Lorenzo was in constant thought of his mate. He was still thinking about how beautiful she looked in her red dress. He doesn't want to think about her, but he can't stop himself.
"Lorenzo, what happened? You have been looking lost since we came here?" Samantha, being clueless about her turmoil with Lorenzo, asked him.
"I am fine, baby but a bit tired due to office work," he said because he couldn't tell Samantha that he had found his mate under challenging circumstances, and he didn't want to accept her.
"I know your stamina at work and in bed, so don't lie and tell me, are you upset because I am leaving tomorrow?" she said with an innocent face, unaware of the storm that would enter her life.
"Samantha, I am not in a mood, so leave me alone." This was the first time that Lorenzo spoke coldly to Samantha like this.
Samantha was shocked to see Lorenzo's behaviour. She always knew that he was cold, and they were together for four years, and he never showed his coldness to Samantha.
"I am sorry," she said in a meek voice. Lorenzo realized that he had hurt the woman whom he loved the most.
"Let's go and wish the birthday girl," she said, but he refused.
"If you want to go, then go, but I am not going to go to some random girl I don't know. I am only here because of Aiden," Lorenzo said, gritting his teeth because he was mesmerized by Aria's beauty, and he didn't know how he would behave when he met her face to face.
"Lorenzo, what is wrong with you? Is there something else that I need to know," she asked, putting a hand on his shoulder; at the same time, Lorenzo's phone rang, and he excused himself.
Samantha looked at Aria, who was looking distressed and standing with Aiden. She advanced her steps to go in her direction.
"Happy birthday to you, little girl." Samantha wished Aria, who was not so happy, to look at her. She scrunched her nose to look at her, and Samantha was not getting good vibes.
"I am not a little girl, and I am 20 and, anyway, thank you for wishing me," Aria said in a rude tone because the memory of Samantha linking her arms to her mate was still fresh in her mind.
Aria was confused about her behaviour, too, because she was always polite with others, but the mate bond was messing with her now.
"Aria, what is this behaviour?" Aiden said to her angrily, and she looked at her brother because he hardly got angry at her.
"It's okay; the birthday girl is upset over something," Samantha said and excused herself with an embarrassing face because she didn't come here to get insulted by the birthday girl.
"Aria, what the hell is wrong with you," he said to his sister, who was confused about her feelings.
"Why are you siding with her, and what is so special about her that every man is giving her attention," Aria said in her jealousy, but Aiden realized what was happening with Aria.
Aiden knew that Aria was facing the effect of the mate bond but he wanted her sister to experience everything on her own.
"Are you jealous that she is with Alpha Lorenzo?" he asked his sister, avoiding eye contact.
"Why would I be jealous? I have nothing to do with him, and I will tell him to reject me," she said to him, but her heart was telling a different story.
Aria was confused with her own heart, she was confused that if she hates Lorenzo then why she was feeling jealousy in her heart. she was getting affected by Samantha and Lorenzo's closeness.
"Do you know the consequences of rejection? If alpha rejects you, you will be as good as dead, so pray to God that he will accept you," he warned his sister.
Aiden didn't want this whole reaction thing because that was his only chance to get the love of Samantha and he would do everything in his power to not let Lorenzo reject Aria.
He knew that he was being selfish but for the first time he wanted to put himself first rather than her dear sister
"I can't accept him, Aiden; he is not the man I wished for me," she said to him with tears in her eyes and Aiden knew that was not the right time to talk about this.
"Enjoy your birthday, princess, and we will talk about this later, but until then, don't do anything stupid," Aiden said and wiped the lone tear that escaped from her eye.
Aiden left her alone, and Aria's eyes were unknowingly searching for Lorenzo, who was talking to other alphas, and everyone was bowing in front of him to pay their respect. He seemed very serious and looking at him; he had never smiled in his life.
He was indeed the most handsome man. His jaw was perfect, and so did his facial features. But he was not cruel, Aria would accept him willingly, but the stories she heard about Lorenzo only calmed down her spine.
"Hey, gorgeous." Aria was startled by the sudden voice.
"You scared me, Marcel," she said, putting her hand on her chest, her best friend.
Marcel was her friend, and they had been together since childhood. Marcel had excellent looks, and his smile made a great impression. Once Aria wishes to be his mate, she realized that the moon goddess had created everyone's other half, and Marcelo was not his other half.
"Happy birthday, and did you find your mate," he asked her, and this was now a sour topic for Aria that she was mated to some lunatic.
"Don't ask about it; let's dance. I want to divert my mind," Aria said to him and held his hand, and took him to the dance floor.
"What is wrong, Aria? You are behaving very differently today," he said to her, but Aria shook her head and put his hand on her waist, and she put her hand on his shoulder.
"Marcel, I want to enjoy this moment with you, and trust me, something is happening to me tonight that I don't want to share yet," she said to him, and they were closely dancing with each other.
Marcel always had a soft spot for Aria, and he couldn't see her sadness. It would be wrong to say that Aria was not attracted to Marcel because she was very fond of him.
"Okay, princess, this is your day, and it's your right to enjoy every moment of it," he said to her and tightened his hold on her waist and made her go close to him.
Their breaths are mingling with each other, and it seems like nobody is there apart from them, but someone was watching their every move curiously, and with their every action, he was getting angry that the glass in his hands got broken due to extra pressure