The Possibility of His Love – 1
Thea’s POV
The remainder of lunch was suffused with lingering awkwardness. We barely spoke, each of us silently eating our food. I found myself absently pushing around what was left on my plate, deliberately avoiding Sebastian’s gaze. His apology kept echoing in my mind, like a piece of food stuck in my throat that I couldn’t swallow.
After lunch, he drove me home. The car remained quiet, both of us lost in our own thoughts. My fingers unconsciously tightened around my jacket. My body literally didn’t know how to process this change—who was this Sebastian suddenly treating me with respect? Where had the cold Alpha who pushed me away gone?
“Thanks for coming with me to the appointment,” I said softly when we pulled up in front of my house, my fingers already on the door handle. “And for lunch.”
I could feel his scent swirling in the car, that familiar mix of sandalwood and rain that no longer carried its usual coldness and distance. The way he looked at me made my spine stiffen involuntarily. “It was nothing.”
I nodded, not daring to look at his expression, and prepared to get out. He suddenly grabbed my hand, stopping me.
“I want to be at all your future appointments,” he said. The shock forced me to look up.
“Why?” I frowned as I pulled my hand away; his touch suddenly too hot, like it was burning my skin.
“Because I want to be there for you,” he answered simply.
“Again, I don’t understand. When I was pregnant with Leo, you didn’t even know which direction the hospital was in. Now you suddenly want to do this for a baby that has absolutely nothing to do with you? Do you realize how fucking insane that sounds?”
Sebastian’s jaw tightened. But I didn’t back down. I didn’t like being confused, didn’t like uncertainty, didn’t like him acting so out of character. And if Aurora found out Sebastian was accompanying me to prenatal appointments, there would definitely be problems.
“Why can’t you believe I just want to support you?” His voice dropped lower, his eyes boring into mine.
I shrugged: “Because for seven years you taught me my place. Sebastian Ashworth doesn’t care about me, only about his perfect Aurora. He only cares about the mate he chose, and I will never be that.”
At the mention of Aurora’s name, his scent suddenly turned sharp; that burning gaze fixing on me made me fidget, uncomfortable under his penetrating stare.
“Aurora isn’t the point right now,” he almost forced the words through his teeth, his fingers gripping the steering wheel tightly.
This response left me so surprised I almost forgot to breathe. I never imagined there’d be a day when Sebastian would say Aurora wasn’t important. The Moon Goddess must be playing some joke on me.
“Regardless,” he regained his composure, his eyes straight on mine, “I will be at every appointment. You can tell me when they are, or I can find out myself.”
This wasn’t a request, but an Alpha’s declaration. I rolled my eyes, opened the car door and walked out, deliberately ignoring how his scent trailed after me. I could feel his gaze like a physical thing falling on my back. His newfound intensity was making me feel confused and unsettled. Why couldn’t he just go back to how he was before?
As I walked toward the house, I sharply detected an unfamiliar scent. I turned my head to see a man standing on the lawn next door, a water hose spraying fine mist from his hand. Apparently, he was our new neighbor. When our eyes met, my breath caught, not because he was handsome, but because I had this strange sense of familiarity, like I’d seen him somewhere before but couldn’t place it.
Shaking off these thoughts, I nodded politely, then quickly walked into the house, immediately surrounded by Leo’s excited voice.
“Mom!” He rushed down the stairs and threw himself into my arms, nuzzling against my neck. “I got a perfect score on my math test!”
I hugged him tightly, kissing his forehead. “That’s great, my little Alpha.”
“Mom—” he drew out the word in protest, though his eyes sparkled with joy, “I’m not little, I’m a young man who can take care of himself!”