Mates 129


    Chapter 129


    FREDA WHITLOCK


    “Do you, by any chance have any clean clothes my size?” I asked. He was silent for a moment


    before he spoke. “A couple,” he said, sounding embarrassed. I listened to his footsteps till the


    sound of them disappeared down the hall. I was almost feeling sick. We were acting like two


    teenagers who were crushing on each other and asked to stay with each other in the same house.


    I started to think… Well, I allowed myself to. I did not know what I was doing. I was not sure. Just


    yesterday, I had been talking to Cole about being with him and we had gone to drink to that. A few


    hourster, I was losing my mind over Kaiden. He was in my head. He was in my heart. He was in


    my car. He was everywhere I went.


    I had said a lot of stupid and unkind things to him the previous night. I was not sure I regretted them


    because they made me realize he could actually feel. I was not sure why I had always assumed he


    could not feel, but I had. He knew my pain. He regretted hurting me. He regretted everything. He


    wished he could take it all back. It was in the air all around us.


    But that was the thing. He could not take it back. He could not stop all the pain I had felt back then,


    and the years after. He could not change the fact that it was his fault I had been so lonely for so


    long. He could not change all of those. It gave me a sense of peace, knowing he felt bad for all he


    had done to me.


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    That was all I could get. Peace. I did not want to be with him. He was with my sister, and even


    though the thought of giving in to him, to our mate bond had crossed my mind once or twice, I could


    not do it. Some things just needed to be left in the past.


    Now, the only kind of rtionship I wanted to have with him was one a woman would have with the


    father of her child who she did not love anymore. Because that was it. I did not love him, but I did


    not hate him. I had tried to hate him, but I could not.


    “Freda?” He knocked on the door and I unlocked it. He pushed it open a c**k and stuck his hand


    through. I took the yellow material from his hand and he pulled it back. “Thanks,” I said. “I’ll be out in


    a bit,” I added and he only grunted in response.


    I listened to his footsteps disappear as he walked down the hallway before I took the towel off


    myself. I spread out the yellow material to see what it was exactly and I was surprised when a pair


    of lingerie fell to the ground. My cheeks med red as I picked the ckcey materials. It was nice


    of him to think. that far. At the same time, it was ufortable.


    I pulled off the price tags from them and put them on. I stood in front of the mirror after I was fully


    dressed and admired how the dressplimented my hair color and skin tone.


    It was like everything in this house, every single detail had been done with me in consideration. It


    very well could have been wishful thinking, but it filled me with warmth and gave me a sense of


    comfort.


    I stepped out of the bathroom, clutching the clothes I had taken off in my arms, and headed back to


    the living room. I heard Kaiden shuffling around in the kitchen and I headed there after dropping my


    clothes on the sofa. I did not want to stay long


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    because I had not slept at home the previous night, and I knew that Lyra would be furious and


    worried.


    Where was my phone anyway? I did not have any memory of it aside from when I had been at


    Francisco’s school to get my car.


    “Thanks for the clothes,” I said after clearing my throat. Kaiden looked up at me and I felt fire kick up


    my body as he looked at me. He studied every single detail of the dress on my body and he


    appreciated it. My hair was still a little wet so I had pulled it up in a bun so I could take care of it


    when I got back home. Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    He nodded and looked down at the bowl in front of him. He let out a sigh before he looked at me.


    “I… I never thought we’de here or I’d ever bring anyone here. I don’t have anything edible,” he


    said, shaking his head. He looked a little ashamed and I smiled. “It’s okay,” I said. “I’ll be leaving


    now. Lyra must be worried sick, even though I can take care of myself, and I can’t find my phone


    anywhere,” I said, turning away from him. As I did that, I caught sight of Lyra’s handkerchief sitting


    on the ss surface of the dining table.


    I blinked and picked it up. “Is this Lyra’s?” I asked, turning to look at him. He was cing the bowl


    back in its ce. He looked at my face and then down at the thing I was holding up.


    “Yeah. She… Left it with Harper yesterday and I took it with me,” he responded. I knew he was


    holding a certain detail back but I was not going to push him for it. I nodded and set it back down on


    the table. “You can give it back to her for me,” he said and I picked it back up.


    Whatever it was that had happened between then, I could ask Lyra about it.


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    “Need a ride?” I asked him, grabbing my key off the coffee table. “Yeah,” he said. I took my clothes


    with me and walked out of the door. He followed suit. “Carina lock the doors. I’m leaving for a while,”


    he said and a feminine Al voice responded to his


    instruction. I heard the door click shut and then lock behind us.


    My heart thumped in my chest because I knew, I was sure I had mentioned something about having


    a built-in Al assistant to him: “What is this ce?” I looked around at the trees surrounding us and


    then the dirt path that led out of the driveway and away from here.


    He walked to the car with me. “It was supposed to be our home.” He simply said in response.


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