Chasing His Betrayed Luna novel Chapter 31

AURELIA

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I left the room I shared with my kids and Hazel because I was overwhelmed by raw emotions that threatened to tear me open even though my kids were sleeping peacefully in between Hazel and me.

I came deep into the forest because I needed to be alone not so I could run into a jackass who had grown nosy with the years.

“Stay back!” I repeated those words when Raiden took another step closer to me.

I’d have taken a thousand steps away from him if there wasn’t a body of water behind me. He was closing in on me and had me cornered. I wiped my face angrily, refusing to appear weak before someone like him.

“Stay the hell back, Raiden. I’m warning you.” I barked at him, tears threatening to spill out of my swollen eyes once again.

“How do you expect me to stay back when you have obviously been crying, Aurelia?” Raiden asked like he actually had a heart. “What’s wrong?”

I chuckled, unable to believe his audacity. He must think I was still dumb. “The same way you stayed back during our marriage, jackass.” I spat at him, the sorrow in my heart switching into rage.

Knowing that Dakota was dead was killing me and these past few days, I had stayed away from training or participating in the games because I needed time to sort out my feelings but clearly, I wasn’t doing a good job with that.

The reason I came out here was for some sort of peace and control over my spiraling emotions but that was no longer possible with Raiden’s presence. I thought about walking away but then I didn’t want my body to come in contact with his at all and there was no way to avoid contact if I wanted to escape him.

“Move out of my way.” I breathed as I took steps towards his body, determined to get as far away from him as possible but he didn’t move.

“Shove him in the lake!” Inara growled within me but rather than take her advice, I used a single hand to shove Raiden out of my way, grateful for my upper body strength.

Raiden was hot on my heels but he didn’t touch me and I didn’t stop walking either, even when he said, “Okay we don’t have to talk about why you are crying in the middle of nowhere, Aurelia.”

Hearing him say my name infuriated me like crazy yet I didn’t stop walking.

At least not until he muttered, “Let’s talk about us, Aurelia. Please.”

I halted, anger bubbling underneath my skin. I could feel Raiden’s hot breath on the back of my neck. My mind betrayed me as flashes of the days he used to have me flat on my chest and bury his face in my neck, consumed my mind momentarily.

My body reacted to those steamy memories but Raiden’s next words snapped me out of my unrealistic trance. “You left and rejected me, Aurelia. How could–”

“How could I reject a man who didn’t give two fucks about me?” I snapped, cutting his statement short. I made a quick turnaround, spinning to face Raiden so he could see the undiluted fury blazing in my blue eyes.