Chapter 364: Misunderstood

Rebecca’s POV

​"Answer me!" I demanded, my hands clenching into tight fists at my sides. "Speak, Kaden!"

​Kaden didn’t yell. He didn’t lose his temper or step closer to scare me. Instead, he just stood there, looking down at me with a calm expression that made my heart beat faster. But even though he looked calm, I could still see the anger in his dark eyes.

​"Then tell me!" I demanded, my voice cracking from the hurt and jealousy consuming me. "Tell me why you asked her for a date right after last night. If you aren’t just playing me, then explain it. Or did you think she wouldn’t mention it to me? We share a room, Kaden. Of course she was going to tell me."

​Kaden’s jaw tightened, but I was too angry to stop. "I knew last night was a mistake," I continued bitterly. "I knew I shouldn’t have allowed it to happen. I should have stopped you. I should have stopped myself instead of letting one stupid night confuse everything between us again."

​Something changed in Kaden’s face. It was small, but I saw it. The anger in his eyes remained, but something else appeared beneath it.

​Hurt.

​For the first time since I entered the room, he looked away from me.

​I should have stopped talking, but instead, jealousy pushed me further. "You have Rola, Kaden," I continued. "If you wanted to stay with her, you should have stayed with her. You didn’t have to sleep with me first."

​Kaden closed his eyes for a long moment and took a slow, deep breath. When he opened them again, the emotion I had seen seconds ago was gone, hidden behind a calm expression that somehow made me feel worse.

​"So that’s what you think of me?" Kaden asked quietly. "And last night was a mistake?"

​The question made my stomach twist, but I didn’t answer. Kaden gave a small nod, almost as if my silence had answered for me.

​"Fine," he said.

​"Kaden..." I called, but he didn’t let me continue.

​"Rebecca, I didn’t ask Rola for a date," Kaden said, his voice calm but cold. "I told her that when this war was over, I wanted the two of us to go out somewhere private and talk. She smiled and asked if I was finally taking her on a proper date." He paused, rubbing a hand over his face. "I didn’t correct her. I just nodded because I didn’t want to get into it on the training field."

​My anger slowly began to disappear.

​"It wasn’t supposed to be a date, Rebecca," Kaden added, holding my gaze.

​For several seconds, I could only stare at him. All the anger that had carried me from my room to his disappeared so quickly that I suddenly felt foolish standing there.

​Kaden continued before I could speak. "After what happened between us last night, I knew I couldn’t continue pretending everything was the same with Rola. It wouldn’t be fair to her. She deserves better than having me stay with her while I’m thinking about someone else."

​My lips parted, but nothing came out.

​"When I told you this morning that we needed to talk after the war, I meant it," Kaden continued, his eyes remaining on mine. "I planned on talking to you first. And I planned on telling Rola that I couldn’t continue our relationship."

​He looked away for a moment before meeting my eyes again. "After the war, I planned on being with you, Rebecca. Or at least trying to figure out whether there was still something between us worth fighting for. I don’t know what that would have looked like. I don’t know if you would even have wanted it. But I knew I couldn’t keep dating Rola while trying to figure that out with you."

​The silence that followed felt unbearable. I couldn’t speak. The anger that had been driving me for the last hour had completely disappeared, leaving behind nothing but embarrassment and guilt. Kaden had never asked Rola on a date. He had been planning to end their relationship because of what had happened between us, while I had stormed into his room accusing him of wanting to sleep with both of us.

​Worse, I had called last night a mistake.

​Kaden didn’t wait for my response. He turned his back on me and walked over to his heavy wooden desk. He sat down in his leather chair and pulled a stack of reports and maps toward himself.

​"After three years, you still see me as the exact same man," Kaden said quietly, not even looking up at me as he picked up a charcoal quill. "You still think so little of me that you believe I’d use you for sex and run straight back to another woman."

​I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt him.

