“It’s complicated.”
Luca shook his head, putting his utensils down. His plate clean. Did he inhale his food or was I eating too slow? “Well, it seems like it might get more complicated when the court finds out about your little story. They don’t like lies.”
“Unless there’s something in it for them,” Lila cut in.
I knew all about her story. She was technically human and first banished here by a mutual enemy of our kind. Luca and his pack kept her in hiding and disguise. Eventually, the court found out, but she made herself useful in battle and killed a major threat. The court excused the deception as a result of heroism. I wasn’t sure they would be so kind toourlie. But I wasn’t going to let Jalisa down. Not again.
“Jalisa is a noble, and I’m working class. We met in the military and fell in love. But her family hated that she was witha low-class dragon like me. I was the help, not someone they wanted in their family. And they made it clear every chance they could get. She stood up against them for a while. Even risking losing her inheritance after we got engaged. Jalisa’s independent, though. That’s one of the things I like so much about her. But one day, she called it off. Said she was finally seeing the truth. That someone as high class as her couldn’t be with a commoner like me.”
Lila sucked her teeth in a silent snarl. “Eww. And you want to help her?”
I ran a hand through my hair, my heart feeling as if it was twisting in my chest like the breakup had occurred that day. “Like I said, it’s complicated. Plus, I didn’t believe her. Not at first. I thought maybe she was acting like that to get me angry to spare me. Spare me a life of marrying into a family that didn’t want me. Maybe the stress of their wrath and losing her money might have been too much. If I had just given it more time. But I fucked it all up and immediately went and got drunk and brought a woman home. We hadn’t even done anything, but it didn’t matter. Jalisa came back to my place and found us on the bed together.”
“You were broken up then. Technically, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“She probably had a change of heart and came to me to apologize. But then she saw us.”
Luca shook his head. “Do you know that’s why she came back? Maybe it was to get some of her things. I don’t know that you were the villain in this story. Impulsive and rash, maybe, but you were hurting. Don’t get me wrong, I would punch you in the face if I were her, but I’d at least hear you out afterwards.”
I rubbed my face, feeling my eyes burning at the memories. “I’ll never forget her face. Her eyes were already red with tears, her clothes were disheveled. Something happened to change hermind and make her come back. I never got to find out because she left. Right then and there. And last night was the first time I’d seen her in years. I might have been a little obsessed looking for her. I even threatened her family after she disappeared. I thought they were hiding her, but they were just as in the dark as I was. Which only made it worse because why would she run from them too? Maybe now I don’t think things are my fault, but some days, I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t gotten drunk. If we’d gotten a chance to talk when she came back.”
“And maybe she’s thinking the same thing,” Luca replied, tapping the table with a finger to cement his point.
I sighed, thoughtful. I never gave up on her, even though I acted as if I did. Our breakup felt so pointless. It ate at me that we ended so abruptly. I’d heard she might be in Prinath and didn’t think twice about coming here. For her.
If we had not let others interfere in our relationship, would we have made it? Was a second chance possible?
***
Jalisa lived in a three-story apartment building in the city, not far from the bar where she worked. I was a little disappointed in myself for not encountering her sooner, but yesterday was the first time we’d visited the bar. It didn’t dawn on me that she would have such a job, given her background. I had been looking in all the wrong places.
I knocked on her door, and within seconds, she opened it, and for a moment, we just stared at each other. Lost for a moment as our scents spread and mixed. Her eyes held so much emotion, it was impossible to look away, and if I looked deep enough, I still saw desire there. Maybe even love. We weren’t mates, but we were close, and the dragon inside me still recognized her asmine. She would deny it, but her omega nature still wanted me. I took some comfort in that.
She suddenly broke our trance, looking away as she opened the door wider for me to enter. I stepped in, trying my best to fight the urge to grab her, hug her. Feel her warmth near me. I looked around her space, curious about her life without me. It was minimal, but the furniture was well crafted and detailed, giving the room character. All woods, marble and white and beige fabric with dark trimming. It was very nature forward. Back home, she used to live in one of the many tiny houses high up in the trees connected by bridges and stairs. Her walls were mostly all windows.
This was close, except it was a top floor of an apartment, with a row of floor-to-ceiling windows along the wall opposite the door. Her space was wide open with no distinct separation between the kitchen, living, and dining areas. Only her bedroom and bathroom seemed to be blocked off with walls. She had made her own version of a treehouse in the city of Prinath. I liked seeing she was the same in some small way.
Still not speaking, she pointed to her circular dinette set past the open kitchen. It was expertly set with plates filled with chicken, various side dishes, and bread. A bottle of mead sat in the center between already filled glasses.
I clapped my hands together in appreciation and took a seat. “You made all my favorite foods. Should I be flattered?”
She sat down across from me, producing a tight smile I didn’t like. She was being fake with me. That wasn’t us. “Sure,” she replied, picking up her glass of amber-colored liquid and taking a sip.
“I have to be honest,” I began. “I wasn’t sure you would give me your real contact information or your real location. You hid from me. I thought you’d just disappear by now. You’re good at that.” I picked up my glass and took a sip as I eyed her reaction.
Her eyes flashed with quick annoyance, lips faltering from her smile before she quickly got hold of her mask. “Well, looks like I’m full of surprises.”
I chuckled before taking a gulp of my drink. “Right, like telling others that we are long lost loves reuniting.”
She sucked her teeth, dropping her smile completely now, and I took a little comfort at seeing the real her again. “That was to get out of these stupid arranged marriages.”
“And you think our little lie to that fucker at your bar was good enough?”
She wrinkled her nose and put her glass down. “You sure you don’t want to eat first before getting into this?”
I made a production of inhaling the delicious food but didn’t touch my utensils. We had things to talk about, and I wasn’t going to enjoy the food without discussing them. I smiled, tilting my head. “Jalisa, I’ve been looking for you for three years.”
She furrowed her brows, giving me a questioning look. “What?”
