The Substitute Bride Is Reborn and Loves Her Husband No more - Chapter 80

Chapter 80: False mate bond

“Mate, marry me.”

The man said, looking at Rose.

This man had just met her, yet he was asking her to marry him. She was utterly shocked.

Her feelings and mind couldn’t process anything, and Yun was silent at the moment. Unable to see things clearly without her wolf’s perception, she couldn’t decide.

“I think you have mistaken me for someone else, Mr…” Rose paused, her lips pressing together as she looked at the confusing man—one she somehow couldn’t push away.

She was lost, unable to understand what was happening.

“We are mates. You should accept my offer,” the man said, looking at Rose, as if wondering what was so confusing about his words.

“We are… what?”

Her mind flashed back to Rolan as she heard the man speak.

She had been with Rolan. They hadn’t married, but… she was never sure if she was his mate.

Rose’s eyes trembled as she stared at the stranger.

“Excuse me, I think I need to leave this place,” Rose said, trying to push past him, but his firm chest did not budge. He simply stood there while she struggled.

Rose blinked up at him with a slight frown.

“Are you rejecting me?” The man asked, frowning even harder than she was.

“Mr., I don’t understand anything right now, and I’m not cruel enough to just reject you,” Rose stammered, for some reason not wanting to hurt him.

“I see.”

The man slightly nodded, then stepped aside, finally freeing Rose from his grasp.

“Thank you very much,” Rose said, noting how easily he let her go—he wasn’t as stubborn as she expected.

“You said you needed to use the bathroom. You’re free to do so. Afterward, we will talk.”

With that, the man walked out, leaving Rose dumbfounded. But she didn’t forget to go and quickly relieve herself before stepping back out.

Standing in a fancy room before him, she finally asked, “What is your name?”

“I’m Rose,” she added, finding the conversation strange.

“I’m Damien. Nice to meet you,” he said.

Damn. His name rolled off her tongue easily. It suited him, Rose thought.

“Are you my brother’s woman?” Damien suddenly asked, catching her off guard.

“I’m not your brother’s woman,” Rose said, frowning. Who was his brother? She could only guess… was it Mr. Kelvin?

Was Mr. Kelvin his only concern? Was that why Damien asked such a question?

“Good. You are not my brother’s woman.” Damien nodded. “Then, I have every right to marry you. You are my mate.”

“Me? Your mate? I’m not,” Rose said, forcing herself to believe it too—that she wasn’t his mate.

“I am your mate. Are you rejecting me?” Damien asked, his dark eyes staring into hers, deep and endless like a shadowed forest.

“I… I have been mistaken. I don’t think I’m your mate,” Rose said, not knowing why those words slipped from her lips.

Maybe it was to drive the man away.

To end everything before it even started.

“I understand. You’re just playing hard to get,” Damon nodded as if he had figured something out in his mind. Rose raised a brow, staring at him.

What could he be thinking?

“I need to go now, Mr. Damien. If you’ll excuse me,” Rose blinked and stepped away from where she stood.

“Okay,” Mr. Damien easily nodded, making Rose pause for a beat. But she quickly dashed out of the room the moment she came back to her senses.

—

“Was there anyone else on this yacht?” Rose casually asked Mr. Kelvin once she stepped outside. The scene that met her was him counting stacks of fish one by one, which she found odd.

“Yes, there is… He’s my older brother,” Mr. Kelvin responded, his eyes never leaving the fish as he continued counting.

“Well, your brother…” Rose started but trailed off. She decided this wasn’t something to share with Mr. Kelvin. He let her keep things personal, so she would do the same.

“You caught a lot of fish. Nice job,” Rose chuckled, changing the subject.

“I’m a good fisherman,” Mr. Kelvin smirked, accepting her praise smoothly.

“No, a good shark man,” Rose tried to joke, but it came out weird, so she shut up.

She heard a slight chuckle coming from Mr. Kelvin.

“Have you got everything set for the squid show?”

Mr. Kelvin asked, raising his head and folding his arms while staring at her. Rose stiffened—she had completely forgotten.

“Of course, I’m…,” Rose replied, quickly forcing a smile.

“I gave you a warning about this. If it fails and I don’t get my money back, I’ll sell your organs on the black market.”

Rose felt a shiver run down her spine at Mr. Kelvin’s words.

“I’m just kidding,” he chuckled, watching her reaction.

Rose frowned.

This man was a lunatic.

But still, she had a feeling that if it ever came to it, he really would do it. Men like him, with their sophisticated and dangerous lives… nothing was off-limits.

“Okay, Mr. Kelvin, I need to go pick up my child. School should be over by now,” Rose lied, glancing at her watch. She actually planned to see Zara.

“Okay,” Mr. Kelvin raised a brow but agreed.

Rose smiled, turned her back to him, and waved as she walked away.

“Damien…” she mumbled his name, her mind racing with thoughts.

—

“He said I’m his mate,” Rose told Zara, who was making tea at the kitchen counter.

“Is he hot?” Zara asked without looking up.

Rose rolled her eyes, a little frustrated. That wasn’t the point of their conversation.

“He said that I’m his mate, Zara,” Rose repeated, stressing her words as if her friend hadn’t heard her correctly.

“And I’m asking if he’s hot. If he is, and he says you’re his mate, then you should date him. You’re single, after all,” Zara turned, giving her a sarcastic glance.

Rose stared at her in disbelief. For a moment, she thought Zara was actually taking this seriously.

“You can’t tell me you’re not single, girl. I haven’t seen you with any new man, and Rolan doesn’t count as a man in my eyes,” Zara shrugged, sipping her tea.

Rose gasped, then bit her lip and kept her mouth shut.

“Let me tell you, as a werewolf historian, genius,” Zara began, crossing her arms. “If that man is your mate, then he is the one you are meant to be with, and there is nothing you can do to change that. The Luna has chosen him for you.”

She tilted her head, giving Rose a knowing look. “Your so-called bond with Rolan was never real from the start, was it? Let me tell you—at that time, you could only be with him because you hadn’t awakened your wolf yet.”

Zara rubbed her chin, deep in thought. “Now, girl… I know the dirty things you did with Rolan. And to be honest, I’m kinda confused—have you gotten two mates?”

Rose’s eyes widened as she absorbed Zara’s words.

“Yeah… I’m…” she trailed off, speechless.

If Damien was truly her mate, and she felt the bond, then how could Rolan help her with her heat?

“What you and Rolan have is a false bond that the mate bond can blindly ignore,” Zara said firmly, as if reading her mind.

“It is a false mate bond,” she repeated,