​"I know what I did to you three years ago," Kaden continued, keeping his eyes on the documents. "I know I gave you every reason to think badly of me back then. But I thought you had at least seen that I’m not that man anymore. I thought after everything that’s happened since you came back, you knew me well enough not to believe I’d sleep with you one night and start planning how to get another woman into my bed the next morning."

​My throat tightened as I stared at him.

​"I rebuilt my life, Rebecca. There’s a difference," Kaden added quietly. "You asked me to let you go, and I did. Rola became part of my life, and I care about her. That’s exactly why I was planning to end things with her properly instead of humiliating her."

​His hand stopped briefly over the map. "And now you’ve told me last night was a mistake."

​My chest tightened. I could hear how much those words had hurt him, and suddenly, I wished I could take them back.

​"Kaden..." I called softly, stepping closer to the edge of his desk. "I didn’t mean it like that."

​"Rebecca, I have a lot on my desk right now," he interrupted, his voice controlled but distant. He gestured toward the pile of battle plans in front of him. "Please leave."

​I stood there staring at him. He hadn’t raised his voice once. He hadn’t screamed or thrown a fit. But I could see the tightness in his jaw and shoulders. He was angry, but more than that, he was hurt, and instead of fighting with me, he was shutting me out completely.

​My gaze dropped to the desk, and for the first time, I really noticed everything spread across it. Maps of Plant Pack and the surrounding territories covered most of the surface, along with marked routes, reports from scouts, notes about the Dark Fire barriers, and possible ways into the territory. We were going to war in three days. Stephanie and the other prisoners were still trapped inside enemy territory, and Kaden had all of this to deal with while I had stormed into his room because I was jealous.

​My heart sank. I stepped around his desk, my voice softening. "I’m sorry, Kaden. I really am."

​Kaden gave a single nod, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the map in front of him. "I forgive you, Rebecca. Now go back to your room."

​"I shouldn’t have called last night a mistake," I admitted quietly. "It wasn’t."

​His hand stopped for barely a second before he continued looking through the documents.

​"Please," I whispered. "Kaden, look at me."

​Before he could answer, a firm knock came from the door.

​"Come in," Kaden called out immediately, his voice completely steady.

​The door opened, and Logan walked inside carrying several rolled maps and a thick folder beneath one arm. He stopped briefly when he saw me standing beside Kaden’s desk, his eyes moving between the two of us before settling on Kaden. He didn’t ask what was going on, but I could tell from his expression that he had noticed the tension in the room.

​"Sorry," Logan said, lifting the maps slightly. "I have the updated routes and the latest information from the scouts."

​Kaden nodded and pushed his chair closer to the desk. "Good. Bring them here."

​Logan walked over and placed the folder down before unrolling one of the maps across the desk. I remained where I was, watching Kaden and hoping he would look at me again. I didn’t want our conversation to end like this. I had come here furious with him, and now all I wanted was a few more minutes to somehow take back everything I had said.

​But Kaden’s attention was already on the map.

​"Rebecca, you need to leave now," he said after a moment, finally looking at me. "Logan and I have to go through these maps and discuss our tactics for the invasion."

​"I can stay," I offered quietly. "I won’t disturb you."

​"No," Kaden replied firmly. "We need to work."

​"Kaden..." I called, still not ready to leave.

​"Rebecca," he interrupted, his voice louder this time. "Please."

​That one word stopped me. I stared at him for a few seconds, searching his face, but there was nothing else I could say that would fix this tonight. He had already told me he forgave me, but that didn’t mean my words hadn’t hurt him. Refusing to give him the space he was asking for would only make things worse.

​"Okay," I finally whispered.

​I turned and walked toward the door, but before leaving, I couldn’t stop myself from looking back one last time. Kaden was already focused on the map Logan had spread across his desk, and when he didn’t look up, the guilt in my chest grew heavier.

​I quietly stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind me, wondering how I had managed to sabotage whatever had started between us before we’d even had the chance to figure out what it was.