Firework

Georgia’s timid expression made me look like the bad guy.

That was why I forced a calm smile and said, “How could I be angry?

“Please, enjoy your meal. I’m feeling a bit unwell today, so I’ll take my leave.”

Then I picked up my bag, ready to go.

“Come on, are you still upset about Jared setting off fireworks for Georgia?” George remarked deliberately, his eyes filled with a provocative gleam.

I hated him, especially at that moment. He always seemed to enjoy stirring things up between me, Jared, and Georgia.

Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, the whispers among Jared’s friends grew louder.

“Oh, you mean the one at the bar last night?”

“But we all had fun together.

“Is she really jealous because of that?”

Seeing the situation spiral, Georgia spoke up, her voice a blend of innocence and concern, “I’m sorry, Olivia. Last night, when my friends gave George and me a little surprise at the bar, I was in a mood. So, Jared lit some fireworks to cheer me up.

“Jared, you should explain and apologize to Olivia. Come on, do it.”

Jared frowned at her words. “I just set off some fireworks. Why should I apologize?” he asked, genuinely confused.

His words made the room go still. As always, he failed to see his own mistakes. Jared thought he could just smooth things over with a few careless words and move on.

I could tolerate the insults and jabs from George, Georgia, and Jared’ s other friends, but hearing such words from Jared cut deeper than any of theirs ever could.

Why did the people I loved always hurt me more than those who hated me?

Even Serena, my wolf, was stunned that Jared was too blind to see my pain over something he thought was trivial.

Seeing Jared s indifference, Georgia gave a subtle smile from the spot Jared could not see, a silent declaration that she had won.

Some of his friends also murmured again.

“But he doesn’ t need to apologize, right?”

“Yeah, it’s normal to give a birthday surprise.”

“If she’ s jealous over that, it’s too much.

It was laughable, really. The one who caused the pain didn’t even realize he had done something wrong, and neither did the person standing beside him.

Even if Jared had hurt me to my core, I still forced a smile and replied, “Yes, you’ re right. The fireworks were quite a spectacle. Be sure to keep it up next time.”

With that, I left the table without looking back,

As the door closed behind me, I heard Georgia’s voice. “Jared, go apologize quickly. Olivia is obviously angry.

“Don’t mind her. She’ ll be fine in a few days,” Jared said dismissively.

His words stabbed through me like a blade. What had I done to make him so sure of himself?

I walked out of the restaurant slowly, the cool breeze of the early autumn night brushing against my skin, refreshing and cold.

I strolled along the bustling streets, watching as couples passed by, their affectionate displays a painful reminder of what I longed for.

After Jared found out I was his mate, he had been the one to approach me first. But I kept my knowing he was still dating Georgia at the time.

distance,

However, a month later, news came that they had a big fight and broke up, then he pursued me after. At first, I wanted to refuse, but the mate bond between us was so strong that I got swept away by it. At first, things were smooth. Jared even reduced the time he spent with his friends to avoid running into Georgia. But a few months ago, everything changed.

After working late, he and George always went to the bar, claiming he missed hanging out with his friends. I was fine at that time, since he might need to socialize with them.

But then I discovered, through his friends social media updates, including Georgia’ s, that Jared and Georgia had reconciled.

I felt a heaviness in my chest, a suffocating weight pressing down on me when I found out. But what could I do? I had never been that important to him.

“Buy some ice cream. We’ ve got 50% off today!’

Hearing the cheerful offer from an ice cream truck parked at the side of the road, I paused. On impulse, I bought an ice cream.

“I’ll have a chocolate, please,” I said calmly, though my feelings were in chaos.

“Sure, here you go.”

The moment I took the ice cream, Jared’s words echoed faintly in my mind, ‘You know you always get a stomachache from eating ice cream, but you just can’t resist it.”

I took a bite in a daze, but something tasted wrong. It was salty.

“Your ice cream tastes off,” I said to the vendor, my voice trembling.

The owner looked at me with gentle concern and handed me a tissue. He said, “Miss, maybe you need to wipe your tears first.”

I blinked, realizing my eyes were blurred with tears.

Since when have been crying? I had been holding it in so hard since I was at the restaurant earlier. Maybe it had been unstoppable since the moment I started reminiscing about the past.

So, there they were, dripping onto my ice cream. No wonder it tasted salty.

“Thank you,” I said to the owner.

After wiping my tears and taking a deep breath to calm myself, I turned away and continued walking. As I reached Jared’s house, I received a mind-link from him, ‘Have you arrived home?’

I ignored it and didn’t reply.

A moment later, he sent me a message, it read, [Everyone didn’t have a good meal because of you today. Let’s invite them to dinner another day.]

13:03

I stared at the message, my fingers hovering over the keyboard, but I had no intention of replying. He seemed to lose patience and called me directly. But I set my phone aside, refusing to answer. When I returned after washing up, my phone was silent. No more calls, no more messages. Before going to bed, I scrolled through the WhatsApp statuses out of habit, and a post from Georgia appeared. It was posted just five minutes ago.

In the photo, George was driving with his mate beside him, while Jared and Georgia sat in the back seat of the car. Jared looked relaxed, his eyes closed as if he was resting, while Georgia leaned against him, her eyes shyly glancing at the camera.

The caption read: [It turns out I am still your first choice after so many years.]

I gave å self-mocking smile and replied to her: [Congratulations.]

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