Chapter 173 Just A Mistake


    Chapter 173 Just A Mistake


    TESSA


    I woke to the warmth of sunlight brushing across my skin. For a moment, I didn’t move. the ufortable kind, but something that lingered deep inside me, as though every happened the night before.


    I turned my head, and my breath caught. Rowan was still beside me. His chest rose and fell


    <b>+5 </b>Free Coins


    body felt like it was on fire–not


    remembered what had


    toward me, and his lips parted just enough to reveal the softness I never thought could exite


    He looked so peaceful.


    in him.


    his face turned slightly


    thumb. His skin


    But then, I noticed the faint crease in his forehead, a furrow that betrayed some hidden unease even in his sleep. My fingers twitched before I realized what I was doing. Slowly, I reached out and smoothed it away with the pad of <b>was </b>warm, softer than I expected.


    As I looked at his face, the memories ofst night hit me like a truck.


    The kisses. The heat. The way his voice broke when he whispered into my skin. The way his body trembled as he lost himself in me.


    And the knot.


    My breath lodged in my throat as I sat up abruptly, the sheets pooling around my waist. My neck throbbed faintly, a dull ache that turned into something sharper when I brushed my fingers against it. My eyes widened.


    I thought I was hallucinating, but that didn’t seem to be the case. He bit mest night.


    “No,” I whispered, shaking my head, though my heart was pounding with something other than fear.


    I stumbled out of bed, my legs weak and trembling, and went to the bathroom. My steps echoed against the tiles, and the moment I closed the door, I leaned against it, breathing hard.


    Something warm slid down my inner thigh. My eyes flicked downward, and my stomach dropped. Wetness escaped me- evidence of him, still inside me even after the night had ended. I gasped softly, covering my mouth as heat flooded my face.


    I walked to the mirror, forcing myself to look. My reflection stared back, disheveled and raw. My hair was tangled, my lips were swollen, and my skin was dotted with faint bruises.


    My eyes went to my nape, and the mark red at me, still red and swollen.)


    <b>I </b>swallowed. The reality of it was clear now. He had bitten me. The mating process wasn’tplete yet because I hadn’t bitten


    him back.


    But his mark was already there. Permanent. Binding.


    My knees weakened, and I had to grip the sink for bnce.


    Yet, against every instinct to panic, against every warning in my mind, a smile spread across my lips.


    Did this mean… that he was finally going to listen to me? Thatst night hadn’t been a mistake but something he truly wanted?


    My chest fluttered.”


    turned on the shower and stepped under the water, letting it wash over me. The heat soothed my sore body, rinsing away his essence but not his scent. He was inside me now, <b>in </b>every sense.


    When I finally stepped out, I wrapped a robe around my body and braced myself before leaving the bathroom. The room was quiet, but Rowan was already awake, sitting on the <b>edge </b>of the bed.


    The golden light of morning kissed his features, making him look divine.


    My heart skipped a beat. He looked so impossibly handsome that it made my chest ache.


    <b>4:33 </b><b>PM </b>P P .


    Chapter 173 Just A Mistake


    His eyes met mine.


    <b>+5 </b>Free Coins


    The warmth I’d seen in himst night was gone. What reced it made me gulp. Indifference. Coldness. The kind of look he’d always given me.


    His lips parted, and the first thing he said cut into me.


    “Fuck.”


    His eyes narrowed.


    <b>“</b>Was it youst night?”


    I watched him rake his fingers through his hair. My throat felt dry as I tried to swallow down the panic rising


    “I…” He exhaled again, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”


    My body went still, cold seeping into me even though my skin still burned from the heat ofst night.


    “You… don’t remember?” My voice cracked.


    Rowan looked at me, eyes heavy, and there wasn’t cruelty in them, just… honesty. Brutal, detached honesty.


    “I remember being with someone,” he said simply. “I didn’t think it would be you.”


    1


    My chest squeezed tight, every part of me begging for him to take it back, to say he was lying, that it wasn’t like


    “Nothing special happened, right? We just fucked?” he asked casually.


    We just fucked.


    <i>inside </i>what y <ol><li>me. </li></ol>


    My lips trembled, and I pressed them together hard enough to hurt and keep the sob in my throat from spilling out. My wolf whimpered inside me, wounded, curling back in the dark.


    So that was it. That was all it was to him.


    “Yeah,” I forced the word out. “That’s it. Nothing special happened.”


    I shifted slightly, tilting my head to make sure my hair covered the mark on my neck. His mark. The one he had left. The one that should have meant something. But not to him.


    “Good.”


    He said it with relief, like it was a mistake that hadn’t cost him anything. But to me, it had cost everything.


    I turned <i>away </i>before he could see my face crumble. He got out of bed and grabbed a ss of water, his movements so casual that it made me feel likest night had been a dream.


    I wrapped my arms around myself, trembling, and reached for my discarded dress<i>. </i>My fingers shook as I pulled it on, shame burning through me, heavier than the mark on my neck.


    He frowned when he noticed. “You’re not going home like that<b>, </b>are you?”


    I froze, halfway through zipping the back. “Why?”


    “Because-” He broke off, sighing, and pinched the bridge of his nose<b>. </b>“Never mind.”


    Are you going to take me back<b>?</b><b>” </b><b>I </b>asked, unable to hide the bitterness in my tone. “Are you going to give me clothes to wear?<b>” </b>


    He didn’t answer.


    I shook my head, a hollowugh slipping out. “You wouldn’t.”


    Rowan’s frown deepened, confusion seen in his expression, but I didn’t wait for him <b>to </b>say anything.


    <b>2/3 </b>


    <b>4:33 </b>PM PP.


    Chapter 173 Just A Mistake


    “Goodbye, Rowan,” I whispered.


    The words left my lips softly, but the weight in them felt final.


    0


    s


    I walked out before he could stop me, before he could nce at me again with that indifferent face. I mmed the door closed and went to the elevator, pressing the button multiple times, hoping it woulde faster if I did so.


    It didn’t. I still had to wait for a long time, wallowing in my own shame.


    Finally, when the elevator doors opened, I quickly entered. The moment I was inside, all


    I let myself break down.


    My chest cracked open, tears burning hot down my cheeks. I pressed a hand to my mouth, muffling the sound, but the sobs came anyway.


    How could I have thought–even for a second–that he would want me now?


    Thatst night meant anything more than just his rut and my heat colliding?


    I looked at my reflection in the mirror of the elevator, but quickly closed my eyes.


    I couldn’t even look at myself anymore.


    <b>3/3 </b>