Page 44 of Pregnant Rejected Mate

The sadness that crashes into me causes me to rush into the bedroom and throw myself on the bed. I’d spent years picking up the strewn pieces of my heart, only to have it broken by expectations again.

I should have listened to Ms. Walter. Having expectations about anything in life will do me no good. Crying into my pillow, I know I need to get myself together.

After all, I’ll be going back home tomorrow.

When I’m done sobbing and my body finally stops shaking uncontrollably, I lift myself off the bed and stare at the door. A part of me hopes he comes back and fights me for wanting to leave.

The way he lost his mind when he saw me talking to his family in the courtyard, the way he lost his mind on the rugby field. The Felix I’d caught glimpses of whenever he became jealous is the Felix I’d been expecting to see after what happened on the mountain.

Maybe it’s because I’d been drawn to that hidden side of him, a desirable side that stirred something buried inside me. Ever since I refused to tell him how I feel, he seems to have curled up into himself, unable to fight me on anything.

He didn’t fight for me the way I thought he would. Now he’s agreed to let me go back home. I should be glad that I’m getting what I wanted initially, but I’m not.

The home I know back in the real world doesn’t feel welcoming at all.

Sighing with a heavy heart, I spot a bouquet of cherry blossoms on the pedestal beside the bedroom door, my heart skipping a beat. Compelled to cross the room on feet that feel heavy, I pick up the bouquet and inhale the sweet scent, only to be reminded of how he knows they’re my favorite.

We’d been walking down a street in town, plotting our next move in my quest to find work, when we passed a flower shop. I’d been pulling my hair from my roots with stress, but the flowers caught my attention, reminding me of my mother, who nurtured them in our backyard in Louisa. He listened intently to the stories of my childhood and bought me a bouquet on the spot.

At that moment, I’d fallen madly in love with the angel sent to change my life forever.

He remembered. Even if he painted the angels bearing cherry blossoms on the walls in this room in my memory, he remembered. Even if his mate had been anyone besides me, he honored my memory and my love. It was something he never gave up on. Something I hadn’t given up on either.

Not really. Even if I buried my feelings so deeply, I always knew that Felix was the love of my life.

A fresh set of tears sprout behind my eyelids as I relive the memories of our past. It wasn’t all bad, and I’d just been seeing things the wrong way.

In my anger, in my quest to make him pay for the past, I’ve ruined my future.

When a knock on the door sounds, I’m jolted from my walk down memory lane. Hope reignites, but it's not Felix when I open the door.

Kairo sees my face and immediately pulls me into her arms, where I weep again.

“He told me you’re leaving,” she says, solidifying the inevitable.

If he’s telling his family that I’m leaving, he’s already made up his mind. There’s no going back.

“Y-yes,” I croak, stepping back to frantically wipe at my tears. “I’m going home. Tomorrow.”

Kairo gulps and nods slowly. “Then you’ll join us for dinner tonight? You have to say goodbye.”

“I do- I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

Kairo offers me a feeble smile. “Felix has already requested it.”

My brows furrow as I have a hard time accepting that this is it. My last night on Aurora Island. But if he’s already making plans for me to leave, it means it’s too late. He’s not going to come in and fight for me.

This is the end.

***

“Goodbye, K-Kairo,” I choke as I hold her close, not wanting to let go. I’d grown so incredibly fond of the weredragon female that it’s almost impossible to imagine that I’d never see her again.

Not having many friends in the real world, it was nice to have a friend as dear as she’d been to me. I’d never felt the need to make friends before, but Kairo’s friendship was needed while I was on the island. Last night’s dinner was the worst torture I’d ever been put through, feeling like I belonged there but having to say goodbye nonetheless.

Felix’s entire family has been so welcoming that having to leave now feels like a brand new heartbreak that I have to face. During my last hours here, he hadn’t approached me once, despite the small flicker of hope that has since died out entirely.

“We didn’t even get to see that spot I told you about,” she pouts when we step back.

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