Eleanor gasped as she slumped on the stool. When she saw him walk out, her heart dropped to her stomach. She wished she could run over to him and stop him from leaving. But all she did was sit there numbly, staring in a daze at the entrance.
Tears stealthily rolled down her cheeks.
She suddenly leaped to her feet and dashed out. She, however, stopped on the threshold. Her heart trembled with sadness as she watched his figure fade into the crowd.
She clutched the sides of her gown, warm tears escaping her eyes. She ultimately pushed him away from her.
Zane was never going to come looking for her.
"It is for the betterment of the two of us," she murmured, sobbing. "I am not suitable for you. Our worlds are different. There is no way we can be together." Her voice thickened with sorrow.
She said they couldn't be together. But she felt a stabbing pain in her heart every time she watched him walk away from her. She asked him to return to his mate, but she couldn't bear the thought of him with Ruby.
Eleanor sniffed and ruthlessly wiped her tears off her face. "I should stop thinking about him. This is not what I wanted. I should focus on my goal. And my only motive is to punish the murderer of my parents."
A wave of violent fury rose inside her as she remembered the evil witch. Her mouth set in a tight grim line as she muttered fiercely, "We will soon be face to face, Ursa."
Her tightly clenched fists were trembling. Her fingers were insufficient to conceal the bright light emanating from her palms.
************************************************************************
"Zane..."
Zane heard someone calling him from afar. Since his ears were buzzing, this voice sounded feeble.
"Zane…"
He continued walking forward, ignoring the voice. He was not in the mood to talk to anybody. All he wanted was to lock himself in his room and take some time to recover from the pain.
"Zane…"
The voice called to him for the third time. It sounded louder this time.
"Where are you going? Come here."
'Why does this voice sound so familiar?' He frowned and turned to look back, only to meet Lucas' burning gaze. Only then did he remember that he had come to the market with his best friend.
"What, man?" Lucas snapped, irritated. "I asked you to come quickly, but you are leaving without me! Do you expect me to carry everything on my own?" He pointed to a stack of carrying bags on the corner of a stationery store.
Zane scratched his brow, mortified. 'Shit,' he groaned inwardly. "I wasn't going back." He finally came up with an excuse. "I was just looking around."
"I get it." Lucas waved his hand in frustration. "Help me carry these." He picked up some bags and walked out.
Zane grabbed the remaining bags and followed him in silence.
Lucas glanced at Zane from time to time, wondering why he was not saying a word. He had never seen him so quiet. As he peered at him closely, he observed how flustered he was.
He had been noticing him spacing out since the morning. He initially thought it was because of the injury. But he now began to think otherwise. His brow furrowed as he pondered what was bothering him so much.
"Penny for your thoughts."
"Hmm…" Zane gave him a puzzled look.
Lucas dropped the carry bags and scowled at him. "Are you not feeling well?"
"I am fine," Zane groaned, looking away, seemingly frustrated.
"Don't lie. I can tell how distracted you are. What is bothering you?"
Zane sat on the roadside under a tree, putting the bags aside. "I am in pain." He let out a deep and loud sigh.
"Pain?" Lucas exclaimed, worry clouding his face. "Let me check your wounds." He hurried to him and crouched down beside him. He reached out to pull his t-shirt down and check his wound on the shoulder.
"I am not talking about the physical pain," Zane grumbled, swatting his hands away.
Lucas' eyebrows twisted even more. The surprise was visible on his face. "Are you okay, buddy?" He asked, sitting down next to him. "Did Ruby say anything to you?"
Zane held his gaze, contemplating something. "What does it feel like to be rejected?" he asked after a while.
"Did she reject you?"
"Tsk… Can't you simply answer me without asking back a question?" Zane growled, sounding annoyed.
"How do I know?" Lucas snapped back, equally irritated. "I haven't experienced rejection."
Rejection…
This term alone made his blood run cold, let alone experience it.
He would die on the spot if Cecilia rejected him. He had not forgotten the spine-chilling fear he had felt a few days ago when Cecilia had shunned him.
When Lucas recalled the incident, he still felt chills down his spine. He was fortunate that she had not turned him down.
"I experienced fear of rejection, though," he mumbled, moving his gaze ahead. "It was terrible." He swallowed hard.
Zane tilted his head and looked at him with interest.
"It felt like my heart had stopped beating," Lucas continued. "It was difficult to breathe, as if someone was choking me. I lost interest in everything. All I wanted to know was how she felt about me."
Zane's eyes dimmed with sorrow. He compared his pain with Lucas'.
It was more or less the same.
He was experiencing stabbing pain in his heart. There was also a tightness in his chest which made him uncomfortable. And of course, he had no interest in anything, but Eleanor.
This was what rejection felt like.
Zane nodded slowly in realization. The irony was that he was rejected by the woman he loved. It made no difference whether Eleanor was his mate or not. Her rejection was excruciating.
Nothing, not medicine, not soothing words, not Ruby, could bring him relief from the agony he felt.
"I am in love with someone," he murmured in a daze. "But she doesn't love me."
'How could she not like me? Am I not good-looking enough?' He wondered.
"Ruby doesn't like you!" Lucas exclaimed, startling him.
"I am not talking about Ruby," Zane hissed, his teeth clenching.
"Oh… then?" Lucas' mouth dropped open in surprise.
"I like Eleanor," Zane disclosed.
Lucas was even more shocked. He continued to stare at him.
"I can't see her with other men, especially with Connor," Zane added, his face hardening. His eyes softened in the next moment. The anger was quickly replaced by sadness. "I want her. But she asked me not to follow her."
Lucas continued to gape at him.
Zane felt uneasy under his piercing gaze. "Don't look at me that way," he grunted and turned aside. "I know what you have on your mind. You may be thinking I am unfaithful to Ruby. Yes, I agree that I fall for Eleanor despite the fact that I have a mate. I don't know how or why it happened. But it did happen. And I am now in pain. I want her so badly."
Lucas was not sure whether to laugh or cry. He couldn't deny the fact that he felt a strange sense of satisfaction to hear that Zane had fallen for Eleanor. Despite the fact that Eleanor was wolf-less, Lucas preferred her to Ruby, who was always trying to keep Zane under her control.
It was good that Zane was coming out of her grip.
"It had to happen someday," he murmured.
"What do you mean?" Zane gave him an inquisitive look.
"To be honest, I don't think Ruby is your mate," Lucas finally said, what he had been meaning to say for a long time.