MONICA’S POV
I sat on the couch in my living room watching it get filled up with furniture by the humans I had paid to do it, thinking of Lucien. I had called a taxi immediately he had left and had made sure the taxi man drove crazy on the roads just so we wouldn’t lose sight of Lucien and I had scanned his neighborhood for houses, looking for who was likely to sell their houses or pack out so I could move in after receiving a handsome sum from me, but luck was on my side. There was an empty house and it happened to be right in front of Lucien’s house.
Now that was fate.
Maybe something was wrong with our wolves and they weren’t howling to each other? That couldn’t be possible. We weren’t mates but that didn’t mean we couldn’t be in love.
It seemed like Lucien was going to be a lot of work, and despite myself, I began to doubt if I could actually have him because he drastically changed after leaving my home. Although I had seen the signs, I had not expected it to be as hard as this.
I sighed, and decided to get myself some sleep, but I couldn’t so instead I dragged myself to my kitchen and started to bake cookies. Men loved food and if he probably saw I could cook, something hard in him might soften up.
“But how do I present it?” I asked myself but the answer came immediately. Of course, I was going to present it as a housewarming gift.
I baked my cookies and wondered if he had gone somewhere far or had just gone to get something nearby. Either way, I went to his house and rang the doorbell. If there was no answer after I rang thrice then I’d conclude he wasn’t home.
But I rang the bell just once and after some seconds as I raised my fingers to ring it again, the door swung open and I was hit by a wave of shock as I saw a young girl standing there. Well, she wasn’t too young but I was definitely older than she was.
She started at me with a mix of awe and curiosity and fear raced through me wondering who she was.
Was she his girlfriend? Did he love her? Did he have a thing for younger girls? Why was she at his house as soon as he got back? Was she the reason he was so cold to me?
“Sorry. May I ask who you are?” She asked politely, but I was still offended.
“I… uh… I’m the new neighbor. I’m having a little housewarming party so I’m sharing stuff to my neighbors and getting to know them better so living could be better for us all.” I explained. She didn’t deserve to know who I really was. It was none of her business.
“Come in please.” She said, and I walked in, regretting I hadn’t worn my heels instead of the bunny slippers on my feet.
If I had looked dashing, then I could have intimidated her and made her know I was the type of lady Lucien ought to have, but then they couldn’t be dating right? Father had said he wasn’t ready for stuff like that’.
“Who’s…” Lucien was saying, but stopped in his tracks when he saw me.
“Hi.” I greeted with a smile, holding my box of cookies close to me.
“The new neighbor.” The girl replied, and Lucien raised a brow.
“To what do I owe this visit?” He asked, leaning against his kitchen counter.
“Can I…?” I asked, pointing to the sofa and he nodded slowly so I went to take my seat. “Your house is nice. Actually, I came to drop some cookies because I’m having a little housewarming party.” I informed him, and the girl sat opposite me.
“He’s making some tea so I think that would be nice over cookies.” She said.
“That would be nice.” I replied then my eyes fell on the textbooks on the table. “You’re a college student?”
“Yes, he’s my tutor.” She replied, looking at Lucien with a smile.
“Oh.” I said with relief. She was at his house for lessons.
Lucien came round not long with the tea ad served us. I opened my box of cookies and the girl ran to get some plates.
“Why are you here?” Lucien asked in a low voice.
“Like I said—housewarming. Don’t tell me you didn’t have a housewarming party when you moved in to this beautiful house.” I remarked, looking around the house.
“You can leave. I have someone to tutor.” He said curtly and the girl approached us with plates.
“I’m Monica.”
“Adria.” She returned, dropping the plates in front of me.
“I hope I’m not disturbing your learning session.” I told her and she smiled, shaking her head.
“It’s totally fine.” She replied, and I shared the cookies equally. “So where are you from?”
“Lafayette.” I replied immediately, biting a cookie.
“Wow. I heard it’s beautiful. Although I’ve never really gotten the chance to go there even though it’s quite close. It’s a two-hour drive right?’ she asked, sipping her tea.
“Without traffic. With a hot traffic jam, it’s a mess of a journey.” I said, raising my mug to my lips and she laughed softly.
“Was there a traffic jam on your way here?” She asked, raising her brows.
“I left my house this morning and arrived shortly. The traffic did that.” I told her, and her jaw fell.
“Wow. The jam is really something. Wait. You mean you moved here today?” She asked, and I nodded.
“I moved today, and it’s been a lovely experience. The other neighbors were receiving. You don’t know the number of cups of tea I’ve had today.” I lied and she laughed.
“They’re hospitable. Well, I do hope you enjoy New Orleans. It’s quite nice. There are a lot of nice people and a lot of pretty sights to enjoy.” She told me and I nodded.
“Can I have a moment with you?” I suddenly heard Lucien say, coldly and I realized he had been silent all along.
I turned to him and saw he had an oddly still expression on his face.
He meant it.