Page 10 of Reverence

She planted her feet onto the floor, sitting up straight to look at me. Her chest heaved as she caught her breath.

Before she could respond a few other agents entered the gym.

Their chatter sounded louder than usual compared to the quiet, tension-filled space I endured a few seconds prior.

She didn’t complete her sentence, didn’t acknowledge me anymore, just walked away to join the others.

Pretending I didn’t exist.

At this point, I didn’t know which was worse.

The ill treatment, the lack of acknowledgment, her walking away in the middle of our conversation or me being concerned about the above to begin with.

Four

Amala

Kehlani and Kayden planned on celebrating their second anniversary in Vista this weekend.

The city held significance to them and they invited all four of us to celebrate with them, which included Ares.

Tragic.

He just needed to steer clear of me and there wouldn’t be any issues. I happily welcomed the overdue break from work and the drastic weather change.

The sun gleamed, warmth seeping into my skin.

Gabriella hooked her arm into mine as we walked behind everyone else. “Did you and Calisto, resolve your differences?”

She laughed softly, her curly hair bouncing. “Yes. For now.” She peered at me. “Our methods to find a resolution were ..”

“Interesting?” I tried to suppress my laughter, quickly catching onto the subliminal message.

“Something like that.” She chuckled. “Nicolas told me the same thing you did but he also reassured me and validated my feelings.”

I smiled at her, genuinely happy that she found a man who allowed her the freedom and safety to express her dissatisfaction.

“You deserve it Gabs. Besides, if he ever hurts you he’ll have me to deal with and I’m worse than both of his friends combined.” She chuckled, pushing a stray curl away from her face.

“Don’t I know it?” She teased. “His reassurance sometimes isn’t enough though. Is it normal for me to feel suspicious whenever he overexplains something to me?”

I shook my head, tucking my sunglasses into the top of my shirt. “No, that’s valid. Most of the time they’re telling you things you want to hear.”

“That’s what I said.” I side-eyed someone who walked past me and nearly gagged when I smelled the fresh black coffee aroma waft out from their cup.

I hated coffee. It made me nauseous.

“It’s the reason I’ve never been in a relationship. I’m well aware of their tactics and they’re not going to fool me.”

We entered the hotel lobby, spotted the married couple standing at the front desk, and walked up to them.

“Hey, love birds,” Gabriella said, making them turn toward us. “To be continued.” She whispered to me and I nodded, laughing softly.

We exchanged greetings and that’s when I heard Nicolas and Ares behind us, their voices instantly recognisable.

After hugging Kehlani and shaking Kayden’s hand, I frowned when Ares passed me.

The whiff of his cologne should’ve made me gag but the scent was awfully pleasant. Too pleasant.