He Put His Ex First So I Found My True Mate Chapter 03
With that, Blair linked her arm through Graham’s and walked with him toward the kayaks.
I stayed crouched in the sand, picking up each item and wiping it clean before placing it back in the first-aid kit.
My course completion card had been splashed by seawater. The ink in the name field had blurred.
No one waited for me.
By the time I finished, their kayak was already far from shore. Graham sat in the back, Blair in front of him, with the two pups laughing and slapping the water between them.
They stayed out for nearly two hours.
I remained on shore, guarding phones, wallets, car keys, and access badges.
At noon, Cynthia sent me to buy iced coffee for everyone.
When I came back, the others wanted me to take pictures of them.
When the pups got hungry, I opened the food I had brought and handed out sandwiches and fruit. By the end, all that was left in the bag were two crushed cookies.
I hadn’t eaten a single bite.
By dusk, the sea wind had turned sharp.
They lit a bonfire on the beach. Blair sat pressed close to Graham, rubbing her arms.
“It’s freezing.”
Graham immediately took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, pulling the collar snugly around her neck.
“I told you to wear another layer.”
Blair leaned into him.
“I thought the fire would be enough.”
I sat on the outermost wooden chair.
My damp skirt clung to my legs. My stomach cramped with hunger, and my fingers had gone numb with cold.
A pack member I didn’t know well looked at me, then went to his car and came back with a gray cashmere blanket.
“Mara, your scent is off. Do you need—”
I had just reached for it when George stepped in and took it from him.
“Perfect. Blair’s legs are cold, too.”
He shook the blanket out and laid it across Blair’s knees.
Then he looked at me.
“Mara, you really know how to pick your moments. We’ve barely sat down, and suddenly your scent is screaming that you’ve been wronged.”
Cynthia laughed.
“She saw Graham taking care of Blair and needed everyone to look at her instead.”
I lowered my hand.
At last, Graham looked at me—but his face held nothing but impatience.
“What is it now?”
“I haven’t eaten all day, and my clothes are still wet.”
“Then why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“I’ve been watching your things, buying drinks, and taking photos.”
“And?” he said under his breath. “How do you always manage to end up like this?”
I stared at him.
“I wasn’t the one who decided I’d stay on shore. And I wasn’t the one who ate all the lunch.”
His expression darkened.
“No one forced you to hand out all the food. You always volunteer for everything, then act like you’ve been mistreated.”
His gaze swept toward Blair and the pups.
“Don’t start problems when they need to be looked after.”
The wind blew in off the sea, flattening the fire to one side.
Blair was wrapped in Graham’s jacket, with the blanket that had been meant for me spread over her lap. She nudged the snack bag with her foot.
It slid over in front of me.
“Mara, can you get that for me?”
Curled under the blanket, she sounded soft and helpless.
“I’m too cold to move.”
The bag was right by her feet.
All she had to do was bend down.
I thought of all the moments like this over the past three years. I did the shopping and cleanup for their group dinners. I sat up all night when the pups were sick. Blair changed pickup times, and I canceled my meetings. Graham forgot to renew their summer camp, and I was the one who fixed it in the middle of the night.
The more I did, the more they treated it as my duty.
But there had been no place for me in the family portrait.
No seat for me in the kayak.
Not even a blanket offered to me could remain mine once someone else decided they wanted it.
It wasn’t that they didn’t see me.
They only wanted to see the version of me that was useful.
I looked down at the snack bag by my feet and didn’t move.
“You’re closer. Why don’t you get it yourself?”
The silence around us was instantaneous.
Blair’s smile froze.
Graham shot to his feet.
“Mara, what kind of attitude is that?”
“I told her to get her own bag.”
“She just spent hours on the water with the kids. Are you really going to keep score over something this small?”
“She has your jacket. And a cashmere blanket.”
“That’s enough,” he cut in. “Don’t take your jealousy out on Blair.”
George gave a short, derisive laugh.
Cynthia folded her arms, waiting for the show, for me to be put back in my place.
My wolf’s heat rose under my skin, but I refused to give them the loss of control they were waiting for.
All at once, I didn’t want to explain myself anymore.
“I’m sorry, Blair.”
I bent down, picked up the snack bag, and placed it right beside her.
The tension eased from Blair’s face.
Cynthia nodded, satisfied.
“That’s better. When you’re out with people, try not to ruin the mood.”
Graham sat back down, as if I had finally been corrected.
Within seconds, they were all laughing again.
None of them knew that my apology wasn’t an admission of guilt.
It was a promise that I was done wasting my strength on them.
When we got back to the house, they went up to the third-floor ocean-view suite to plan the next day’s breakfast and boating trip.
I walked into the main hall alone and opened my suitcase.
Clothes. Toiletries. Charger.
I packed everything, piece by piece, then put my ID, wallet, and temporary pack access pass into my handbag.
When the zipper closed, I didn’t feel heartbroken.
I felt lighter.
As far as I was concerned, this family weekend was over.