Tabitha's POV
"Tabitha, it's been a long time! So nice seeing you here! When did you bob your hair? I missed your flowing locks. You look great either way, though."
I turned around, only to find Holly beaming at me, all cheerful.
Her words kinda reminded me of the motherly love I yearned for but never possessed as a child.
Back then, I even feigned illness just so she could show a bit more care. I spent almost my entire childhood trying to make her love me. Sadly, it ended up in vain.
She left me and Dad for Mark still. No matter how I begged her to stay, she wouldn't change her mind.
After so many years, I had long grown disillusioned with her, even starting to hate her.
"Does it matter to you if my hair is long or short?" I piped up, looking her dead in the eye.
"Mrs. Sutton, you've never texted me after you walked out on me and Dad. And now, here you are, playing the doting mom out of the blue. Don't you think it's a bit late for that? You're making me cringe." I looked at her faintly.
"What did you call me?" Holly looked at me incredulously.
"Mrs. Sutton, you and my father were no longer mates for over a decade. Now your husband is Mr. Sutton. Anything wrong with calling you Mrs. Sutton?" I asked.
Something in me had changed. I used to be gentler, even when we met as she came back to Seattle.
But now, I was cold and distant.
"Tabitha, you've changed. How could you say such things? I'm your mother," she said, agitated by my words.
I snorted, "I've changed, yes. I didn't realize how cruel and selfish people could be until now. If I had known it earlier, I wouldn't have spent years in the dark nights missing you. Nor would I've wasted so much time waiting for someone who'd never return."
"Tabitha, I'm sorry. It was my fault. Now I'm back, and I will do all I can to make it up to you," she pled.
Looking at her face, I could barely remember what she looked like before.
She'd aged a bit. Even though her looks hadn't changed much, she felt nothing like the woman in my memories.
"When you wanted to ditch me, you did it without a second thought. Now you talk about making it up to me when you feel like it. Mrs. Sutton, why do you think I ever need your compensation? When I needed your love the most, you weren't there. And I've grown used to it already. Even if you gave me ten times the love, it couldn't heal the scar you left in my heart," I said coldly.
"Tabitha..." she murmured with a guilty look.
"Mrs. Sutton, your daughter is over there. I don't deserve your care." I averted my gaze.
Not all werewolves stayed true to their mates or their packs.
Sadly, Holly was one of them.
She abandoned everything for what she called love.
For years, I hadn't got any news, calls, or a word of concern from her.
Now, after so many years, she finally remembered me and wanted to make amends.
But I'd long since outgrown it.
Looking at the bustling grand hall, I realize I don't need the love from her or Derek.
I just wish Derek could feel the same pain as me.
I turned away, not wanting to see Holly's face, but my gaze accidentally met Derek's.
So I swirled my wine glass and smiled at him.
"Tabitha?" a clear voice came from beside me.
I shifted my gaze from Derek to the person next to me—a young man around my age.
He was in a white suit, giving off the vibe of a prince born in the purple.
Maybe he wasn't the most majestic, but definitely the most refined.
"Who are you?" I asked.
Meeting my gaze, he seemed a bit nervous and quickly explained, "I'm Jasper. We met when we were kids."
"Have we?" I looked at him, puzzled.
His face reddened slightly, and he said, "Jasper Lockhart from the Dawn Vanguard Pack, remember? Our packs were allies, so I used to play at the Silver Moon Pack when I was a kid. One time, after I shifted, a dog chased me, and it was you who saved me."
With that, memories came sweeping back to me.
Werewolves usually didn't get their wolves until they were fifteen or even older. I connected with Crystal at sixteen, for example.
But there was this kid who came to the Silver Moon Pack who suddenly shifted while being chased by a dog.
He was freaked out, so he didn't know how to shift back. All he could do was run on the grass.
I was the one who caught the dog and called his father.
With his dad's help, he shifted back to human.
"Oh, it was you, Jasper. How have you been?" I laughed, recalling the scene.
"Yeah, it was me indeed. My dad thought it was embarrassing for a werewolf to be scared of dogs. So he took the dog from your pack later on. Now, I'm not afraid of dogs anymore," he answered.
That dog was the offspring of the pet dog Dad bought me when I was a child.
And my dog passed away the second year I became Derek's mate.
Jasper's words stirred something in me.
I asked quickly, "Do you have any photos of it?"
"Yep," he answered.
He quickly opened his phone gallery and showed me a pic of a Labrador lying under a cherry blossom tree, looking up at the blossoms.
"It's Tucker!" I exclaimed.