Chapter 163: A Yearlong Wager
Hayley’s POV
“That’s impossible. I’ve already masked my scent.”
Just as I was worrying, Jeremy broke into a grin. “I was just teasing you.”
“Honestly, my inner wolf didn’t pick up your scent.”
“But I don’t care whether my mate is chosen or destined.”
Hearing that, I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Philip was my dad’s comrade-in-arms. Our families have always been close,” Jeremy explained.
After a brief pause, he added, “I didn’t expect to see you here. I was finding this event a bit dull, but now it’s gotten a lot more interesting.”
I smiled but didn’t respond.
“Did you come here alone?” Jeremy asked. I shook my head. “No.”
As the words left my mouth, I remembered how I’d roped Benjamin into pretending to be my mate the last time I tried to turn Jeremy down. Thankfully, Benjamin had played along then, so I wasn’t too worried about the truth coming out.
Jeremy’s expression brightened at my reply. “Do you have a university in mind?”
The question caught me off guard. I had earned dual degrees at a top university years ago. I came to Astoria to study undercover, solely to fulfill a yearlong wager with Josh. I couldn’t tell Jeremy any of this without revealing my identity. After a moment’s thought, I shook my head and gave a vague answer. “I haven’t thought about it.”
Jeremy looked thoughtful. “My goal is New College.”
I smiled sincerely. “I hope you achieve your dream and get accepted.”
Jeremy fixed his gaze on me, his expression serious. “With your abilities, getting into New College wouldn’t be an issue. You should consider it.”
I replied simply, “I don’t like New College.”
The implication was clear: I wasn’t going to consider it, and it was my way of rejecting him.
Jeremy’s face fell slightly. I knew how he felt about me, but I couldn’t reciprocate. I understood the meaning behind his words, but I’d already made my rejection as clear as possible. In matters of the heart, dragging things out only causes more harm. If you don’t feel the same, you can’t give even the smallest glimmer of hope.
“Jeremy, your life will be exciting, and you’ll meet all kinds of people. Before you know it, you might find your destined mate.” The future is unpredictable. You don’t need to draw any conclusions now. Who knows? Tomorrow might bring something entirely different.
Jeremy looked at me, seemingly unmoved by my words. Instead, he said earnestly, “I have my resolve. You just focus on being yourself.”
I understood what he meant—his feelings for me were his own choice, and he didn’t expect anything in return. Even if I rejected him, he would persist. I felt a twinge of frustration, unsure how to persuade him further. Jeremy and I didn’t have much history together. The most time we’d spent in each other’s company was during Math Olympiad training. And even then, we hadn’t interacted much. I wasn’t his destined mate, and in their eyes, I was just an unattractive Omega. So I truly didn’t understand what Jeremy saw in me.
“Sorry, Jeremy. My boyfriend’s probably looking for me; I should get going,” I said, deliberately bringing up a boyfriend to end things once and for all.
Jeremy smiled faintly. “It’s fine. You go ahead; I’ll stay here a little longer.”
As I strode away, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something about Jeremy was odd. I couldn’t put my finger on it, though, so I decided not to dwell on it.
When I came down from the deck and returned to the ball, I spotted Benjamin in the crowd immediately. Hera, my inner wolf, caught his scent and was practically giddy, urging me to get closer to him. I was about to walk over when Madeline suddenly appeared and called out to me.
“Ms. Carson!”
I turned to see Madeline, surrounded by a group of socialites, heading in my direction.