The Rejection
Savannah Pov
The ring of phones, the click of keyboards, and muted murmurings reached my ears. For me, though, the world had become silent. My breathing hitched as I found myself staring through a slit in Aaron's door. There they were: my mate, Aaron Xaviar, and she - Marcella Sycalla.
She was sitting on his desk, legs crossed, one manicured hand resting on his chest, softly laughing at something he'd said. His expression, soft smile, and warm eyes were one I'd once believed was reserved solely for me. But it was hers now.
I pushed open the door, not able to help myself. "Aaron," I said, my voice shaking.
He looked startled at first, his face then darkening as his eyes met hers. Marcella didn't budge, a triumphant smirk curling on her lips.
"What are you doing here, Savannah?" Aaron asked coldly.
My heart fell with the ice in his tone, as though all the warmth had been sucked from it, replaced by a man who thought no more of me than a nagging nuisance.
"I came to see you," I replied, my voice breaking as I did.
"Aaron, what is going on? Why is she here?"
Marcella laughed, a soft mocking sound. "Oh, poor Savannah," she drawled out, her tone just dripping with false pity. "Haven't you figured it out yet? You're not wanted here."
I ignored her, my attention on Aaron. "Is this true?" I whispered. "Aaron, we're mates. You. You love me. Don't you?”
He let out a heavy sigh, got up from the couch, and adjusted his tie. "Savannah," he began with no patience, "this… thing between us-it's over."
I blinked, the words hit me like a physical blow. "Over? Aaron, I stood by your side through thick and thin. Night and day, I labored and helped you build your empire. Your parents insulted me; your colleagues sneered. And I loved you!”
He snorted, his lip curling into a sneer. "And what good has that done for me? You're weak, Savannah. Unworthy of standing at my side. Marcella,she's strong, capable. She's a woman the likes of which I need."
Marcella leaned in close toward him, her fingers tracing over his arm. "Tell her, darling," she said, voice dripping sweetness. "Do tell her the truth.”
Aaron's jaw snapped shut, his gaze dropping to mine, incandescent with emotion-unreadable. Guilt? Pity? No, disdain.
"The truth," he said in measured tones, "is that you were handy, Savannah. You just happened to be there when I needed a warm body. That, for the most part, is what you've been a stand-in."
The room somersaulted while his voice, whiplash hot, sliced across mine. "A standby?" I whispered.
Marcella laughed again, swinging her legs off the desk and standing. She sauntered over to me, her heels clicking against the polished floor. "Did you think he loved you?" she said with a tone full of condescension. "Aaron and I have been together since before you came into the picture. You were nothing but a little distraction."
My knees seriously threatened to buckle, but I made myself straighten tall. "Aaron," I said, my voice breaking, "tell me she's lying. Tell me this isn't true."
He didn't say a word.
Do you have any idea what I've done for you?" I shrieked, my voice shrill. "I sacrificed everything for you! I gave up my life, and my dreams, to stand by your side. I worked endless hours to help you secure contracts, to prove my worth to you. I took in your father calling me a gold-digger and your mother offering me money to leave. I didn't leave because I loved you!”
Aaron’s expression didn’t change. If anything, he looked bored. “And look where that’s gotten you,” he said coolly.
Marcella smirked, stepping closer. “Face it, Savannah. You’re nothing but a pathetic, weak little girl. Aaron deserves better, and that’s me.”
I faced Aaron again, tears clouding my eyes. "Aaron, please," I pleaded with him. "Do not do this, for goodness' sake. I forgive all that happened. Leave everything with her and we'll start anew, just please. I love you.".
His eyes seemed to narrow, and with a new coolness in his voice threatening, he took another step closer to me, towering over me. "You don't get it, do you?" he said, as cold as ice. "I don't want you, I don't need you! you're weak Savannah, and I would never marry anyone like you.”
The final nail in the coffin was Marcella's laugh. "Well, that settles it, doesn't it?" she said, wrapping her arm around Aaron's. "Now, be a good little girl and run along."
The dam broke, and I reached out to Aaron one last time. "Aaron, please…"
He stepped back as though my touch burned him. "Get out," he said. "You're no longer welcome here. And don't bother coming back. You're fired.”
"Fired?" I echoed, appalled.
He nodded to waiting guards at the door. "Take her out."
The guards reached for me, hands clamping down on my arms. "No!" I yelled, fighting them. "Aaron, don't! Don't let her win!"
But he didn't even turn around. He just turned away, pulling Marcella closer as she smiled triumphantly over his shoulder.
The guards dragged me through the office, my coworkers whispering behind the desks, their eyes all pity or worse, humor. My face burned in humiliation, but the pain of it all drowned everything else out.
Outside, it was chilly, like a slap. The sky was gray, heavy with the promise of rain. I was cold, and shaking; all that had happened hit me like a ton of bricks.
How did this happen?
Seven months of loving Aaron, of giving him everything I had, and this was how it would end? Thrown out like garbage, discarded for a woman who had mocked me at every turn.
I took one step forward and then another leg moving without direction. First drops of rain began falling, soaking into my clothes, but I didn't care.
I stopped at the corner, staring blankly at the street. Cars whizzed past with their headlights cutting through the growing darkness.
"How could it have come to this?" I whispered and immediately lost my voice in the roar of the city.
