Chasing His Wolfless Luna Back Chapter 194: Seeing Her, Finding Me

Thea's POV

I kept staring at Aurora in shock. When Margaret mentioned she'd fallen into depression, I never imagined it would be this bad.

She looked nothing like her former self. She had clearly tried to dress up, or maybe Margaret had forced her to, and while her black jeans, navy halter top, and wedge sandals looked fine enough, they did nothing to improve her overall appearance.

Her face was pale; that once lustrous blonde hair now looked greasy and thin. Her cheekbones stood out too, but not in a good way—she looked like she'd lost a significant amount of weight.

I heard my mom's soft gasp beside me. We took a step forward. I really wasn't sure what to do. I didn't know whether to welcome them or avoid them.

Mom took the initiative and walked me toward them. The two turned to look at us.

"Welcome," I said softly, feeling incredibly awkward.

Margaret smiled at me, but when her gaze fell on my mom, noticing how she protectively wrapped her arm around my waist, her smile dimmed a little.

"Thank you," she responded, her tone as light and awkward as mine had been.

My eyes went back to Aurora, and I found her staring at me. When I saw her expression up close, I nearly gasped, even more shocked.

Those once vibrant eyes were now dull and lifeless. It was as if the will to live and breathe had been sucked out of her.

There was no malice or anger in the way she looked at me. In fact, there was nothing. She seemed to be in a great deal of pain and trying to numb herself.

I didn't understand why, because I don't think I'd ever been in her position, but somehow I understood her. Strangely, I felt sorry for her.

"You can head straight to the backyard. The other guests haven't arrived yet, but there are some people already there," Mom told them after I remained silent for a moment.

Margaret nodded and guided her daughter. She wasn't a stranger to this house, so she knew where to go.

"That girl is in a world of pain and regret," Mom said sympathetically after the two of them left.

She was right. I partly felt like I'd been through this state before, but I didn't know why.

To distract myself, I looked around. The servants had almost finished setting up, and like the interior decorations that made me feel like I was living in Aurora's shadow, Sebastian had suggested we change everything. Obviously, that hadn't happened. With everything that had occurred after that night, I'd completely forgotten about it. Now, I wondered if it would actually happen.

I shook my head, pushing away those thoughts. Right now, it didn't even matter. Especially when I still hadn't made a decision.

"Mom, you can go join the others; I'll get Leo to come down, and we'll greet the guests together."

She nodded, then squeezed my hand before leaving. I quickly went upstairs to fetch the excited Leo. When we came back down, we found Sebastian standing by the door, waiting for us.

"Shouldn't you be in the backyard with the others?" I asked quietly just as another car entered our estate.

Leo and I had always been the ones to welcome guests. Sebastian was either with the guests in the backyard or nowhere to be seen until the party started. I'd expected the same this year.

"This year is different. I want to be where I should be," he replied softly. "And I'm sorry for my terrible behavior during Leo's birthdays all these years."

His apology caught me off guard, but I didn't show it, nor did I respond. Mainly because the guests had reached our door, so I didn't have a chance to respond.

For the next forty minutes or so, we welcomed visitors. Some I remembered, some I didn't. Of course, they all expressed regret over what had happened to me. I didn't want to dwell on that, so I just thanked them and told them I'd been lucky to survive.

By the time we finished greeting everyone, I was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. That's when Phoenix also chose to wake up, crying loudly.

"Go ahead; I'll get her." Sebastian gently nudged me toward the backyard.

I nodded and walked in that direction, finding the party in full swing. Leo had left us the moment some of his friends arrived.

The adults were sitting and eating, while the pups ran around. I spotted Iris and Sophia and walked over to them.

"Where are Roman and Damien?" I asked them.

Iris pointed across. "Over there."

They were talking to some people I didn't recognize at all. If my instincts were right, they were probably busy using this opportunity to make some business deals.

"By the way, Graves sent a gift," Sophia said, surprising both Iris and me. "He said he's sorry he couldn't make it due to certain circumstances, but once things calm down, he'll visit."

It seemed their relationship was going well if he'd sent Sophia to represent him with a gift.

We continued chatting, and a few minutes later, Sebastian appeared with Phoenix. She looked calmer now and wasn't crying anymore.

"I've already fed her; do you want to hold her?" he asked.

I nodded, but the moment Sebastian tried to place her in my arms, she cried loudly, clutching his T-shirt like it was her lifeline. When she was back in his arms, she immediately calmed down, stopping her cries.

We tried again, with the same result. Eventually, we gave up after the third attempt.

"Looks like you've been replaced," Sophia laughed as I watched Sebastian walk away with Phoenix.

Fuck. I didn't want to admit it, but that scene did something to my heart. He was smiling down at her and talking to her. She had him wrapped tightly around her tiny finger. Every woman around us, except for Margaret, my mom, Sebastian's mother, Iris, Sophia, and shockingly, Aurora, gazed at them with adoration. I guess he'd successfully made them fall in love with him.

"Hi, Auntie Thea," a cute little boy who somehow reminded me of Aurora distracted me.

My eyes widened when I realized who it was. I'd been told that Aurora and Jaxon had a child, and he was now Leo's best friend. I hadn't met him yet because he was supposed to sleep over, but due to some things that happened, he hadn't had the chance to come.

"Wyatt! How are you?" I asked, excited.

"Sorry we're late; I had a project to finish." I turned to look at Jaxon. I remembered seeing him at the hospital. I'd been too shocked then to pay much attention.

He looked very different from how I remembered him from high school, more handsome and mature.

"It's alright, Jaxon; the cake hasn't been cut yet, so you're not late."

Iris and Sophia greeted him, and they started talking. Iris had told me they all became friends because of me, so this wasn't strange.

What surprised me was Wyatt, who suddenly flung himself at me, nearly knocking me off my seat.

"I've missed you so, so much," he sobbed, and I could only hold him, trying to calm him down. "I don't want to lose you again."

I was touched and felt sad for him. It seemed we had a deep relationship. I wondered how that had formed.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, I'm not going anywhere. At least not for a very, very long time," I assured him, wiping away his tears.

Once he calmed down, he kissed my cheek and left to find Leo and the other kids.

I felt a burning gaze on me. I turned, trying to figure out who was looking at me, and that's when I saw Aurora.

Even from this distance, I could see the tears she was fighting to hold back. She was looking between me and Wyatt, who had found Leo by now, with nothing but pain and sadness in her eyes.