Olivia’s POV
I felt uneasy as Andre held me closer to him. His friend continued to stare at me in disbelief with his eyes wide open.
“This is the mystery lady? Andre, you have got to be kidding me.”
Andre snarled and threw him a death stare.
“Doran, get your act together, or I will throw you out of the window from this rooftop.”
He adjusted his face and gave a smile to Andre.
“You have to calm down, Andre. I’m just surprised. All I’m saying is that all we needed to do to get you to fall in love was to bring a young, pure beauty. I really didn’t think that this was your type.”
I looked up at Andre, and he rolled his eyes at Doran.
“She is my fated mate.”
Doran’s mouth fell open in surprise, and he glanced at me. I felt my knees become weak. Why did Andre have to set up this dinner?
“You can’t be serious,” Doran said after a moment. “What did you do to the Moon Goddess in your past life for her to reward you with someone so beautiful?”
I felt a giggle burst out of my mouth, and relief sagged through me. I had expected that he would oppose our bond or think I wasn’t suitable for his friend. Andre smiled at me, and I felt him squeeze my butt lightly from behind, making me blush hard.
“On the contrary, I think I saved the entire universe in my previous life, and this was just a reward.”
I bit my lower lip, and my cheeks became even redder. Doran and Andre exchanged glances, and Doran smiled at the both of us.
“I am happy for you, love birds. My name is Doran, and I am your mate’s Beta and friend; he really can’t do without me. I hope he’s been treating you well and hasn’t been bullying you?”
Andre snarled lightly at him, and we finally sat down to eat.
I was a little bit nervous, but Doran tried his best to make me feel relaxed. He made jokes about Andre and told him what he was like as a kid.
“Andre, for some reason, hated snow as a kid. Always complained that it was too cold and white. I would actually have to drag his ass out so that we can actually play. He was, honestly, no fun as a kid. Just a bore. I hope he keeps things interesting and doesn’t bore you out.”
“He isn’t boring. He is quite the opposite, actually.”
Doran cast Andre a glance, but he continued to eat, silent to everything that Doran was saying about him.
They were an odd pair, but Doran seemed very nice and was very easy to talk to and get along with
His jokes continued, and I would giggle at intervals while Andre would roll his eyes and glare at Doran.
“If I didn’t know better, I would say that you were trying to take my mate,” Andre said finally, setting down his fork and narrowing his eyes at Doran.
Doran laughed and set his knife and fork down.
“You seem to forget that I’m married, and Amelia would claw my eyes out if I ever tried to cheat on her. And besides, you would have me executed if I even attempted to make a move on this beauty right here.”
Doran threw me a wink, and Andre threw him a ‘watch-it’ glare.
“I, for one, would be happy to see her claw your eyes out. My threat of throwing you down from this building still stands.”
“You won’t do that, Andre. You know that you need me.”
Doran smiled and leaned back into his chair.
“Okay, but on a more serious note. What are your plans? Are you two going to make it official anytime soon? When are you making it public? Is there going to be a party? Anything that I can do to help out?”
Andre turned to me. I understood the look immediately, and my heart sank.
Doran looked at the both of us, and he seemed very confused.
“What is going on? Is there something wrong?”
Andre set his cutlery down and sat silent for a while, giving a little sigh before he began to talk.
“We do want to make it public, but she isn’t ready to let everyone know, especially Nicole.”
Doran looked at me. I could tell that he was hoping that it was a joke. That it was all just talk but I looked away in shame. It was all true. I suddenly remembered my failed attempt to tell Andre that I wanted to be with him during the party.
“Why? Nicole is getting out of control. We need to put her back in her place, and there is no better time to do it than now. After all, she did sign the contract. Did she really think that she was going to be in that position forever?”
He looked at Andre, his eyes asking if he could convince me to change my mind, but Andre stopped him. He had already told me that he wasn’t going to force the decision on me. All this was because of me.
His eyes had the same sober look that they had when we came back from our little trip to the mall, and he told me about making things public in the car.
My heart ached at the thought of my own cowardice at the party. I would have sealed the bond with Andre and would have proudly told everyone, but my mother made it public that I was her stepdaughter. It was then that I lost all resolve.
My heart thumped as I remembered the letter. I wanted to discuss it with Andre over dinner and ask if they had found anything, but I realised that the mood in the room was not the best for us to discuss it. This was all because of me. Doran got less chatty, and Andre simply ate quietly.
Doran saw the look on my face, and he quickly dropped the discussion, and we resumed dinner.
“I really have no idea what you have in mind, Olivia, but I hope that you know what you’re doing.”