Chapter 4

As always, every year on our anniversary, I’d prepare a gift for Joe.

This year would be the last.

I stood at the entrance of the Quiet Sparrow Gallery, waiting. Staff checked invitations at the door while guests flowed past me, laughter and perfume filling the air. The hands on my watch kept turning, steady and merciless.

More than half an hour had passed since our appointed time. Still no sign of Joe.

Just as I was about to call him, the night sky suddenly erupted in a shower of fireworks.

The cobblestone path ahead glowed under bursts of color, lined on both sides with fresh roses. I followed it to the end—where I finally saw him.

Joe stood there in a black suit, down on one knee, holding a velvet box with a diamond ring inside…

and proposing to Emma.

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.

“The Alpha really went all out,” someone nearby whispered. “I heard those flowers were flown in by private jet, and he rented out the whole restaurant, too.”

“But… isn’t his girlfriend someone else?”

“Girlfriend? Please. It’s normal to flirt with some pretty women before marriage. And Emma? She was raised by the elder Luna herself. How could some country girls compare with her manner and knowledge.”

Their words buzzed in my ears, sharp and mocking.

So, it wasn’t our fifth anniversary after all.

It was a grand engagement banquet.

And the man kneeling under the fireworks—was my boyfriend.

But the woman he was proposing to… wasn’t me.

My heart slowly steadied. I let out a quiet sigh and tossed the gift I’d prepared into the nearest trash bin. Then I turned, ready to leave this place—and him—behind.

But before I could take a step, Emma appeared in front of me.

The gentle, innocent mask she always wore around Joe was gone. In its place was a sharp, mocking smile.

“I heard today’s your fifth anniversary with Joe,” she said, her voice dripping with satisfaction. “Guess what? He didn’t even remember. He only realized because today was our engagement banquet—and then he remembered you still existed.”

If this had been before, I would’ve slapped her right there.

“Is that so?” I smiled faintly. “Then I wish you both happiness.”

I turned to leave, brushing past her shoulder.

But then—Emma’s heel slipped. She fell backward, landing hard, the bouquet in her hand scattering across her lap.

Before I could even react, Joe came rushing over—just in time to see her on the ground.

“Carol! Haven’t you caused enough trouble?”

Without warning, he grabbed me by the collar, yanking me up with brutal force.

“I told you I’d handle the marriage! Why the hell would you hurt Emma?”

The fabric tightened around my throat. I couldn’t breathe. My face flushed red, veins rising along my hands as I clawed at his grip.

Before I could find my voice, Emma—completely unharmed—clutched her chest dramatically and began gasping for air.

Joe panicked. His hands shook as he called the driver, eyes reddening in fear.

“Do you even know she has heart disease? She is fragile, nothing like you!” he shouted, voice breaking with fury as he turned on me.

“If you want to get married so badly, find someone else! I will never marry you. Get out—don’t ever show up in front of me again!”

Laughter rippled through the onlookers; their pity was sharp as knives. The pain around my neck dulled into numbness.

I watched them walk away—Joe half-carrying Emma, her head resting against his chest.

My chest tightened painfully, but I forced myself to breathe.

“Joe,” I whispered, barely audible. “Let’s break up.”

I didn’t know if he heard me.

All I saw was the cloud of dust his car kicked up as it disappeared into the night.

The next morning, I booked the earliest flight out.

And I left that cursed place behind.