Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Leila’s POV
After rescheduling dinner with Victor more times than I could count, the day had finally arrived. I stepped into the restaurant and scanned the room. Luckily, it wasn’t crowded. I spotted him almost immediately as he waved, already seated.
“Hey, Victor. Have you been waiting long?” I asked as I approached the table, shrugging out of my coat.
He stood to help me. “No, I just got here,” he said with a small smile. “Though, I’ll admit, I was half expecting another text saying something came up. I mean, my brother’s wedding is just a couple of days away. I imagine you’re busier than ever getting everything ready.”
Luca’s wedding to Elena.
The bitter truth wedged itself in my throat like it always did—tight, choking, impossible to ignore. In forty-eight hours, my Fated Mate would belong to someone else.
I offered Victor a faint smile as he sat back down. “Yeah, you’re right,” I murmured.
This week had been nothing but a storm of final preparations, endless details to sort out before the big day, and every second of it had been torture.
Each thought of that wedding made my heart clench painfully in my chest. It made my wolf stir faintly inside me—restless but tired.
I could feel her pulling back, like she didn’t have the strength to fight anymore.
Like she was quietly punishing me for letting our Mate go.
“So, what would you like to eat?” Victor asked.
I forced myself to shift gears, to leave that heartbreak-laced fog I’d been trapped in all week and focus on the dinner.
I picked up the menu and skimmed through it. “Shrimp pasta is fine,” I said.
Victor frowned slightly. “Didn’t you order that the last time we had lunch? Is that your favorite or something?”
“I guess so,” I said with a small shrug. It was also the cheapest option on the menu.
After placing our orders, we settled in. While we waited, I felt Victor’s eyes on me. He just kept staring and smiling.
“What?” I asked, returning a half smile. His gaze was starting to make me uncomfortable.
“The years made you even more beautiful, Leila,” he said softly. “Beautiful and mature.”
I’d been twenty-three when we first met. Now I was twenty-eight, edging closer to twenty-nine. Life had worn new lines into me since then.
“So…how are the wedding preparations going?” he asked.
I stiffened. Of course, he brought it up again. Why did he always circle back to this? It was starting to feel like he was taunting me.
“It’s going fine,” I said, trying to keep my voice neutral. “Elena’s having her bridal party with her girls tonight, which is why I’m somewhat off the hook.”
“I imagine it’ll be all over social media tomorrow.”
“Or tonight,” I muttered.
He laughed. “Fair enough. Contrary to my brother, who isn’t having a bachelor party.”
It had been gnawing at me quietly. He was the first groom I’d ever heard of who didn't have groomsmen. No best man. No last hurrah. And he didn’t even seem to care.
Victor scoffed under his breath. “Luca always gets his way. Whatever Luca wants, he gets.”
There was a shift in his expression. His jaw clenched, anger flashed in his eyes. He masked it quickly, but I saw it.
I didn’t press. Maybe now, finally, he’d drop the conversation.
The food arrived, and we spent the rest of the evening talking about things that didn’t matter. I had to force a smile Victor’s way more than once, just to show him I was present. But I wasn’t. Not really.
All I could think about was that by this time next week, Luca would be married. And I’d probably never see him again.
The thought cut clean through me. My heart sat heavy in my chest, like it had five years ago. Like I was being rejected all over again.
I was so deep in my thoughts, I didn’t even notice the waiter approach our table with a bouquet of flowers. By now, we were done eating, waiting for dessert, and sipping on our wine.
“Leila,” Victor said softly, pulling me back.
I blinked, startled into the present. He was reaching for my hand across the table, curling his fingers around mine.
I flinched a little at the touch. His hand felt foreign.
“My brother’s marriage has got me thinking,” he began. “If you want something, you go for it. Luca always wanted Elena. From the moment he saw her. And now, here he is marrying her.”
I’d never gotten the full story of how Luca and Elena met. But if there was anyone who looked less and less like they wanted a wedding, it was Luca. I’d started to believe he was being pressured into it.
I tried to keep my face blank, even as my throat tightened and my eyes started to sting.
“I don’t know if you knew this,” Victor continued. “But I’ve always liked you, Leila. Even before you and my brother were a thing. I wanted you. But when I found out he did too, I backed off. He’s my brother. If it made him happy, that had to be enough for me.”
He paused, his voice dipping lower. “I didn’t think he’d screw it up.
If I did, maybe I would’ve fought harder.
