Page 21 of Talk About… Dramay

Even after he broke it, she refused to change her sweet nature. Maybe I could say that because I missed the healing years in between. But, she was so much stronger than she gave herself credit for.

And now she had me to help her realize her worth. That was a job I would never take for granted.

She didn’t protest as I carefully helped her out of her clothes, tossing them into the hamper before stripping out of my own. I pulled her with me into the bath and settled her against the opposite side so her feet were in my lap and I could see her face.

The tears finally broke again as I dug my knuckles into the arch of her foot. Her eyelids fluttered closed and I knew she needed to talk this out.

Bath time was our therapy. The place we could share our darkest, most painful thoughts, then wash them down the drain.

We’d come out of this even stronger than before.

This time would be no different.

“You’re angry.” It was a solid starting point.

She nodded, the tears drying up as a fire started to spark in her eyes. She glared down at the water now, as if the flowers floating could help articulate the complicated feelings the appointment left her with.

“There’s no good choice in this, Roman,” she said in a rush. “I either suffer for weeks every year, find someone not my match to knot me, though I doubt that would work because my omegaknows I belong to him, or I go crawling to him and beg for his help.”

My entire body tensed at those words. Was she considering going back to him now?

I shouldn’t have worried. Her lips twisted into an angry snarl.

“I don’t beg,” she spit out. “Especially not an alpha like him.”

Then her body slumped and she blinked away a fresh wave of tears.

“But I also have this petty need for him toknowwhat he’s done, see the damage he’s caused. He doesn’t get to live this stupid fake life and flirt with all these nameless girls, while I suffer.”

There was nothing I could say to that. She needed to let it all out. When either of us had a moment like this, we didn’t interrupt, we stayed silent and gave nonjudgmental support. It usually wasn’t this deep, but I was even more grateful now for those hard moments at work and frustrating afternoons we vented out in this bathtub. It laid the groundwork for this moment.

So, that’s what I did… I listened. Even as her scent swirled around me with so much emotion mixing in that it barely smelled like her. Her eyes were swimming with tears and I wanted to touch her so badly my hands ached.

“Some stupid wounded part of me wants him to want me. Like I need some twisted, fucked-up validation from the alpha I thought would be with me forever.”

She scoffed as her fist wrapped around a cluster of floating flowers and crushed them, squeezing tight enough her knuckles were white as they trembled.

Fuck, I couldn’t take it anymore. I reached forward, tilting my knees away and wrapping my fingers around her wrists, gently tugging her closer so I could massage her tense muscles.

“Does that make me pathetic?”

Fuck, those watery ocean eyes were going to be the death of me.

“No, Oriana. It makes you human,” I said in a hushed tone. My fingers dug into her shoulders and she dropped her head. I didn’t miss the new tears that fell into the water, rippling it slightly as they hit. “I’m here no matter what you want to do. You know damn well there’s no getting rid of me.”

“I don’t want to get rid of you,” she said fiercely. “You’re the most important person in my life.”

A smile ghosted over my face but I knew it wasn’t a sentiment we could hold onto forever.

“I’ll have to share you someday.”

I think after a few weeks of talking, she was starting to accept that, too. Until this hit.

She deserved a pack and I had to believe Cameron wasn’t her only other pack out there.

They’d have to learn her just like I did, and I’d make sure they were worthy. I knew what she looked like when she was trying to hide her feelings. The way her face scrunched when she cried. How her eyes rolled back when she came.

I also hated that I knew what she looked like heartbroken, and they would not get to add to that pain.