alpha, I can serve myself,” Benita said, reaching for the spoon. I watched her hands linger on his and the look they gave each other.

Something was going on, I could feel it in my bones.

“Where's Jason?” Raymond asked, retrieving his hand from Benita.

“It's six in the morning. He's still asleep,” I answered quietly.

“Okay.”

That was the end of the conversation with me. For the rest of breakfast, he was just discussing with Benita and they made so many inside jokes. I tried not to be bothered even though my insides were twisting with hurt.

After breakfast, he just left without saying a word to me. I cleaned up the table and went to get Jason ready for school.

I put the situation behind me because there was nothing more I could do.

As the days went by, Raymond became more scarce at home. At first, he used to try to give explanations, but now, all I got was a one-sentence text.

Don't wait up.

A few times I called him and his responses were either monotonous or harsh.

“I'm working, don't bother me.”

“I'll call you later.”

“Didn't you get my text?”

In all that, I would hear Benita giggling in the background, asking him to hurry up and my heart would shatter. Over and over again.

When I tried to talk about his closeness with Benita, he would flare up and call me insecure. Either that, or he would say I was overreacting and even call me a nag.

Yet, in all this, I didn't believe he was cheating on me. It wasn't that I was stupid. It was simply the fact that we were mated and if he slept with another woman, I would feel that instant jab to my heart.

That was the only thing that made me hold on. Whether he was Alpha or not, the last thing I would do was tolerate a cheating man. It would simply mean he had no regard for our bond.

“Mommy, when will Daddy come home?” Jason whined. His eyes were sad and misty. Aside from me, Jason was the only other person who missed Raymond as terribly as I did.

Raymond couldn't even squeeze out time for his own son. I even had to take a break from work, so Jason wouldn't feel neglected.

“Daddy is just busy, baby. He needs to be alert to protect all of us,” I said softly, kissing his forehead.

“You said that last week and the week before that and the week…”

“Jason, do you want to speak to him instead?” I asked and his mood instantly lit up.

I called Raymond, praying to the goddess that he would answer. Luckily, he did or so I thought.

“Hello?” Benita's voice rang in my ears and my grip on the phone tightened.

“Where is my husband?” I asked.

“Oh, he just stepped into the shower. Would you like to drop a message? I'll be sure to pass it,” she said in her usual mock sweetness.

I wanted to tell her off but when I looked at Jason's hopeful eyes, I couldn't bring myself to.

“When he steps out, could you tell him that Jason wants to speak to him?” I asked.

“Of course I will.”

Then she hung up. I turned to Jason whose face was already sullen with disappointment. My heart ached for him. He was just five. He didn't deserve this.

“Jay…”

“I'll just go to bed, Mom,” he said sadly and walked away.

Raymond didn't call that night or even the next morning. I could only assume Benita didn't tell him.

I stood by the closet, taking out some clothes for laundry. I needed a distraction because I was on the verge of going crazy.

I picked out his favourite white shirt and that was when I saw it. I blinked repeatedly to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

But it was still there.

The lipstick stain on his collar.