Tatum's Tears | On Hold

Chapter 27 - ❝I Love You Too Much For That.❞

Chapter 27 - "I Love You Too Much For That."

"It's alright," Tatum whispered after a little while as she rubbed Angier's back, one arm still wrapped tightly around him.

There wasn't any reply, and he seemed to have calmed down a little.

Tatum didn't know if his emotions were under control or if he was still feeling volatile enough to break down once again, but she had to take this chance and speak up. She couldn't put off addressing it any longer because the whole time Angier had lost it, the only thing he had uttered was that his Mate was why she didn't have one.

She couldn't let him blame himself or feel guilty about something that wasn't even his fault in the slightest.

So she pulled back lightly, trying to summon a smile as she met his eyes, "And, hey. Obviously, there's like a one in a hundred chance that Llewellyn might've been my Mate. Why would you even focus on that? Seriously, I'm not worried about it. I'm just worried what this might do to your relationship and how you're gonna move past this and find happiness with her."

"Oh, yeah?" Angier shook his head and pulled away completely, wiping his wet cheekbones with the back of his hands, "Then, why are your eyes wet?"

Tatum's hands flew up to her face in surprise and she realized that it was indeed, coated with salty tears. In her grief over breaking her friend's heart, she hadn't even noticed that she had been crying along with him as well, that she was crying for him.

She hadn't thought that she would cry if she was going to be completely honest.

"Why are you heartbroken, Tate?" Angier continued, his voice raising in his sudden, baffling anger, "And lemme you ask you this, would you be able to see me be happy with the woman who destroyed a possible future for you, no matter how minimal those chances are? Which are actually not that less, considering every single fact aligns up and suggests that he may have been your Mate. Would you be able to accept me as your Beta after that?" He took a step closer with every fury-filled word, getting right up her face, "Would you be able to take her in and give her respect as a Beta female? Huh? Tell me, Tatum, would you be able to live with yourself doing that!?"

"No!" Tatum shouted back, unable to help herself, "Okay? No! I'm aware of that." She threw her hands wide, her face twisting in rage.

"I'm aware of how this changes every single thing between us forever, because if you are going to forgive her or hell, if you ask me to stop all the work I've been leading to collect evidence against her and throw her behind bars—which I want to do because even if he wasn't my Mate, Llewellyn was someone's, and what she did led to not only him to losing a whole part of himself, but also broke the soul of another person! A person just like me who must've been through hell and back or probably not even alive anymore!" Tatum was breathing hard, and no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't control the flurry of words escaping her mouth.

They had to be let out.

"So," She lowered her voice sighing, "Despite every single cell in my body wanting me to be the Alpha I am and award her with the repercussions of her actions," Tatum swallowed, feeling ashamed of herself even as she said the next part, "I can't do it if you don't want me to. I understand how weak and pathetic that sounds, but what's done with Llewellyn is done. Over. Destroyed. If correcting that means breaking your heart and bringing unimaginable sorrow to your Wolf because trust me, nothing gets worse than losing a Mate," She felt the back of her eyes burn with unshed tears, "I physically can't do it. I love you too much to bring that pain to you . . . and it would also mean that I would lose you as a friend, forever."