The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon (Celine and Bastian) novel Chapter 104

The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon

Chapter 104

My voice comes out soft, calm, even polite. Still, the smile I keep on my lips makes Nadia’s mask crack just a little. I see it in the stiffness of her jaw and the way the light fades from her eyes for a brief moment.

“I was telling Celina that I want to be her friend, but she turned me down. Tell her I’m nice, Bastian. If you tell her maybe she’ll give me a chance.”

She calls me Celina again.

It’s not a mistake.

By now, I’m completely convinced she’s doing it on purpose.

Bastian knows perfectly well that I don’t want her here.

Not near me.

Not near him.

So…

“Are you throwing her out… or am I?”

The exhaustion in his reply reaches me through our bond.

“I… can’t just throw her out of the castle.”

“Fine.”

There’s no need to say anything else.

“As I said, I’m not interested in your friendship. My mate and I are very busy with our mating ceremony and his coronation. His family is here, and you’re not part of it. You weren’t invited to take part in any of this either, so I’m asking you to leave. Next time, announce your visit in advance. If we have time to receive you, we will. My home isn’t a shopping mall where anyone can come to pass the time.”

I don’t wait for an answer.

I simply turn back toward the dining room and slip my arm through Bastian’s, forcing him to walk with me.

“Bastian, I…”

He interrupts her for the first time since she arrived.

“I told you before, Nadia, and I hope you don’t take it the wrong way, but I’m a mated man now, and I’m getting married

soon.

Nadia’s face changes completely.

Her smile disappears, replaced by an expression of pain that, for a moment, even seems genuine. She lowers her gaze for a second before looking back at him.

“I don’t have the free time I used to have anymore, and you need to respect my mate… and her decisions.”

She swallows slowly.

“I’ll have someone escort you to the exit.”

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The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon

I give her one last smile, much kinder than I actually feel, and continue walking beside Bastian toward the staircase

Just because she’s your fated mate doesn’t give her the right to erase more than a century of friendship and push me out of your life.

Bastian lets out a weary sigh.

A long one.

A heavy one.

As though the conversation is draining him far more than he’s willing to admit.

“Nadia… go home.”

Her eyes begin to glisten.

“You know I can’t go home. My father wants to marry me off to a man I don’t love.”

For a moment, I almost feel sorry for her.

Almost. Because I know she’s lying, and all she wants is to take my mate away from me.

“And why exactly should we have to deal with your family’s decisions? If you have nowhere to go, you can always return to the barracks with the other soldiers.”

Nadia’s face immediately flushes.

Her hands curl into fists so tightly that her knuckles turn completely white.

“So this is how it’s going to be now, Bastian? You can’t even have friends anymore?”

“Nadia Robinson, I’ve spent the last several minutes listening to your future queen and your prince ask you, very politely, to leave the castle, and yet you continue refusing.”

Sonia’s voice fills the vast hall with an authority that makes even the guards straighten their backs.

No one has to turn around to know she’s arrived.

“I have another way of taking out the trash, sweetheart.” Her voice reaches me through our mental link.

If Nadia was red with anger a second ago, she turns pale instantly. She looks at Sonia with obvious unease.

Lady Thorn… I’m sorry if I’ve disturbed you.”

Sonia’s expression changes the moment she hears that surname. For a second, her smile disappears completely.

“No, child. You haven’t disturbed me.” She takes a step toward her. “You’re being a nuisance.”

The word lands with a calmness far more intimidating than any shout.

“My grandchildren are busy, and they’ve already asked you several times to leave. If you refuse to do it the easy way…”

“I’m leaving. There’s no need to throw me out. I just thought I could visit them the way I have for the past century.”

“A century ago, Bastian didn’t have a mate.”

Sonia’s voice remains perfectly calm.

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་པ་ད འཔ་

The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon

“Now he does.”

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