Chapter 289 If he wanted to reach me, he would’ve done it already

Chapter 289: Chapter 289 If he wanted to reach me, he would’ve done it already

Damian’s POV

My body went rigid. My eyes snapped open, clarity cutting through the haze.

I grabbed the phone without even looking at the caller ID.

"Hello."

"Damian, sweetheart. How are you feeling today?"

Elena’s voice.

The brief surge of hope crashed back down.

I froze for a few seconds, then felt my lips curve into a bitter smile at my own pathetic wishful thinking.

"I’m fine. I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t mean to worry you."

"Oh, honey, none of that was your fault! It was your grandfather being completely unreasonable. Grace gave him an earful after we got back, but you know how he is. Set in his ways after all these years. He’s still your elder, though, so... try not to hold it against him too much."

Mom’s voice carried both frustration and helplessness. But she was clearly on my side.

"Mom, we’re... fine." The lie tasted bitter. "You don’t need to come by today. I’ll take care of her hand injury myself."

"Oh. Alright then."

Elena seemed to understand that after last night’s disaster, I needed space.

"That’s fine, I’ll visit in a few days. Aria was incredibly brave yesterday, but she must have been terrified. Take care of her, darling. You two need to be good to each other."

There was an edge of worry in her tone.

My voice had probably given me away—too flat, too hollow.

She’d thought I was doing better.

Mom hesitated, then spoke again, more carefully this time.

"Actually, I have a colleague who runs an excellent therapy program overseas. Would you be open to meeting with them? Soon?"

"I know you’ve been carrying trauma for a long time, sweetheart. But these days, everyone deals with some level of emotional scarring. It’s not a weakness. Once you work through it, you’ll feel so much better."

Silence.

Even though she was trying to make it sound casual, like it wasn’t a big deal, the weight of her words settled on my chest like a stone, making it harder to breathe.

I was thirty-one years old, and my mother was still worrying about me like this.

No matter what I accomplished, I still wasn’t enough. Still wasn’t the Alpha King the Blackwood family deserved.

My wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin, agitated by my emotional turmoil. *You’re being an idiot,* it growled. *She’s our mate. We pushed her away and now we’re suffering for it.*

I ignored it.

"Okay."

I didn’t elaborate. Just agreed.

The call ended.

For a long moment, I stared at the phone in my hand. Then, almost against my will, I opened my contacts.

*My Luna.*

The name glowed on the screen, bright and accusing.

My thumb hovered over it.

I could call her. Right now. Tell her I didn’t mean what I said. Tell her to come back.

But the memory of her bandaged hand stopped me cold.

*I’d hurt her.* Not intentionally, but that didn’t matter. When my control had slipped during the confrontation with Aldric, when my Alpha dominance had flared unchecked, she’d gotten caught in the crossfire.

She was human. Fragile. Breakable.

And I was a monster who couldn’t even keep her safe in my own family’s home.

What kind of mate did that make me?

What kind of Alpha couldn’t protect the one person who mattered most?

My wolf snarled in disagreement. *She’s not fragile. She stood up to Aldric. She stood up for US.*

That only made it worse.

She shouldn’t have had to. She shouldn’t have been put in that position in the first place.

I closed my eyes, but her face was still there behind my eyelids. The way she’d looked at me last night—hurt, confused, trying so hard to reach me even as I built walls between us.

It was as if she were said,*"I’m not going anywhere, Damian. Why can’t you see that?"*

But she would. Eventually.

Once she realized what being mated to me really meant—the danger, the pressure, the constant threat of my losing control again—she’d leave.

Better to push her away now, while she could still walk away clean.

Better that than watch her slowly realize she’d made a mistake choosing me.

My phone buzzed again.

This time I checked before answering.

Just a message from Rick, asking if I needed anything.

Not her.

Of course not her.

I’d told her to leave, hadn’t I? I’d given her every reason to stay away.

My thumb moved before I could stop it, pressing the call button almost against my own will. The line rang once, twice—then a flat, clipped tone cut through instead.

*The line is currently busy.*

I stared at the screen, something in my chest twisting tighter.

She didn’t want to take my call.

*Try again,* my wolf said.

But I didn’t let him. I just sat there, phone still in my hand, listening to nothing.

The screen went dark.

Her name disappeared.

And the ache in my chest grew sharper.

---

Aria’s POV

It was Jennifer calling.

My heart sank all over again, that same flicker of disappointment settling heavy in my chest.

I answered anyway, keeping my voice light,running through the details of the paperwork.

I’d just hung up with Jennifer when I noticed something odd.

When I tried calling Damian, the line was busy.

Was he... calling me?

I waited for a few minutes, staring at my phone.

Nothing.

The idea felt ridiculous the longer I sat there.

If he wanted to reach me, he would’ve done it already.