𝐀𝐥𝐩𝐡𝐚 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠'𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐞

59. Aftermath

**~~~**

Bejeweled with lit-up skyscrapers, street lights and car headlights, the modern city had turned glamorous.

The right side door window of a fast-paced Lamborghini Murcielago SV Black, racing on a smooth and paved road, rolled down. White smoke puff emerged from inside, contrasting the dark of night. When traced back to its source, the smoke was coming from one end of a Marlboro Red, while its other end rested on the glossy lips of Ariana.

"There are finer things to ruin your lungs with." came a voice from the driver's seat.

Ariana turned her gaze towards Sean. Passing the cigarette tucked between the fingers of her right hand to her left hand, she moved the filter tip closer to his lips.

Sean kept his eyes on the road. After passing through a speed hump, he leaned forward and took a puff at his sweetheart's insistence. "I hate that asshole Nate for teaching you how to smoke."

Ariana smiled a lazy smile.

"You shouldn't have to put up with me," she said, sounding so broken and guilty one couldn't doubt her sincerity. "I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to be with anymore."

Sean shook his head while whispering "no" as he stepped closer to her and tried to hold her by her arms.

Ariana stepped back. A salty trickle snaked its way down her cheek. "Trust me, Sean. You deserve better than a girl who cried in front of you for another man. And I have survived my family's indifference and my mate's rejection. But I will not be able to survive resentment from you, which you will eventually foster towards me, deservedly so."

"My god Ariana!" Sean yelled. "Stop acting like you're using me. Do you see me being selfless and letting you be with Xavier? No! Throw this fact back in my face if I ever try to blame you in the future, which I seriously doubt will ever happen."

"You'll be ruining your life with me." Ariana tried again.

"Don't try to scare me away. It won't happen. Because I love you. Now let's go. Nate and Alexa are waiting for us."

He grabbed her hand and walked with her to Ace of Clubs.

"What got you smiling like that?" asked Sean, pulling her back from the remembrance.

With soft blinks, she looked at him. "You, my love."

After a short pause, she added, "Happy birthday."

A bashful smile crept Sean's face. Trying to shake off the giddy feelings, he cleared his throat and complained, "Why do you sound so natural and so romantic when you call me "my love" but when I say it, it sounds weird and fake?"

"Well we do have different accents. And we form sentences in a different manner."

"Yup. You speak like a character from a Jane Austen book. Even your surname is Bennet."

"I think you've only read Pride and Prejudice."

"I've only watched Pride and Prejudice."

"1995 or 2005?"

"I don't know. The one with Keira Knightley."

"You're supposed to know more about these things than me. It's your culture."

"I'm not British."

"You're human."

A silence followed. Ariana was reminded of the werewolf part inside her, tucked away somewhere. Saoirse had decided to repress herself for the time being. It would help Ariana and Sean achieve the feeling of normalcy and security in their relationship.