Chapter 23
As 1 stepped away from the chaos, I moved to a qurt corner of the party, away from Poppy and the prying eyes of the guests. My mind was racing I could still see Joanne laughing with her friends, and it grower at me. She was glowing, and I couldn’t shake the overwhelming feeling of anger.
“I can’t believe I let her go, 1 mattered to myself, leaning against the wall. “She’s the daughter of the Alpha of Silver Moon. How could I be so stupid? She is supposed to be mine
I cringed at the memory of how I treated her “1 had her right there, and I threw it all away for Poppy,” I said, shaking my head. “This is all my fault.
“Collins?” Poppy’s vnice interrupted my thoughts, pulling me back to reality. She approached, her eyes glistening with tears. “What are you doing
over here?”
vibing that just happened”
“Just thinking,” I replied, trying to avoid her gare. “About everything
Poppy stepped closer, her expression a mix of confusion and hurt. “Why did you even apologize to Joanner.
1 frowned and crossed my arms. “Because due to the situation you put us in, there was nothing I could do Poppy! She stood up for herself in front of everyone. What was I supposed to do, ignore it?”
“But she made a scene! You should have sided with me,” she insisted, her voice rising slightly.
“Sided with you? You were the one who started it!” I snapped. “You called her a commoner. That’s not just ‘making a scene. That’s disrespectful!”
Poppy blinked, taken aback. “I didn’t m mean it like that! I just. She hesitated, wiping away a tear. “I just wanted you to know that I was right.”
“Right?” I said, incredulity lacing my tone. “You thought pushing her away would help us? That’s not how this works. Poppy!
“I was trying to protect what we had!” she exclaimed, her voice shaking “I don’t want to compete with hert”
“You’re making it a competition! She’s not the enemy here,” I replied, frustration bubbling within me. “She’s my past, and you chose to push her away instead of talking about it.”
“Bun Collins. You have to understand Poppy started to say.
–
bur 1 cut her off.
“I don’t want to hear excuses anymore!” I said sharply. “Do you realize what you’ve done! You humiliated me in front of our friends. 1 have been a fun night for everyone!
“What do you wan
you want me to do” Poppy asked, her voice breaking. “Just forget about everything?”
This could
“I don’t know, Poppy” I threw my hands up in frustration. “I want you to act like you actually care about what’s happening around you instead of just wanting to win!”
“I do care!” she shouted, her eyes glistening with tears. “But you don’t understand what it feels like to be replaced! To see my mate looking at another girl! Especially someone like her!”
“Someone like her?” I echoed, shock rising in my voice. “You mean the daughter of the Alpha! You don’t get to
“Fine! Maybe I should just leave you two to it, huh?” Poppy said angrily, her chin quivering.
get to belittle i
her”
“Maybe you should think about what you really want!” I replied, feeling frustrated by the conversation. “You need to make a choice. Are you with
“I just don’t know anymore!” she said, her voice breaking once more. “I feel like Fin fighting a losing battle!”
“Poppy” I said, softening a bit. Tim not saying I don’t care about you, but there needs to be balance here. You can’t lash out at every female in my
Just then, the novel closer, her tone dropping. “What if I told you I was really scared, Collins? I don’t want to lose your“:{
“Tan not going anywhere unless you push me, I replied, meeting her gaze. “I want to be here, but you can’t just disregard Joanne’s feelings
She looked down, the tears spilling over her cheeks. “I just wanted to stand up for us, but your’re right. I messed up. I didn’t think u
it throughs”
kinew emotions are numming high,” I said carefully. “You need to approach this differently. Instead of fighting with her, why slout you try talking”
Poppy hesitated, larr expression shifting. “Do you think that would work?”
“It might” 1 suggested. “But it has to come from an honest place. If you genuinely care, show it.”“
Chapter 23
“Okay, I’ll try to apologize to her,” she said, taking a deep breath. “But what if she doesn’t accept it
Then at least you’ll know you tried.” I said firmly. “I won’t let this night turn into a disaster. You don’t have to fear her; she was never the threat”
As I stood next to her, part of me felt relieved. Maybe we could make this work if she just put her pride aside. There was no way I couldn’t have the
both
“I’ll find her,” Poppy said. “But I need you beside me
“Let’s do this together,” I replied but I had to play my card right.
Before we could walk back inside, I spotted Joanne still enjoying herself, dancing freely with her friends. “She looks happy.” I stated.
“Yes,” Poppy said quietly, but I saw something else. I spotted a mix of admiration and dread on her face. “It bothers me that she can just be carefree after everything”
“That’s because she’s moving on, while you’re stuck on what you think she represents, I countered gently. “You need to figure out what that means for you,”
“Let’s go,” Poppy said, straightening her posture. “I’ll try not to make a scene again.”
“Promise?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood a bit.
“Promise,” she replied, though we both knew it wouldn’t be easy.
As we headed back into the party, I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling about what I had seen before–Joanne flirting and enjoying the night while I stood on the sidelines, regretting my past decisions. A while ago, she couldn’t do anything without asking me and now, she was an alpha’s daughter with a lot of friends, flirting with different alphas and ignoring me! Her mate.
“Ready” Poppy asked as we approached the crowd.
“As ready as I can be,” I admitted. “Let’s see what happens next
