Page 42 of His Bullied Fated Mate

“I thought we were going out.”

I shook my head. “I figured this would be easier. I have stuffed chicken with steamed broccoli and a side of rice.”

“It smells amazing.” She slipped her shoes off and shut the door. She walked over and took a seat. I walked over, setting a glass of wine down in front of her.

“I’m glad.”

“How many bottles did you buy?”

“Three. Since we aren’t going out, you can drink as much as you want.”

She took the glass and took a deep sip.

We both started to eat, and the space fell quiet. I became aware of what was coming. It was easy to think of this as something we had to do. I wanted to keep my emotions and thoughts separate, but it was hard.

I wasn’t the type of guy to say I needed to be in love to have sex, but I also wasn’t the type of guy to just have a woman in bed with me without feeling something.

Janella had finished a glass, and I poured her another. She chewed slowly, and I wanted to break the silence.

“Tell me something about you I don't know.”

Her eyebrows went up. “Uhmm...okay...well...let me think. You probably know almost everything about me.” She ran her fingers over the grain on the table. “How about you start. Maybe it will give me an idea.”

“Okay, I was in the chess club in high school.”

Her eyes widened. “You were?”

I nodded. “Not my choice, of course. My dad made me join. I hated it, but went. I met some pretty neat people and learned a lot when I was in it.”

She smirked. “I have a hard time imagining that.”

“It’s true. Now you.”

“Okay, when I moved to the city, I was living in my car for a while.”

I felt my heart stop beating, and my jaw dropped. I stared at her, waiting for her to say it was a joke, but she didn’t. She sounded so casual about it. Like it was her telling me her favorite color was orange. “You're joking?”

She shook her head. “No, I was. I didn’t have money for a place to stay, so I just stayed in my car.”

“Why? Did your parents know about that?”

She shook her head. “No. I didn't tell anyone. I didn't want them to know.”

I frowned, feeling my stomach twisting up again. “Was it really that bad?” I knew she said I’d made her life a living hell, but…to leave and stay in her car?

She gave me a look. “Riley, you were one of my bullies. You and plenty of others didn’t make my life easy. I always knew deep down I didn’t belong.” She ran a hand through her hair. “The idea that I forced my magic down makes sense. Forcing myemotions and making myself feel small was the only way I knew how to survive.”

I felt sick.. I hated that I’d been part of the problem. I lead the group that made her life so difficult. And here I was once more screwing it all up for her.

I wet my lips. “I'm sorry about everything. I wish I had handled things a little differently.”

“It's okay.”

“It's not.” I offered her a tight smile. “And I'm sorry. I was an ass growing up.”

She gave me a gentle smile. “Well, thank you for the apology.”

We continued to chat, where Janella explained she tried to take piano lessons and failed because she had too small hands. She laughed when I told her I tried to take motorcycle lessons. I found myself leaning forward in my chair, eager to hear more about her.