Page 14 of Curvy Alpha Bride
“I had to,” I answer, my voice hard. “Seriously, I had no choice in the matter.”
“That doesn’t mean you had to be so mean to me,” Mabel says. “After the night we spent together—”
“I wasn’t trying to be mean, okay? That’s not what I intended.”
“Well, that’s how it came out!” she snaps. “And then, nothing. No call, text, nothing. For fuck’s sake, Xavier, it was like that night meant nothing to you.”
Her words invoke such a deep pain in me that I have to step away from her. Even though she’s angry, I can see tears flashing behind the rage in her eyes, and I can’t bear to see it.
“I have a mission here,” I say firmly. “I’m meeting my luna. I can’t get caught up in this… whatever this is.”
“You goddamn fucking idiot,” Mabel mutters, shaking her head. “You haven’t figured it out yet?” She glares at me hard. “I’m your match.”
Time seems to freeze again, and Mabel’s words reach me as if coming from a vast distance. My stomach cramps up, and my chest feels cold.
“Then this has all been a terrible mistake!” I say, my voice coming out harsher than I meant it to. “This is not the service I paid for. I certainly can’t have you as my luna.”
Mabel steps back a little, as if I just landed a blow. But the hurt in her eyes quickly flares into anger, and I suddenly see how poorly I’ve chosen my words.
Chapter 5 - Mabel
Xavier’s words hit me like arrows to the heart. I stare at him in disbelief, a combination of anger and pain crushing my chest. My hands start to shake, and I don’t know if I want to run away or throw myself into his arms.
All this time, and the first words out of his mouth are another rejection?
“Mabel, I’m sorry,” he says quickly. “I didn’t mean—”
“I don’t want to hear it,” I mutter, cutting him off. “The more you talk, the less sense it makes. The best thing to do now is contact Iris.”
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea,” he agrees.
Both of us pull out our phones, but even as I begin typing, I don’t have much hope she’ll answer. I’ve heard about how she vanishes like an apparition after matches are made, ghosting her clients.
But usually, after conflicts settle down, she sends a gift. Maybe she knows from the start that everything will be okay. Or maybe she’s just a sadistic businesswoman who doesn’t even care.
As much as it would suit my current situation to believe that, it doesn’t track with the way she always seems to appear at the right time and has inside information about what both people need.
Yeah, well, she sure dropped the ball this time. I don’t need anything Xavier has, and clearly, he’s not happy to see me.
To my surprise, a few seconds after I sent my message to Iris, three dots show up. I wait cautiously, fully expecting an automated message.
Or a really friendly AI. Almost prefer talking to them most of the time, anyway.
Mabel!Iris’s message appears.Thanks for checking in. Is everything okay?
No, Iris, it’s not okay. I’ve been matched with Xavier Harris.
Correct. What seems to be the problem? It looks like he’s messaging me, too.
Yeah, he’s not happy about this, either. He flat-out told me he doesn’t want me.
Well, I know that’s not true,Iris replies with a little laughing emoji.
Well, that’s what he just told me!
There is a pause, and I hear Xavier tapping his screen, so I assume she’s talking to him now. After a moment, I see the dots appear on my phone again.
I can see you both feel very strongly about this. The contracts have been signed, and both of you have agreed to the legal terms. I don’t usually do this, but I did add a cooling-off clause. If you complete a seven-day trial, then I can let you both out of the contract with no consequences.
