Page 73 of His Fated Luna

I nodded quickly, trailing behind him, not wanting him to see the look on my face.

The ride home felt heavy and silent. He was distant, cold. I sat there, trying not to drown in guilt and self-pity. I was just an obligation to him—just someone standing between him and the girl he really loved.

And no matter how much I wanted to be the one he loved, I never would be.

Chapter 25

”I fell in love with her courage, her sincerity, and her flaming self respect."– F. Scott Fitzgerald

Rose's POV

I only had lab on Monday, and for the rest of the week, I usually interned with Dr. Danvers for class credits. Aiden, on the other hand, had classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So that following day, which was a Tuesday, I woke up late and trailed down into the kitchen just as the clock struck twelve.

As I walked in to grab something to eat, I was surprised to see Tony hanging out in the kitchen. Papers were laid out in front of him on the marble countertop.

“And here I always thought you were the early bird,” Tony mused, looking up from the papers he’d been going through.

I bit back a sheepish smile. Truth be told, I loved sleeping in. But usually, I was up by at least 10 a.m. No, my reason for sleeping in was entirely different today.

“It’s really hard to sleep in a new room,” I said carefully.

It was even harder to sleep in a room knowing Aiden was right next door.

Tony’s eyes narrowed slightly as he followed my walk across the kitchen to the fridge.

“Is the bed uncomfortable? Mom kept going on and on about how Aiden ordered a new mattress for you with some memory foam technology. She’s bent on buying herself something like that.”

“No,” I said quickly, again feeling like Aiden had really gone through too much trouble for me.

I didn’t need any fancy mattresses or jacuzzi tubs. My bookshelf made of pure cedar wood arrived the other day, and it was just preposterous when one thought of how much money he’d spent preparing a temporary room for me.

“It’s not the bed, just the… new atmosphere,” I concluded.

I couldn’t keep the glum tone of my voice.

Tony simply looked at me, waiting for me to elaborate.

He’d always been more of a comrade to me, a friend, a brother. So I went ahead and said what was really on my mind.

“I just hate being a burden.”

My voice was subdued as I walked around the kitchen getting bread and jam for breakfast. My eyes landed on a plate of homemade waffles covered in cling wrap inside the fridge before I shut the fridge door. The waffles looked delicious, but in a house filled with so many people, I didn’t want to assume they were meant for me.

“Burden?” Tony echoed.

I started up the coffeemaker. It was one of those fancy espresso machines—one that Aiden had specifically ordered for me.

“We all know Aiden’s true love is Lexia,” I said sadly, spreading some jam on my bread while I waited for the coffee to brew. “Now he’s got me living here in his house, in a room that’s supposed to be his luna’s room… he’s stuck escorting me to classes… I feel like he’s just forced to babysit me.”

“Now wait a minute, Rose, stop thinking like that,” Tony argued harshly as I bit into a piece of bread.

“But it’s the truth,” I retorted, taking another bite of my bread.

Tony wrinkled his nose.

“That’s disgusting. I can’t believe you don’t toast your bread before putting jam on it.”

I raised an eyebrow at him before I went to grab my hot brewed coffee. “Didn’t know you were so particular about bread,” I joked.