Chapter 82
[ 1,015 words ]
Arabella Toussaint
(Three years later)
Sometimes I still couldn’t believe it had been three whole years since I walked away from Lunaris Kingdom.
The frightened girl who flinched at every raised voice was gone. In her place stood Aria— the co-owner of one of the busiest cafés in Ashford.
“Table six just ordered another caramel cheesecake!”
“I know!” I called back from behind my computer, “Tell Toby to stop flirting and start serving.”
“I’m not flirting!” Toby protested from across the counter. The elderly woman he was smiling at chuckled, “I’m married, sweetheart. Go find someone else.”
Toby made a face while I leaned into the computer screen to hide my smile.
Business had been good. We had hired enough staff to serve customers. Most of my day was spent behind the office computer, checking inventory, approving supplier invoices, paying salaries, tracking expenses, and making sure every department was running smoothly. Strangely enough, I enjoyed every bit of it.
Our café’s name was YaRa . Urdu/Hindi word for friend. We took Ya from Maya and Ra from Arabella.
Maya was the one who came up with this idea.
I turned to look behind me when Tessa let out a frustrated sigh, “Aria! The supplier delivered the wrong coffee beans again.”
“Send them back,” I replied without looking up from the computer screen, “Tell them we’ll only accept what we ordered.”
“But we’ve already unloaded half the boxes.”
I raised one shoulder, “Then load them back.”
She groaned dramatically, “That’s a lot of work, Aria!”
“Less work than serving bad coffee for a month,” I muttered flatly.
Toby shook his head as he walked past us, “Sometimes I swear you don’t act like the café manager. You act like a fucking queen.”
“Maybe because… technically… she is a queen…” Maya remarked behind me, but I didn’t pay any attention and kept myself busy with my work.
Nobody knew. Not even Maya. For the past two years, I had been secretly stalking Jasmine on her social media handles. She never posted Lucien’s face, but only little glimpses of him.
One day it was a picture of her hand resting on the restaurant table with the caption.
With my favorite person.
Beside her hand was a man’s hand that wore a black watch. The same watch Lucien used to wear.
Another time, she uploaded a picture of two coffee mugs on the balcony overlooking the mountains.
The caption read, Home .
His arm was visible in the corner of the picture, the sleeve rolled up just enough to reveal the familiar tattoo. I knew those arms. They used to wrap around me every night.
Every picture carried the same glow on Jasmine’s face, and she looked happy. But then came the latest post that made my stomach churn.
A close-up of a diamond ring resting inside a velvet box.
The wait is finally over. Soon I’ll be engaged to the king.
I stared at the screen for a long time. I should have been happy. After all, I had walked away because I believed he belonged with her.
Then why?
Why did my chest suddenly feel so empty?
My thumb moved to the comments. Thousands of them.
Finally!
Head Warrior Jasmine will make the perfect queen.
Beautiful, intelligent, fearless… Our future queen deserves every bit of happiness.
The king couldn’t have chosen a better mate.
Some even wrote that Jasmine had stood beside the King for years and had earned that place through loyalty and hard work.
I kept scrolling. Not a single negative comment. Everyone adored her, and perhaps they were right. She was brave, beautiful, and respected by every warrior in the kingdom. If anyone deserved to stand beside the Lycan King, it was Jasmine.
As for the king, nobody in the comments even knew what he looked like. The royal family had always kept his face hidden from the world. According to lycan lore, an unmated Lycan king was vulnerable. Rival packs, rogue witches, and enemies could use his identity to target him with curses, spells, or assassination attempts before his mate strengthened the bond between them.
Only Alphas and those holding the high ranks within the Lunaris Kingdom were granted access to his identity.
To everyone else, he was simply the King.
“Call me Lucien…”
A gentle voice from my past spoke in my head, and I dismissed the memory with a bitter smile. No matter how many times I told myself I had done the right thing. No matter how many years passed.
Some memories refused to fade.
“Goodness! Aria! Aria!”
I blinked and looked up from my phone. Toby was waving both hands in front of my face, “I’ve been calling you for the last minute. Did your soul leave the body again?”
I quickly locked my phone and slipped it into my pocket, “Sorry. What happened?”
He placed a stack of invoices on my desk, “The coffee supplier is here. He’s asking if we’re renewing the contract.”
I raised my index finger to make him wait, “I’ll be there in a minute.”
He walked away with a nod, and I tried to get a grip on my thoughts. Three years had changed me more than I had ever imagined. The girl who had once been too scared to look people in the eye now negotiated contracts worth thousands without breaking a sweat.
The credit goes to Mia, who used to drag me everywhere. Road trips. Mountain hikes. Paragliding. Bungee jumping. And once it was skydiving.
Every new place, every stranger I met, every mistake I made taught me something my pack and that royal palace never could.
Now I trusted my own decisions. I knew how to speak without asking for permission. I could laugh without feeling guilty. I had gradually learned how to live.
I pushed back my chair, straightened my blazer, and walked out of the office.
One of the customers waved at me, and I waved back with a smile.
This is life! I thought, smiling to myself.
Little did I know, my peaceful life was about to come crashing down in a few days.
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