Chapter 78
NADIA.
My birthday would be in a week’s time, and Jenny and I decided to drive to the neutral city to buy things we would be needing for my birthday dinner.
Initially, Riley wanted to spend my birthday with just the two of us somewhere away from the territory, but the event with his mother changed everything. We decided to have a private dinner with just a few guests, which included his mother and her family.
And I couldn’t be more excited. Riley and I didn’t discuss his meeting with Zahra again, but he would ask me for information once in a while about my experience with them, especially about his sisters.
Even if he wasn’t saying anything, I think he looked forward to meeting the twins.
And I wished I could pull the days faster so it would be my birthday soon.
I couldn’t remember any birthdays that I was excited about except this one. I guess having Riley did change everything for me and my outlook on life. I was eager to wake up each day just to see my mate because my reality was already better than my dreams.
And most of the time, if not all of the time, I would wake up to find him already awake and staring at me.
He would look at me like I was the best thing he’d ever seen and it always brought butterflies to my stomach because it was exactly how I felt.
Riley will always be the best thing I’ve ever had, and I will always be grateful to the Goddess for giving him to me.
I was still lost in my thoughts when a sudden pull on my arm jerked my body to a halt. My head snapped up to look at Jenny, who had stopped in her tracks and subconsciously tugged my arm since we were walking arm in arm through the neutral city, with a few of Riley’s men following us.
Jenny’s eyes were rounding, her eyes fixated on something in front of her. My gaze followed her line of sight, and it was only then that I understood what her reaction meant.
Standing a few meters away from us was a female with dark, hazelnut-brown hair and hazelnut-colored eyes. She was staring at me, and the moment our eyes met, her lips curled into a friendly smile.
“Nadia, right?” Her sweet, angelic voice made me swallow as I nodded my head.
A pain crossed my chest, but I reminded myself that she was all in the past, and I was in the present. I fixed my posture and let a smile curve across my lips before I extended my hand to her.
“Yes, my name is Nadia. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Andrea.”
Jenny’s grip on my arm loosened as she sighed in relief.
“The pleasure is mine. I’ve always wanted to meet you and I guess this is just the perfect timing.”
We let go of each other’s hands before another hand took mine, and it was only then that I saw another female standing beside Andrea.
“Oh my Goddess, I finally got to see and meet the female that made my cousin’s knees weak!” The female shrieked excitedly before her arms wrapped around me, to which Jenny and Andrea responded with a giggle.
“Alba! Right?” I asked as I squeezed her body while I hugged her back.
She withdrew from my arms as she looked at me, her eyes flitting with amusement. “You know me? I’ll be impressed if Riley was the one who told you about me.”
It was my time to giggle as I nodded my head. “He has shown me pictures of you and your whole family. I met Alpha Vesmont and Luna Graciella and your brothers. Only you were missing…”
It didn’t slip my eyes the way her eyes rolled at the mention of her father, but she still had a friendly smile on her lips. “Well, I hope Alpha Vesmont didn’t give you a hard time.”
“No, he didn’t. Well, Dawson said your father won’t be too hard on me even if he wanted to because Riley has always been his favorite.” I answered her, smiling, but my eyes were on Andrea, who was just looking at me. I was checking for any trace of hatred or jealousy, but there was none.
“Yes, that sounds like my father.” Alba chuckled as she moved back, allowing me to stand in front of Andrea again.
I turned my head to look at Jenny behind me before I reached for her hand, clasping it in mine as I pulled her closer to where I stood. “I’m sure Jenny here is happy to see you both.”
Andrea’s eyes pooled with tears as her gaze fell on Jenny before shifting back to me. “Do you mind if I hug your Gamma female?”
I let go of Jenny’s hand and stepped aside. “Of course, I’m sure she misses you too.”
My eyes welled with tears as Andrea and Jenny hugged right in front of me. Jenny told me they didn’t have a proper goodbye when Andrea ran away, and she always wondered if Andrea was really happy with where her life took her.
Alba stepped beside me and snaked her arms around my waist from behind as she hugged me, resting her chin on my shoulder as tears poured from my eyes.
“I’m happy he found you, Nadia. You have no idea how you saved Riley and all of us from his wrath.” She chuckled at her words, but she was shedding tears too.
“I’m glad I found him too,” I mumbled back, trying not to choke on my own tears.
“Do you like him?”
“I love him, Alba.”
Alba let go of her arms around me and faced me, her hands still holding onto my arms. “I always knew only a strong female could make Riley bow down, so thank you. I can’t say it enough.”
“I guess I have to thank Andrea because…” I didn’t know why I said it, but I regretted it the moment it slipped from my mouth.
“I guess it’s time I had a private talk with Nadia if you’re okay with that,” Andrea spoke, and my eyes darted to her and Jenny as I nodded my head.
“Yes, that would be lovely.”
Andrea and I chose an alfresco coffee shop just nearby. Jenny and Alba were just at the other table while both our guards were just within the vicinity watching over us.
We sat down with the coffee we ordered from the counter inside, and we just smiled and giggled at each other because we didn’t know how to start our conversation.
I still felt a little awkward because she was so beautiful and innocent-looking that I couldn’t help but compare myself, but it was strange that now that she was in front of me, I didn’t feel any resentment towards her.
Jenny was right. Andrea seemed to be a lovely person, inside and out.
“Umm…” I cleared my throat, my hands cupping the mug in front of me as I looked at her. “I want to apologize for everything Riley has done. I…”
“You don’t have anything to apologize for. Riley has apologized to Caspian and me, so I want to move on from it.”
“Thank you.”
“What for?”
“For your forgiveness. Riley is a good man. He’s just lost.”
Andrea reached for my hand that was resting on the table and gently squeezed it.
“If there’s anyone who knows what it feels like, it would be you.
I know you find it hard to forgive the people who did wrong to you, and it wasn’t easy for me either to forgive Riley.
But I did, because I knew who Riley was before all of this took place.
And you’re right, he was just lost, and I’m happy that he seems to be in a good place now. ”
“He is doing much better,” I added, smiling at her as she pulled her hand away from me.
“I’m sure it’s all because of you. Nadia, I don’t want you to think that you’re where you are now because I ran away from Riley. I want you to take off all the doubts that you feel because even before I left Riley, he was already losing his interest in me.”
I swallowed and didn’t say anything as I listened to her. Riley had told me about it one time, but I still had my doubts.
“Riley smelled you once in Alpha Darvin’s pack, and he was never the same after.
I think he realized that the one meant for him was somewhere out there, waiting to be found.
He did try to look for you. For weeks, he would leave the packhouse early and come home late, only for the rest of us to find out that he spent the whole day with Alpha Darvin.
So you see, I am nothing compared to you when it comes to Riley. ”
“Thank you. That means a lot to me.” And I mean it. Even if Riley and I were growing stronger together, at the back of my mind, there were still what-ifs and doubts in my head. And I was glad Andrea was kind enough to ease my mind.
“I want us to be friends, Nadia. We’re neighboring packs, but I’m not pushing it. Once you’re ready, I’m just a few minutes away.”
“I would love that. But yes, one day at a time. Riley and I are still figuring each other out and we’re taking baby steps too. But I’m happy with him.”
“He loves you, Nadia. He told Caspian and me that he was scared that he couldn’t make you happy. It takes a lot for a person like Riley to admit that, but he did.”
“Are you happy, Andrea?” I asked her. I just wanted the guilt of everything that Riley did to her washed away by knowing she was living the life she deserved.
She smiled at me. Her eyes sparkled as she answered my question. “Yes, I’ve never been as happy as I am now. And one day, I hope you can meet the man behind my happiness.”