Maybe I should’ve. But I’m five years late saying this, and it still hasn’t changed.
Seeing you again…it reminded me of how much it broke me to let you go.
Maybe this is the universe putting us in each other’s paths again. Giving us a second chance.”
I shifted in my seat. Something about the conversation felt off.
“Leila—” he started again, but I gently pulled my hand away from his.
His expression faltered. I sighed and looked up. “Look, Victor, I’m flattered, really. You’ve been nothing but kind since we met, and the last thing I want is to lead you on or waste either of our time.”
He leaned back slowly, his dejected expression giving way to something else. Something darker. Something I hadn’t seen before.
“You’re great, but I just don’t see an us. And honestly…I don’t know if I’m ready to get back into the dating world. Or if I ever will,” I added, pressing my lips together.
A tense silence settled over the table. Victor picked up the dessert fork in front of him, turning it slowly between his fingers like he didn’t know what else to do with his hands. The motion was so tight, so controlled, it made me uneasy—like he might hurl it across the room.
“Is this about my brother?” he asked finally, voice low and sharp. There was something in his tone that made my stomach twist. I’d never heard him sound like that before.
I straightened in my seat. “This is about me, Victor—”
“Bullshit.” The word exploded from him as he slammed his fist against the table. Glassware rattled. His voice rose above the quiet hum of the restaurant, drawing heads.
“This is about that son of a bitch! How many times does he have to hurt you before you open your fucking eyes and realize he isn’t good for you?”
I recoiled, startled, shock knitting across my face. “Victor—” I tried, softly, trying to de-escalate whatever this was. But he wasn’t listening.
“What is it about Luca that always makes everyone choose him?” he spat. His face was contorted now, bitter and twisted with contempt. “It’s always him,” he scoffed. “The golden son. The better Alpha. The better everything.”
I pushed to my feet. “Victor, I think we should—”
“I thought you were smart, Leila,” he bit out. “I’ve dangled nothing but good in front of you, and what has Luca ever given you but pain and heartbreak?”
“I never asked you to dangle anything,” I shot back. “You offered. That’s on you.”
Then I grabbed my bag.
“Thank you for dinner, Victor. But I’ve got to go.”
I didn’t look back. I just walked, fast, my heart pounding and skin flushed with disbelief. I couldn’t shake the image of his face, the venom in his voice. I didn’t know what scared me more—what he’d said, or the version of him I’d seen tonight.
I wanted nothing more than to head home and crawl into bed. It’d been a daunting four days that were about to become even harder, and I needed to mentally prepare myself to be strong, even if it was killing me on the inside.
But to my surprise, when I opened the door, I found Luca sitting on my sofa, waiting for me.
The LEGO toy lay completed on the center table.
I shouldn’t be surprised. Luca has been here every other day, either taking Ollie for ice cream or to the arcade.
At this point, I’d lost track of the number of places they’d visited in the last four days.
He seemed very invested in this for someone who was getting married this week.
I froze. “What are you doing here?” I asked. “I thought Valerie was babysitting Ollie?”
He looked at me for a moment, his eyes dragging slowly from the dip of my neckline to the hem of my dress, which stopped just above my knees.
My stomach tightened. Heat crawled up my neck.
“Ollie’s asleep,” he said quietly, uncrossing his legs and rising to his full height. “I told Valerie I’d hold the fort until you got back.”
“Oh,” I said, averting my eyes. “Well, thank you. I appreciate it, but you can leave now. I’ll take it from here.”
I expected him to leave, move, something. But he didn’t. Instead, he just sat there, staring at me.
“Where were you?” His voice was low.
“I don’t see how that’s your business.”
“It is my business, Leila,” he said, standing from the sofa and coming toward me. “You know, when Victor bragged about having a date with you, I didn’t think you’d actually go.”
I scoffed. “And why the hell not? I’m not allowed to go on dates now?”
His expression darkened. “No, you’re not. Not when you had your mouth and hands all over me just days ago.”
I froze.
His words hit like a slap. Blunt and scorching. I tore my gaze away, not wanting him to see the flush creeping up my face, the way my body responded to just the memory.
What happened on Sunday…I hadn’t forgotten. How could I?
God knows I would’ve gone all the way with him if that phone call hadn’t come in. I was gone. So gone. Burning with a need that had festered for five years and only escalated in recent weeks. A need I had tried desperately to suppress.