Chapter 52
I looked at him with astonishment.
I never imagined I’d run into him again, yet there he was.
“Bash?” was all I could utter.
After that, I was overcome with a wave of many feelings all at
once.
However, one ultimately won out over the others.
I nearly didn’t even realize what I was doing since I moved so swiftly… and slapped him on the face.
As soon as he covered his face, I instantly glanced down at my palm in shock, confused at myself.
“Maybe, I deserved that,” he added, half-laughing the entire thing off. “Wow, you’ve been really doing great lately, Winona.”
Did I truly just slap him?
I believed I was delighted to see him. That I wished for his pardon?
However, I became aware of another thing that made me
react.
“You don’t send me a letter, don’t come to see me, and leave me offhand, make me think you hate me,” I yelled. “You can’t simply stroll in here and introduce yourself as an old buddy!
Bash, when you left, you brutally made that truth plain.”
I believed he had been angry with me the entire time. I believed he had no interest in speaking with me. Despite this, he approached me immediately, asking if I wanted to dance with him and uttering some silly thing. As though nothing had occurred. It seemed as though the previous two years of feeling guilty were in vain. In light of the fact that he seemed unconcerned by what had transpired between us, so what was the use of me agonizing over it?
Although I could see the other people had paused to gaze at me, I disregarded it. I was too stressed at the time to give a damn.
“Apologies, but you’re correct… may we go elsewhere to chat?” he looked at me with eyes that begged me.
I was going to tell him to go away because I wasn’t interested to see him, but it would have been a lie. I couldn’t help but admit that I had missed him and would like to catch up with him once again.
“Sure,” I said after pausing.
A chilly voice suddenly came from behind me, stopping me dead in my tracks.
“Bash,” Benjamin greeted.
“Benjamin,” Bash answered.
The two exchanged wary looks as they appeared to share the same emotion. The atmosphere between them was tense.
It appeared as though my involvement was already improving
their political ties, especially in light of the fact that one of the main motives I wanted to be a Beta was to avoid a conflict from erupting between both of them.
When I turned to face Benjamin, I noticed that his eyes were fixed on Bash, slightly narrowed. He only glanced away when he wanted to focus on me.
“Benjamin, I’ll catch up with you later,” I smiled while saying, attempting to calm any tension. “But I sincerely hope things go well, if I don’t return before your shift. Also, make an effort to relax. It will be easier.”
Then I realized it would be strange for me to give him such advice, so I had to react. “Um… that was what my dad told me.”
Although it appeared like he was about to say more, he only nodded at me.
So, I joined Bash as he took us over to the balcony. Fortunately, because the banquet had just begun, there weren’t any more people present. It was likely good that we were able to speak in private.
“It seemed that, since we last spoke, you’ve grown so much,” he said gently. “I suppose I’ll have to come up with a new title for you now.”
However, I still found this annoying. It appeared as though he was attempting to escape explanation.
“What brought you here, Bash?” Ignoring his statement, I questioned.
With the trees and nighttime sky in the background, he rested
on the balcony rail. He looked taller, tougher possibly.
“Considering how long it’s been, my dad decided it would be good if I returned and reconnected,” his arms were crossed over, his chest as he spoke. “I am officially here as an official ambassador for a short period of time, because I had my coming of age around six months ago, but I was aware that I had additional matters to attend to while here.”
It clarified the reason he appeared quite strange for me. He owned his wolf that time. Throughout the process, his physique would have grown more.
“What additional matters?”
“Like apologizing to you,” he replied, his eyes locked on me. “In person, directly. Not through a stupid letter or merely Ava enquiring about you.”
“I mistook you for hating me.” As I talked, I was unable to conceal the hurt in my voice, so I swore at myself for allowing him to hear it. “You gave me the impression that, after you departed, you had no intention of thinking of us as friends. For years, I spent feeling guilty over your departure.”
He appeared to be feeling regretful as he turned his head away from me.
“So, was I mistaken then?” When he didn’t respond, I questioned. I noticed tears beginning to form in my eyes. “Were we friends before, Bash?”
He must have heard what I said because he took a quick breath and then continued to avoid looking at me. He had to think for a while before he could respond.
“Of course, we were… I apologize, Winona.”
“Then, why…? Why did you treat me that way? I need a reason for what has occurred, because I have no idea at all.”
“Because I was dumb and incapable of handling situations,” he quickly acknowledged, as if he were revealing an issue that was currently weighing him down. “I behaved like that to hurt you. Even if I knew it would hurt you, I still did it.”
I furiously wiped the tear on my face. So, the whole time, everything had been intentional? That was how he considered
me?
“The fact is,” he said, attempting to calm himself, “I was frustrated when I figured out that I should go back to my hometown that day. I was heartbroken because I was unsure of how to inform you, Winona. So, rather than simply telling you the truth, I went looking for practically anything else to do.”
Because of how absurd that was, I nearly began to chuckle. To him, finding someone to do was the same as finding anything to do.
“My postponement was terrible, and it hurt you,” he added. “There was a part of me that wanted to hurt you since, if you disliked me, it would be simpler to say goodbye… So, I got what I wanted. I’ve been feeling awful about it for years, but I have no idea how to solve it.”
“A sincere apology about two years ago might have been a wonderful thing to start,” I clenched my teeth and snarled. “But, how could you treat me that way after everything we’ve been through?”
“Winona, I really regret this,” he stated, walking over to me. “You don’t know how much I regret doing that.”
He conveyed his sorrow and sincerity to me by how wretched he appeared. It made me desire to trust him and forgive him, but after everything I had been through, I felt like I would be giving in too easily.
However, his next sentences made me able to suppress my
rage.
“I missed you, Winona,” he whispered softly and looked at me with his sorrowful eyes.
