Page 97 of My Broken Mate

I look at her, flabbergasted. “You really do?”

Joel pats my shoulders with a bright grin. “Finally, someone here who feels my pain. See?” He beams. “We are made to be family friends!”

Chapter twenty-nine

Just Say ’No!’

*KAT*

“Iam so sorry for my brothers,” I repeat over and over again for the next couple of days whenever I meet Remy. We are both busy with our first round of exams, so we mostly meet at Uni and for short but sweet dates.

“It’s really okay,” he reassures me once again, as he sits down next to me. We met for lunch and to study together on campus. Ayden joins us, as well.

“What’s all that apologizing about?” he asks curiously.

“Just how my brothers couldn’t shut up and completely steamrolled Remy and his brothers,” I mutter.

“Ah, the family invitation,” Ayden snorts. “Yeah, sounds exactly like something Joel would come up with.”

“I just didn’t know how to stop it,” I admit. “I should have, but—”

“Kata,” Remy says, squeezing my hand. “It’s truly okay. It’s not even your fault. Please stop apologizing.”

He said the same yesterday when I apologized to him, but this time he sounds more worried. I don’t know why my insecurities kick in at moments like these. I just can’t live with someone being mad at me. It immediately sends me into a spiral of panic. Eve keeps saying that I am too forthcoming sometimes, too kind, giving too much. Now I remember that it was the reason he set me up with a tutor in the first place.

Most of the time, I do feel right and like I can be confident and stand up for myself, but sometimes it feels like I need to prove myself. And I really can’t handle being the reason someone might be upset.

“Katalina?” The familiar voice of one of my co-students startles me, and I turn my attention to her. She is in one of my classes together with two other girls, who are standing right behind her.

I smile at them. “Hi! Do you need something?”

“Actually, yes.” She smiles, shifting around a bit, as if she is embarrassed, but her expression is too cocky for her act to be believable. “We are working on our group presentation and need a fourth person.”

No, they don’t! The assignment said two to four persons per presentation, meaning three is the perfect number. Also, they don’t want me in their group because they like me; they want me to work my ass off for them. It’s not the first time this has happened. Actually, this was a common occurrence in school. Stupid Katalina, she can’t say no.

“I am sorry,” I say quietly. “I don’t think I have the time for it, especially not on such short notice.”

“But, Katalina,” she begs. “You promised you would help.”

I can see Ayden frowning. I know what he thinks: just tell them to fuck off. I initially did promise them to help, but that was weeks ago, not now. I know they are trying to manipulate me, and I hate how unreliable they make me look in front of Remy.

“I always thought you were someone who stuck to their word,” one of them complains, as I feared, making me look like the bad guy.

Ayden tenses, opening his mouth to say something, but Remy beats him to it, suddenly leaning forward to stare at the three girls, the look in his eyes dark and annoyed.

“I am pretty sure you heard her the first time. She said no,” he says, his voice low and serious. He suddenly sounds so much like his brother Sean with the authority of an alpha’s son. “You should do your assignments yourself, instead of relying on someone else and pressuring them for help. Next time, try to be respectful in the way you ask.”

Ayden’s mouth has literally dropped open. Remy is usually quiet when we are surrounded by others. Not necessarily shy, but he doesn’t want to interact with others. However, to hear him sound so serious, for my sake, sends butterflies through my stomach.

His reaction gives me the confidence I need. “I am always ready to help,” I say. “But I don’t like being taken advantage of.”

My heart thumps in my chest, and I almost cave when I see their disappointed expression, but fortunately, they don’t dare to make a fuss and just leave. Ayden knows me well, so he keeps quiet and pretends like nothing happened, but when I look at Remy, I can see the wheels in his head turning.

Goddess, how embarrassing. I made him see the most pathetic side of me.

“Look,” Ayden exclaims, obviously relieved he has found something or someone to diffuse the tension with. “Isn’t that Lyle?”

“Yes, it is. We have an exam together later,” Remy says.