My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 200

Chapter 200

My Cheating Mate

Connor pov

We sat on a bench in the Trent family garden–the one Grace’s mother had cultivated over the years, full of night- blooming flowers that probably had some symbolic meaning I didn’t understand.

Grace was quiet. Waiting. Giving me space to start this conversation I’d asked for.

I studied her in the moonlight, trying to see what Courtney always pointed out. The weirdness. The wrongness. The reasons this mate bond was a mistake.

But all I saw was–Grace.

She was beautiful. I’d known that intellectually, the way you knew facts about people you’d grown up with. But seeing her now, really seeing her the way moonlight caught in her dark curls, the quiet strength in how she held herself, the artist’s hands that Courtney always called “paint–stained and odd“—she wasn’t weird.

She was extraordinary.

And I felt sad. Genuinely, deeply sad that it had taken me nineteen hours and a confrontation with Courtney’s ugliest side to actually look at my mate and see her.

“Connor?” Her voice was careful. “You wanted to talk.”

“I did. I do.” I tried to organize thoughts that had been chaotic since this morning. “Grace, I–I need to be honest with you. About everything.”

“Okay.”

“I knew.” The confession came out rough. “For weeks before my birthday, I suspected you might be my mate. The way you smelled when you were near me, the pull I felt toward you even though I didn’t want to feel it. I suspected.

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Her expression didn’t change. “And you got more involved with Courtney.”

“Yes.” No point lying. “I got more involved with Courtney because I was hoping-“I stopped. “I was hoping the Moon Goddess would give me anyone else. Anyone but you.

“Because I’m weird.” Not a question. Statement of fact, the way she’d probably heard it her whole life.

“Because you’re complicated.” I looked at my hands. “Grace, choosing you means choosing–everything your family represents. The vampire integration model. The Council politics. Being related to Lord Castellan. It means dealing with wolves like Courtney’s father who think your family is wrong. It means-”

“It means having a spine and defending the mate the Moon Goddess gave you,” she said quietly. “Connor, what you’re describing isn’t complicated. It’s just–requiring you to have principles.”

The words hit like a slap. Accurate and painful.

“You’re right,” I admitted. “That’s exactly what it is. And I–I was scared I wasn’t strong enough. Wasn’t brave enough. Wasn’t enough.”

“For me specifically? Or for what being mated to me would require?”

“Both. Neither. I don’t know.” I ran my hands through my hair. “Grace, I’ve spent the past nineteen hours trying to figure out what I actually want. Courtney kept telling me one thing. My father kept telling me another. My wolf

was watching me with those ar ‘s eyes that probably saw too much. “Connor, you have four Do you know yet? What you want?

Did I? Did I know whether I wanted the mate bond or Courtney? Complicated or simple? Grace or the life I’d been building?

“I want” I stopped Started over. “Grace, can I ask you something?”

“Yes”

“Why did you give me twenty–four hours? Why not just reject the bond when you saw me with Courtney?”

She was quiet for a moment. “Because my mother gave my father a second chance after he betrayed their mate bond. Watched him spend years proving he was worthy of it. And I thought–maybe you deserved a chance to choose. To decide if you wanted me without the pressure of the immediate moment.”

“That’s–that’s really generous. Considering

“It’s self–protection,” she corrected. “Connor, I’ve watched my parents‘ relationship my entire life. Watched them rebuild from betrayal. It’s beautiful what they’ve created, but it’s also–hard. Constant work. I didn’t want to start my mate bond already damaged. So I gave you time to decide if you were someone who’d damage it or someone who’d honor it.”

“And what have I done with that time?”

“Spent nineteen hours with Courtney before coming to me. Her voice was level. Factual. “Which tells me a lot about where I rank.”

The truth of that statement hurt. Because she was right. I’d spent those nineteen hours with the wrong she–wolf, being told everything I wanted to hear about how I could reject the bond and choose simple over complicated.

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