Page 96

Mara:Hey, sorry I haven’t been responding. I was catching up with Edith.

Only a minute ticked by before he was messaging me back.

Wes:Everything okay?

Mara:Yeah. Just girl stuff. Can we talk?

Wes:I was hoping for a little more than just talking…

My cheeks flushed with heat. I knew exactly what he wanted, and in any other world, I would have been all over that like white on rice. But not today…

Mara:Meet me at the training arena?

Wes:I’ll be there in 10.

The moment I saw his response, I thought I was going to be sick. My stomach churned in the most ridiculous way, and I thought for sure I was going to vomit stomach acid. But I kept taking fruitless deep breaths as I walked to the arena. As I rounded a corner of a building across the way, I saw him. He was leaning against the wall, wearing his regulatory cargo pants and t-shirt. Legs stretched out and crossed at his ankles. His arms were crossed, accentuating the ripples of his biceps, which were more swollen than usual because of our intense training. Wes stared off into the distance away from me, the light catching the blond of his long hair. And he looked at peace. It was a rare day when Wes didn’t look pissed off at the world. Serene was a new one for me. And it saddened me to know that I was going to steal it away from him.

Before I dared to get any closer, I scanned around to see if I saw Matias and Calista, and was relieved when I noticed them several yards away from Wes, pretending to be busy talking.

Just breathe, Mara. Breathe.

I inhaled deeply, trying to settle my nerves. But it was of no use. My stomach felt like an endless pit of despair, and my heart pounded as though it was going to break through my chest, splintering my ribs, and destroy itself in the process. And when I thought there was no way I could go through with it—no way Ihad the stomach to handle it—Wes turned and looked at me. At that moment, I knew there was no turning back. Because I had to…

For Wes.

52: Shattered

Itook determined steps, steeling myself for what was to come. And when I was only a few feet away from him, Wes lazily pushed himself off the wall and sauntered towards me.

“Hey,” I said, my voice sounding a touch too high pitched. I had been dreading this moment for days, spending sleepless nights trying to figure out the perfect wording. But when it came to how I should begin, I always came up short.

“That’s the best you’ve got for me?” he asked with a sly smile. “No, hey sexy, orhey handsome? Or maybe,hey glorious one?”

Oh my god, he was actually being playful. Wes was never playful.

Moody? Yes.

Irritable as all hell? Absolutely.

Sweet and soft? When he wanted to be.

But playful? That was a hard no.

And yet, here he was. And that made it so much harder.

“Sorry,” I muttered, wringing my hands together. “I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

Wes reached out and took a strand of my hair, stepping closer. He twirled it around his finger, eliminating the space between us. He slid his hand around the back of my neck, diving his fingers into my hair as he whispered, “Any way I can help?”

I just couldn’t take it. I couldn’t do this with him like this. I had to end itnow.

I stepped back away from him, placing several feet between us, catching him off guard. Wes’s eyes filled with concern as his brows drew together, and a frown consumed his beautiful lips.

“Mara? What’s wrong? What—”

“I can’t marry you.” The words tumbled out of me, causing my chest to ache as though my lungs had just collapsed. I had to do this. I had to!

He stiffened, taken aback. “What?”