Chapter 5: I'm Ready

Olivia's POV

I glared at Damian with shock in my eyes, unsure if I had heard correctly, or if he was playing some sort of prank with me. Surely this man wasn't engaged to someone else, and also planned to get mated to me? He was nice and all, but I wasn't going to settle down for his second choice.

"Martha, this is Olivia, my mate and wife to be." Damian bragged with confidence before gently pushing the lady glued to him off his body. I felt a wave of jealousy hit me as he pulled her away. She was really something else, but I couldn't blame her, she probably didn't know that I was Damian's mate until now..

"Mate? How? What about us? What about me?" Martha inquired, tears slowly gathering in her eyes. She was clearly a drama queen, and her little act had begun to pull attention towards us.

"I'm sorry Martha," Damian apologized calmly. He inched closer to me and took my hand in his. "The moon goddess has finally blessed me, I'm hoping she blesses you as well."

Damian didn't say anything afterwards, he merely brushed past the crying lady and led me towards the waiting car. The moment we stepped in, Martha let out a loud cry and started bawling her eyes out. I wanted to conclude that she was being dramatic, but her cries seemed genuine, and now I felt a little sad for her.

"You were engaged?" I glanced down on his finger, only to realize that he still had a ring on. "You are still engaged?" I changed the question, and only then did Damian realize that he still had his engagement ring on.

"It's not something serious." Damian replied as he slipped the ring off his finger. "Just like me, Martha hasn't found her mate, so people believed that we might be made for each other. They forced us together, but my father refused to wed me to a woman who wasn't my mate, so we've been engaged for a couple of months now. She's a good lady, but now that I've found you, I don't think this engagement is valid anymore."

I nodded, finally understanding the situation. For a moment, I had thought that Damian was no different from Michael, trying to play with women's emotions without remorse. But now that I had learnt the truth, I was confident in him once more.

I glanced back at the crying lady who seemed unconsolable, and once again I felt pity for her. "She loved you." I remarked, and saw a flicker of regret cross Damian's face.

"She did, and I cared for her as well. But I never felt the way she felt for me. It had always been one sided, but I do feel bad that she had to get caught up in all of this. Martha is a nice lady." Damian replied before finally starting the car. "I really hope she finds happiness in someone else."

Once again, my eyes flicked over to Martha. She seemed miserable, and I wondered if she felt the way I felt when I learnt about my sister's betrayal. She probably blamed me for losing Damian, and a part of me felt bad for actually coming in-between her relationship with Damian. But then again, it had been one sided, and she wouldn't really be happy if things had gone ahead.

As we drove away, I could still hear the faint echoes of Martha's cries in my mind. Damian remained quiet for most of the journey, his grip on the steering wheel tight. I glanced at him every now and then, noticing the small furrow of guilt in his brow. He was a kind man even though the rumors didn't make that clear. Even though he knew that this would happen, he felt sad for Martha.

I felt bad as well, but this was inevitable. Damian and I were fated to be, and even if we hadn't met today, we would have eventually crossed paths.

When we finally pulled up to his home, he cut the engine and turned to me with warmth in his eyes. "Olivia, I know there's a lot of pressure from everyone around us to move quickly, especially now that I've found you. Everyone wants me to hurry up and perform the mating ritual, my father wants a successor...."

I turned fully toward him, curious as to where this conversation was headed.

"I’m willing to take things slow," he continued, his voice gentle and calm. "I don't want you to feel like you have to rush yourself because of me. I want you to feel comfortable, I'll wait until you're ready. "

I stared at him, shocked that people like him still existed. It was kind of him to seek my consent, but my mind was already made up, and my answer was ready.

"I’m ready."

Damian blinked, clearly taken aback by my response. I could tell that he hadn't expected me to agree so easily, especially since I had just been betrayed by my ex fiance. "You… you are?"

I smiled, nodding. "Yes, I am. You’re my mate, Damian. The moon goddess brought us together for a reason, and I don’t want to waste time doubting that."

He stared at me for a long moment, searching my face as if he were trying to make sure I was serious. Then, slowly, his lips curled into a soft, relieved smile.

"You have no idea how much that means to me," he whispered, reaching over to take my hand in his. "I’ll make sure you never regret this, Olivia."

I returned the smile, but deep down I felt a little bad. I was only rushing into this relationship because I wanted to make my sister and Michael pay for betraying me.