Chapter 9

After I left the isolation cell, my injuries were so severe that I fainted on the spot. When I woke up, Damian was sitting beside my hospital bed. He looked tired.

"How are you feeling?" His tone was calm, as if nothing had happened at all.

I stared at him in silence, refusing to answer.

The silver had ravaged my body. My throat was so painful I could barely make a sound. And honestly, I didn't want to speak at all.

"Aurora, I want to ask you a question." Damian frowned, clearly irritated by my silence.

Still, I said nothing, just gazing out the window.

The tension in the room grew thick.

Just then, I heard a healer call out in the hallway.

"Alpha Damian! Clara is screaming she's in pain again!"

Damian got up right away, not even looking at me.

"Think about what you've done," he said before rushing out of the room.

Clara sent me messages every day about how Damian was taking care of her. I ignored them all.

Three days later, the doctor told me I could be discharged. As I was packing, the door was slowly pushed open.

Clara stepped in, wearing a hospital gown and thick bandages on her right arm, looking as delicate and pitiful as ever.

"Aurora, you're leaving already?" Her voice was just as sweet as always.

I ignored her, focusing on packing my things.

"Did you know?" Clara came over, voice full of pride. "Damian spent three million hiring the best healer for me. He said he wouldn't leave even a single scar on my hand. Not even a little."

My hands paused for a second, then kept moving.

"Oh, I forgot. You were locked up in the isolation cell thanks to his personal orders. That must have been rough, huh?" Clara said with fake concern. "Getting beaten up isn't fun, is it? All I had to do was mention that I wanted you to suffer a little."

She crouched down in front of me, staring me straight in the eyes. "Want to know why? Why does Damian never hesitate to believe me over you?"

I stopped whatever I was doing and coldly gazed back at her.

"That's because…" Clara's smile turned even brighter. "Damian and I have known each other since we were kids. We understand each other better than anyone.

"When I was fifteen, right before we almost got together, I was attacked while protecting him. After that, I had to go abroad for treatment. That's the only reason we were apart. He has always been concerned about me, and he'd personally come to check on my status every year."

Her smile turned cruel as she continued, "Do you really think you mattered? You are just a replacement."

I clenched my fists, barely holding myself together.

"Now that I'm back, it won't be long before I become the official Luna of the Blackmoon Pack," Clara said smugly. "And you? You were destined to only be a guest in all of this."

Then she slipped right back into her sweet, innocent act. "But in all honesty, I should thank you."

"Thank me?" My voice was rough and hoarse.

"Yes. If you hadn't always been stirring up trouble, Damian wouldn't have realized who he really cared about." Clara smiled sweetly. "Every time you caused something, he just pitied me even more. Poor, innocent me. And did you know? I was the one who suggested Damian talk to your father about disciplining you."

My blood ran cold.

"I told Damian that my stepfather's daughter was bullying me, and maybe he could help teach you a lesson." Clara's grin stretched even wider. "He agreed right away. Imagine that."

"He disciplined you so well… Dragging you into his bed and making you fall for him without even trying. I was angry at first, but then I found this."

Clara pulled a small camera from her bag.

"Turns out, to discipline you better, Damian installed this in your room. All the footage goes straight to his private computer. I'm sure he has already saved every intimate video of you two locked away somewhere safe."

She kept gloating.

"He was sleeping with you so he could hand me all those recordings if I ever needed leverage to strike back."

I could feel the world spinning and my ears ringing.

"After all, you're so proud. If I'm holding your private videos, would you ever dare go against me?"

With that, Clara stood up and straightened her gown.

"Well, I should get going. Damian's waiting for me to have lunch."

She smiled, then left, quietly closing the door behind her.

My hands shook as I called for a car to the manor.

An hour later, I stood in front of Damian's study on the second floor. The room he had never allowed me to enter.

I pushed open the door and walked to the only computer inside. My hands trembled as I turned it on. When I clicked on the folder marked with a date on the desktop, my legs gave out, and I collapsed to my knees.

The screen was filled with videos of me and Damian.

Moments I thought belonged to just the two of us in memories, now all captured and stored.

Different angles, different times, like a carefully edited documentary.

So…

Everything had been a lie from the very beginning.